And I did. I told him as simply and as clearly as I could. He deserved that. He deserved a whole lot more, but the only thing I could give him now was the plain truth, plainly told. My voice didn’t break and when I was done I was surprised to find tears running down my cheeks. I couldn’t remember when I’d started crying.

Aiden didn’t flinch and his expression didn’t change. He listened until all my words had dried up. Then he reached out a hand and brushed away a tear from my cheek.

‘Wait here for me, Ash,’ he said. ‘Please.’

And he walked away. Not towards Xena and the others but towards a rotting bench on the edge of the clearing. In the Sydney of old, people would’ve sat there, enjoying the day, enjoying the trees and the way sunshine filtered through leaves. Now Aiden sat, back straight, head not moving, as if carved from the same wood.

I waited. I waited for an hour. My legs were trembling but I didn’t want to sit on the grass, and not just because it was still wet from the storm. I wanted to be solid for Aiden. Unmoving. There. Never flinching.

Finally, he stood and walked back. I still couldn’t read anything in his expression.

‘Call Dad over,’ he said. ‘I want to talk to him.’

I turned. Dad was sitting against the entrance wall, almost exactly where Xena had sat all that time ago. I waved and he stood. He walked slowly towards us, like someone approaching the unknown. Careful. Scared. Dad stopped a couple of steps away. His mouth opened and then it closed. I imagine he’d searched his brain for a suitable greeting but had come up with nothing. I was glad.

Aiden reached into his pocket, pulled out his tablet and unfolded it. He punched in a command and then handed it to Dad.

‘I need to talk to both of you,’ he said.

Mum’s face appeared on the screen. Dad held it so we could see. In fact he held it so his face and Mum’s were pretty much side by side. Maybe he was relieved that Mum was there. She was always better with words. Now he didn’t have to bother. I took a step to stand next to my brother. If Mum was surprised by what she saw, she didn’t give anything away.

‘Hello, Aiden,’ she said.

‘Hello, Mum.’

‘Ashleigh has told you, I assume?’

Aiden nodded.