The most wonderful GIFT

Christmas truly was a magical time, as Caroline was about to find out

- Becky Dickinson

Caroline sprang up from her pillow, a tingling sensation pricking her skin. Probably just a hot flush. Yet she had the recollection of being woken by an unfamiliar noise - one that didn't originate at the back of her husband's throat.

She glanced at the clock and sighed - 3.05am. There it was again. Tap, tap, sshhcrrttcchh. It seemed to be coming from overhead. 'Gareth,' she whispered.

But her husband just rolled over, pulling most of the duvet with him, before resuming his walrus impressions.

Perhaps she'd imagined it. Either that, or she'd developed a case of tinnitus to add to her list of midlife ailments.

Lying back down again, she tugged the remaining corner of the duvet around her ears and tried to focus on her breathing.

Apparently, it was good for the vagus nerve. All too soon, light was pushing against the curtains. 'Morning, love, sleep well?' murmured Gareth, emerging like a bear from hibernation.

'Not really,' she replied. 'I kept thinking I could hear things in the loft.' 'You sure you weren't dreaming?' yawned Gareth.

'Not much chance of that!' she replied, making a mental note to buy some earplugs.

The next few nights passed uneventfully-apart from the obligatory hot flushes and the intermittent snoring. Caroline wasn't sure which was worse.

But a week later, the overhead rustling returned. It definitely wasn't tinnitus.

'That's it!' she declared the following morning. 'I'm going up.' Opening the loft hatch with the long pole, she caught hold of the extendable ladder and pulled it down.

She hadn't been inside the loft for months. Tentatively, she inched up the ladder, then hauled herself up through the hatch. It didn't It felt D hear get any easier.

Pulling on the light cord, she in flicked a cobweb out of her hair, checking the eaves for anything untoward. No sign of any intruders, at least.