Rose puts her hands on it. No glimmering letters appear. “It’s just a box,” she says, then she pulls the lid open, and together we look inside.

Right at the bottom I see a tuft of gray fur. I take it out and let it float out of my hands. “It’s empty,” I say.

Then the Lost Girls cheer, the orangutans start playing their music again, and Win makes everyone laugh by climbing into the Box and dancing.

“This is a serious dance,” he protests. “Stop laughing!”

Chapter 55

“So, mate.” Win and I are having breakfast on the rock outside his hut. “You’ve got one day left in Roar. What shall we do?”

I gaze at the rivers and waterfalls and mountains that all need exploring. Then I remember that Win and I have unfinished business.

“I want to ride a unicorn,” I say.

He smiles. “Nice . . . More toast?” I nod and he reaches into the box next to him and pulls out two jars. “Marmite or honey?” he asks.

The Box has become Win’s store box. It’s full of bread and swords and comics, and his last few precious pieces of candy. It’s already gotten a bit crumby and battered. I’m not sure how long it’s going to last.

“A bit of both,” I say.

Once we’ve eaten our breakfast we spend the rest of the day looking for female unicorns, and in the end we discover two eating sunflowers in a meadow. They’re bigger than male unicorns and possibly even more beautiful. One is blue with a purple mane, the other one is gray with silver spots. Their horns are the same glittery, luminous white.

This time we’re not taking any chances. We sit on the ground and wait for them to come over to us. First they sniff us. Then the blue one scratches my hair with her horn and then, only after we’ve given them a whole sack full of apples, are we allowed to sit on their backs.

“Look at us, Arthur,” says Win as we trot toward the On-Off Waterfall. “We’re riding unicorns!”

I stroke my unicorn’s sleek neck. In my head she’s called Ronaldo and we’re the best of friends.

Rose is impressed to see us turn up on unicorns, although she tries to hide it. “I prefer a bit more height,” she says. She’s riding Orion and it is true that he’s slightly bigger than the unicorns. “Cool horns, though,” she’s forced to admit.

Of course Mitch can’t come to the waterfall to see us off so it’s just Win who leads us up the rocks to the tunnel.

“Come back soon,” he says, hugging me tight, “and bring more rocky road.”