“The uniform said they didn’t want me anymore,’ interrupted Lockie. Tina could hear some anger underneath his faltering words. ‘He said they weren’t even looking for me.’ The words were said quietly and there was a question in them. Kids… — 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
“Maybe it was easier if you knew your child was dead. It was a thought that stopped him in his tracks sometimes but he… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“If the clean man was not the boy’s father and if he had taken him, Tina knew that someone must be looking for him.… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
“When he began cramming in the bites of burger Tina and Sarah both said, almost at the same time, ‘Slowly, Lockie.’Lockie slowed down and… — Nicole Trope Copy Share Image
