by Sue Saliba
she walked towards the road and as she did, the sound stopped. silence.
she knew she was being watched.
there, beneath her, in the snow, staring up at her, was the face of a bloodied arctic fox. terrified, lost, it stared into her.
so far from home.
she should have left it there. all sense said it could never survive so far south of the arctic slopes.
but she looked into the creature’s eyes and she saw a desire for life, a sudden preciousness.
and she bent to the trap and released the catch.
she watched the fox limp across the untouched snow.
she saw it disappear.
and then she thought of her mother and she thought of what she must do, the story she must leave behind and the one she must begin – one that was not made of dreams and wishes and the desire for safety, but one as truthful and as precious as the forest.
she walked back to ethan’s house. the snow as she went was deeper than she had imagined.
she entered the lounge room and picked up the telephone and she dialled.
‘i’d like to speak to mary lanson, please.’
there was a pause on the other end of the line and then a click.
‘hello, hello, who is it?’
mia felt her heart catch. she couldn’t speak.
‘who is it?’
she closed her eyes …
then at last, she said, ‘mum, it’s mia. i want to tell you… i’m coming home.’
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Amy Thomas, my editor, for her insight, sensitivity and guidance; to Pippa Masson, my agent at Curtis Brown, and my publisher Laura Harris, for their ongoing support; and to Allison Colpoys for her beautiful design work on the cover and throughout the book.
Thank you, also, to Ann Shenfield and to the members of my workshop group, Jim Bott, Phil Canon, Chrissie McMahon and Elisa Evers, for their friendship and generous encouragement. A special thanks to my husband Bruno, and to those dedicated and courageous members of the Bass Coast community who continue selflessly to protect our precious environment.
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First published by Penguin Group (Australia), 2011
Illustrations copyright © Allison Colpoys, 2011
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ISBN: 978-1-74-253364-3
