Walking to catch the bus, you see a young boy look both ways before entering an alley. When you follow him into the alley, he has disappeared. Instead, there is a neatly folded note lying on the pavement. What does it say and how do you react?

* * *

I couldn’t tell if he was a boy or a very small man – the trenchcoat hid him almost completely. He looked both ways, then ducked into the alley, pulling something out of his coat. Something else fell out of his pocket at the same time. I followed him curiously. He was nowhere to be seen, but he’d dropped a piece of paper. I picked it up to see if it might be a clue to his strange behaviour, but instead I turned white. They had found me.

All it said was, “The anvil is your friend.” Then it hit me.

I crumpled up like an accordion, complete with sound effects. That’s the problem with trying to hide from cartoon characters.