Chapter TwentyThe carriage was running low on coal, so after walking most of the day through bushland we had to go back into the pallid trees and gather as much wood as we could carry, several times over. I found an entire dead tree, bleached grey and hollow, and together we cut it up into manageable pieces. As we gathered, we had to keep glancing around in case Officer Dry had come to search in our area.
It was difficult to keep my mind on the job. My heart was beating quickly, happily—and I knew why. For the first time in my life, I had a chance to make a life for myself, instead of pretending to obey the rules of society to save what remained of my family. My future was terrifyingly broad. I wanted to build things. I wanted to turn my back on all I’d been taught about the importance of
