Big Ben gives me objects when I’m sad. Lots of people find that weird but I like it because if the object’s soft, I can stroke it. Enjoy its texture. The crumpled red hat appears under the folds of the cloth. It still has mud and twigs on it. At least it doesn’t smell too bad. Just of the earth and Big Ben’s hair. I hold it in my hand. It’s dry, bristly with the caked-on mud, but some areas are still soft. I stroke the soft bits. It’s like an animal that ran away for a week and came back, skinny and covered in mud but bits of it still soft and warm. I don’t know where that thought came from. I stroke the hat. It’s comforting. I turn it inside out. The inside is red fleece and there’s a white label with black writing on it. 100% bamboo, waterless wash 20°C, SAVE THE PLANET.

But over the top of the print there are handwritten words. It reminds me of when I want to say two sentences at the same time and it’s so overwhelming I end up saying nothing. On top of SAVE THE PLANET, three words written in faded black biro.

Kwesi Atta Asante.

The missing boy.

Chapter 12:00: The Understory

Chapter 12:00

THE UNDERSTORY

‘You can pick these.’

Season’s giving us a tour of the grounds. It’s the tour that should have taken place yesterday but it was raining and we made birthday cake instead. All 12 of us are here, plus Mr C Eckler, as Mrs C Eckler meditates on a Sunday. I feel guilty hearing that, because I promised Grandma I would pray on Sunday, as our church doesn’t exist in 2048, but I haven’t done it yet. I’ll do it after this tour, back in the chalet, not aloud like Grandma but quietly in my head. It shouldn’t take more than half an hour.

There’s light rain but it’s mild and you can smell the grass. I love the smell. The tour was supposed to be done by Le Temps but he’s busy dealing with An Emergency. Maybe one of the cows has run loose and is pooing all over the paths! We’re walking so slowly we’re almost going backwards. I’m glad Big Ben and I ran yesterday. It was much more fun. Season’s teaching us about foraging – free food you can pick in the wild. And the understory – the part of the forest under the shade where things grow in the damp, like mushrooms. She’s telling us which ones we can pick and which ones will kill us.

‘Have you killed anyone by mistake?’ says Jake.