“Tina woke to a thin beam of afternoon sun. She lay still for a moment, revisiting, reliving, trying to get comfortable with the events of the night before. The sound of rustling paper got her up and the smell assaulted… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“You know, Lockie,’ she said aloud. ‘What?’ ‘The thing about parents is . . . the thing about good parents — and I think your parents are pretty good . . .’ ‘Yeah, Mum makes cakes, amazing cakes, and Dad… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“He said I was a dirty boy,’ whispered Lockie. ‘I was a dirty boy and that was why he did stuff to me, because… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“And then to win the prize had been incredible. She felt like she was being seen, actually being seen, for the first time in… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“Tina thought about the idea of how much a person could take. People only survived because they turned the real into the surreal. If… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“Lockie got lost.’ ‘Yeah, he did.’ ‘But you found him.’ ‘I think we kind of found each other.” — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“Tina wondered how long it had taken Lockie to give up on his parents. How long had he shouted and screamed and hoped for… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“The police up in the city had endless files filled with people who were so malevolent it was almost impossible to believe they were… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“Tina and her mother were in the process of healing; they had to heal and soon they would be healed. But Tina knew that… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“Tina knew she could have taken the man a tree that grew its own money and he would say, ‘Not much call for money… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“Sarah put the man and the other dead children out of her head. Later, perhaps, she would watch Lockie out in the garden and… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“That’s what Lockie was—a little boy.It could do your head in if you thought too much about the cruelty that one person could inflict… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“She could not remember the casual Sarah who needed her morning latte before she did anything else. She had willingly given that Sarah up,… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“Kids didn’t just disappear unless someone made them disappear.‘Relax, mate,’ the head of security said. ‘We’ve never lost one yet.’ Lots of kids wandered… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
