There was a stack of papers. I took them out, sat down on the chair. It was one of those ones that twist round. Lindi’s dad had one just like it. I spun around a few times, then steadied myself. Picked up the first sheet of paper. Something about units and bananas. It had Saturday’s date on it, 6 September.

The second sheet was just loads and loads of writing. The third was the same. I flicked past. Between the third and fourth sheets was a photograph. Not Felix. It was a group of people sitting at a long table. Six of them. Celebrating. Like an eldest’s birthday party, only better. There was loads of food – unusual, brightly coloured. Bananas, and other fruits too. And something else I’d only ever seen in a book – a pineapple. I remembered it because we had pines in Fennis Wick, and we had apples. But we didn’t have anything that looked even remotely like a pineapple.

I peered at the people – their clothes sparkled, like the sequins on Lindi’s summer diary.

Wait. There was Mayor Anderson. It was definitely her. She was raising a glass of something pale and yellow towards the photographer. Cheers!

Is this what Mayor Anderson did when she went away – when she took our eldests to camp, when she went on her trips to the city? Did she eat good food, drink wine and wear sparkling clothes?

It must be expensive – that food, those clothes. Even to have the photograph taken. Photographic equipment was hard to come by. Mr Wetheral said so.

So how did these people come by it?

Corrupt officials who just can’t give up on the eldest edict. They get too much from it, see?

Mr Opal’s words echoed in my head.

Goods she’d never be able to lay her hands on otherwise.

I took the photograph, slid it into my back pocket. Then I read the next page.

On the left-hand side of the sheet it read:

Thursday 28 August

1 unit

One unit. Could that be a person? An eldest? Deb Merino went to camp on 28 August – it was Mum’s birthday. We had the hedgehog cake when we got home.

And on the right-hand side it read:

200 × gas (19kg)

The gas canisters.

My stomach writhed. Did Mayor Anderson trade Deb Merino in for those blue gas canisters?

I flipped back to the first page.

Saturday 6 September.

2 units.

Jed and Lindi.

8 crates bananas

1 figurine, Red Admiral, 18ct gold.

Misc. textiles.

The tiny gold butterflies. Figurines. The red admiral – the latest addition to Mayor Anderson’s collection.

She’d traded Lindi and my brother for eight crates of bananas, a lifeless gold butterfly and a bunch of new clothes.

Mr Opal hadn’t lied about anything. The war was over. Our eldests were being traded. For a load of stuff we didn’t even need.