Allah!

Amy is friends with Tayba, aged 10, who lives next door. They sat for about an hour in front of the TV yesterday, wearing giant 3D glasses. Tayba has never seen a 3D film before so she and Amy tried every DVD Amy owns, and cartoon kid shows too, looking for the magic of 3D.

There were many excited exclamations, 'I think that bit was 3D!' 'That bit was 3D but really fast!' 'Should we try Shrek? I'm sure Shrek's 3D!'

It was one of those times where as an an adult I could easily spoil their fun. I knew that none of the films in Amy's collection were 3D, but telling them would be cruel, so I kept out of it.

Tayba doesn't have many toys, I know this because her eyes are wide every time she opens Amy's toy cupboard. She says things like, 'How do you play dominoes?' And, 'I played Operation once.' As a 'holiday present' Amy's Gran bought her a Nintendo DS. Tayba was given the board game Ludo on her birthday. Amy asked when Tayba's birthday party was, she wasn't having one. But Tayba's already excited about coming to Amy's Halloween party.

Tayba never goes to the cinema. She boasted once, 'We used to have a DVD player, but we had to give it to someone.' Amy's seen every recent kids cinema release, a box of popcorn on her lap every time. Her DVD collection is bigger than mine.

Tayba doesn't know where the local playgrounds are, she's never visited them. I long to take her, as much as Amy would love her friend to come along as a companion, but every time I've suggested this, Tayba's said matter of factly 'I have homework.' I know that's not the real reason. She lies instinctively with, 'I can't', as if it's easier not to let herself consider the idea at all.

I meet her parents sometimes, they come to the door and smile. I call Tayba and she goes home, or occasionally she gabbles at them in their own language and stays a little longer. Her parents don't speak any English.

Tayba is a happy child, if reading my description of no toys or playground outings you're thinking 'deprived' that would be wrong. I think it's Amy, and most of the middle class children I know who are spoiled and pampered. Tayba simply comes from a different background, one that doesn't involve 3D films and Ninendo games. I tried not to smirk when Amy and I were discussing which theme park to visit and Tayba interrupted, 'I've been to Poundland. Have you been?' She didn't even get a £1 plastic toy when her family visited this shop.

Tayba regularly calls round, and helps herself to our biscuits, and I like that she makes herself at home. Thinking of her makes me understand how fostering and adoption works, if she were to move in to our home to live tomorrow, I'd be quite happy. I suppose it goes to prove that children and animals are easy to love.

Tayba, and a couple of her cousins were just having a 'party' in Amy's room just now. They blew up some balloons they found and were all singing along loudly to music on Amy's CD player. The only CD they could find was Christmas Carols. These four little girls (three of them Muslim) were singing 'Away in a manger' and 'Silent Night' at the top of their voices in September. One of the little girls apologised to me for making a noise. How could she not understand that I loved that noise? I just wished I could join in. So I found them a CD of kids pop music and they danced to Amarillo and Bob the Builder.

Then an Asian lady came to the door, and I guessed she wanted them home, although she didn't say a word. I called the girls and they all obediently left. But it wasn't their bed time, or tea time, it was that their Mum didn't want them to play at our house. So the game could continue, but outside now. Amy put her shoes on and went outside, and the party relocated to the front of the house. No music or balloons, but the girls were determined the party spirit would live on. I made them a bowl of microwave popcorn and Amy asked for juice. I gave them a jug of it, and paper cups left over from Amy's birthday party.

Tayba's often called home by a silent visitor at our door, and sometimes it seems to be on a whim. Although perhaps I'm being unfair on her parents. I never know what they say to her. Perhaps it's a happy, 'Make sure you say 'Thank you for having me.' And not, 'Muslim girls shouldn't mix with their kind.'

Yesterday Amy found a walkie-talkie, she has so many toys that she's barely played with this before. Tayba picked up the walkie-talkie today and was excited to try it. When Tayba's Mum called round, Tayba went home with the walkie talkie. Soon I heard Amy shouting, 'Hello!' And from next door I heard Tayba's voice, 'This works! This can be our top secret!'.

It's a happy friendship, despite Amy and Tayba's different backgrounds. But I heard a noise from Tayba's house this morning, and it didn't come from the walkie-talkie.

There was a child screaming. The child was shouting so loud that we could hear it in our living room. The screams went on and on, and after several minutes when the noise didn't stop I looked out of the window. An old man from over the road had come out of his house to see what this noise was too. We exchanged worried glances, neither of us knowing what to do. It sounded like a frightened child wailing and crying, the wailing went on and on.

I went upstairs, and the noise seemed to be coming from the room beside my bedroom. I could hear it clearly there, it sounded like a little boy saying, 'Allah! Allah! Allah! Allah!' There were grown up voices too, then a brief shout, then maybe the sound of a scuffle. Then just, 'Allah! Allah! Allah!' more. I looked out of the window to see that old man, in his vest, standing beneath Tayba's house, he shouted up, 'What's going on?' and then 'I'm calling the police!'

I didn't know what to do. I hoped the police would come, then hoped they wouldn't. It was probably just a child having a tantrum, wasn't it?

I don't even know who this boy could be. I've never seen a boy playing with Tayba, although I know she has lots of cousins visiting. I've only see her play with girl cousins. Just a few times I'd heard a boy shouting from an upstairs window next door. Strange shouts of, 'Amy's mum!' or 'Amy!' I wondered if this unknown boy was responsible for the strange notes on our front door. I've never seen this boy, so I don't know who he is, or why he shouts our names. I asked Tayba about her brother, he's 15 and he called to collect her once. I know it isn't him.

When she visited to play today I asked Tayba about the crying, she said. 'Oh yes, that was me. I was crying because my brother wouldn't let me watch TV.'

The voice didn't sound like Taybas at all, although it was muffled by the wall, so perhaps I was mistaken..? Tayba and Amy played, and I found it hard to imagine this happy westernised girl, with a south london accent shouting 'Allah!' for over twenty minutes.

Amy told me later that the police had come to Tayba's house, 'They told them off for making too much noise.'