Feed My Dear Dogs. Emma Richler

instinct. ‘See migration, animal.’ OK.

      Migration. ‘The mechanism of navigation and homing is not completely understood. In birds it seems to involve sighting of visible landmarks, such as mountains and vegetation, as well as a compass sense, using the sun or the stars as bearings. Land mammals may lay scent trails for local direction finding.’

      This may be an animal thing only, though humans are land mammals and this business of scent trails certainly reminds me of how I think about Jude, how I know his smell and so on. Sometimes you look a word up, a word or a person in history, and you get some bonus information, answers to things you did not even know you had questions about. I love that. Jude is a land mammal leaving scent trails for me and my sister swims like a fish. She may go astray but she will not go missing because when it comes to homing, Harriet reads the stars, Harriet is a bird.

      ‘Jude? Where’s Harriet? Where is everyone?’

      ‘Oh yeh. Forgot. Mum was going to Jarvis. Took Harriet and Gus.’

      ‘She did? Did she ask if I wanted to come?’

      ‘We were busy. Did you want to go?’

      ‘No. I’m with you. We’re busy’

      ‘Right.’

      I hate it though, when she leaves without telling me. I hate it.

      ‘So we’re having fish tonight,’ I say. ‘Fish pie or something. I hate fish pie. It’s spooky.’