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Back The Orchardist's Daughter Save as PDF
Chapters (57)
  1. COVER PAGE
  2. PRAISE
  3. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  4. DEDICATION
  5. PROLOGUE
  6. PART I SEEDS
  7. 1
  8. 2
  9. 3
  10. 4
  11. 5
  12. 6
  13. 7
  14. 8
  15. PART II GERMINATION
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. PART III GROWTH
  29. 21
  30. 22
  31. 23
  32. 24
  33. 25
  34. 26
  35. 27
  36. 28
  37. 29
  38. 30
  39. 31
  40. 32
  41. PART IV UNDERSTOREY
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. EPILOGUE
  57. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

She stood at the end of everything, suspended over nothing but air, looking out across the landscape to smudges of cloud sliding along contours. Even way up here she could hear the roar of the water. It felt like she was on the edge of something much larger than herself. The river brought movement and scale. She could see into its black depths. She wanted to know what was higher up, where the landscape had collected all of this water. What was up in those misty hills? What would it be like to walk there, to struggle through the undergrowth, then climb and climb through the present and the past, to understand what the river and the world were made of?

In some ways, standing on the cantilevered platform was like standing in the shop looking out, because what she could see was only the beginning of things. But here she felt excited and free, full of sky and air and river and hope.

‘Have you been up there?’ she asked Leon, pointing to the mountains beyond the river.

‘No, but people do go. You drive deeper into the forest, and from there you can walk into the mountains. It’s wild and exposed and windy and dangerous, but I’ve heard it’s also amazingly beautiful. I’d like to do it one day.’

Miki stood in the air above the river and forest and realised how much she liked the water and trees together. She thought of the forest, steady and patient. And the river passing through, strong and deep, carrying secrets beneath its dark skin. River and forest belonged together, needed each other, and were one. Even at this grand scale, everything was interconnected.

She smiled. The key and her deception had been discovered, but she was still out here, connected with trees and sky, reaching for life. This was the way of the world.

PART IV UNDERSTOREY

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PART IV

Understorey

33

33

Some days you have energy for dealing with other people’s problems, and some days you don’t. This is what Leon thought as he pulled up at home after work and saw Max sitting on his front doorstep with Bonnie sprawled in his lap. The issue wasn’t the fact the boy was there—it was the look on his face that made Leon feel weary: that particular lopsided, fragile look kids get when they’re about to cry.