Caroni knelt in front of the flat rock for a moment, almost as if in prayer. She juggled the breadfruit and skilfully peeled off the black skin with a knife. The flesh inside was a pale steaming yellow. She sliced it into rough quarters and handed a quarter to Sorrel on the tip of the knife. “Let it cool,” she reminded her. Then she gave a smaller piece to Bibi.

Sorrel unwrapped the fish and the flesh fell away from the bones. “Let the breadfruit soak up the juices,” Caroni said, and Sorrel watched how the woman ate the food, pulling the fish apart and laying the breadfruit on top of the flesh. There were other types of vegetables in the leaf packet, things Sorrel had only ever read about – onions, potatoes, carrots and tiny tomatoes. She burned her fingers and mouth. The fish was firm and only slightly muddy to the taste, but the breadfruit – oh she had never eaten anything like that roasted breadfruit! Firm and thick and full of juice. Real, she thought.

When they had finished, Caroni held her algaskin over Sorrel’s hands and poured a trickle of water; then they reversed positions. She indicated that Sorrel should do the same for her mother. “Now, let’s talk,” she said, leading them back to the front of the hut. She picked up her stool and the candle and they went inside.

Caroni pointed to a log and looked directly at Sorrel. “Let’s hear your story.”

“Shouldn’t we bring the PlAK inside?” Sorrel said.

“Why?”

“Someone might take it?”

Caroni laughed. “No one will take it, Lowlander. Talk.”

Where to start? Perhaps with good manners. “Thank you for the delicious food. I’ve never eaten anything like that.”

“It’s hard-won. Perhaps you’ll find that out for yourself. Now, why are you here?” Caroni’s small welcoming smile was gone.

“Well. There’s not much to say. We lived in Bana and we moved around, like everybody else. The Immersion Zone kept changing. Then our house was included in the zone and we got an Evacuation Order. I couldn’t sleep in the day. Ever. And I just didn’t want to live like that. So we decided to try for the mountains.” It sounded like the flimsiest of stories. “We didn’t know if Tri – I mean, you – really existed.”

“How did you come upon the cable car line?”

“We looked for routes using the PlAK’s SATMAP and found the dry stream bed, which led to the water tank and the columns. My mother thought it was a good direction to take. We spent a night in the tank. Then followed the columns upwards. Emrallie told us others did the same thing.”

“You have access to the PlAK’s SATMAP?”