They drove along the silvery stretch of the river, whizzing past farms and dormant orchards. Leon was trying not to think about home. He couldn’t do anything from here, so it was futile to waste energy worrying. And, yet, visions kept niggling him. His dad staggering into the kitchen and swiping at Mum with a hairy paw. His mum with a purple shiner under one eye, like the day Leon had first discovered his dad was hitting her. He would never forget her sad face as he tried to convince her to leave. It hadn’t made sense to him when she said she loved his dad and could never go. He couldn’t understand such blind devotion. Was that how women ended up fenced into inescapable situations? He hated his dad for the power he wielded over his mum.

Terry was trying to make conversation, so Leon made an effort to tune in.

‘I couldn’t help overhearing you talking to the boss,’ Terry was saying. ‘It’s a tough time in Parks. Not many opportunities. I’m with you on public outreach, though. I’d like to see more of it. But the boss is concerned about money—things are so tight.’

‘Same everywhere,’ Leon said. ‘It’s a problem.’

‘There are some good things going on in the wildlife scene, if you know how to tap into it,’ Terry said. ‘I can connect you with scientists doing fieldwork around here, if you like. There’s a guy from Canberra looking for swift parrots in the forests. And a bloke from the uni working on Tasmanian devils. None of it pays, of course, but it might give you what you’re looking for. A bit more stimulus than the usual work.’

Leon was grateful. Sometimes he wished he’d become a scientist himself, but ranger work suited him because he liked being outside. He couldn’t imagine himself chained to a desk.

At the turn-off to the park, the road deteriorated to potholed gravel, and Terry slowed to navigate a particularly rutted section. ‘They only grade it a couple of times a year,’ he grumbled. ‘Can’t afford to seal it. Not enough traffic to justify the expense.’

The road climbed gradually, and soon forest gave way to heathland dotted with small gangly trees and buttressed peaks. Mist hung on the mountains, and the light was long and grey. It was hauntingly beautiful.

At the end of the road, Terry pulled up in a circular car park where the hiking trails began. Leon was excited. The light was soft and a blue haze hovered above the heath. ‘Can we walk to the pass?’ he asked. ‘I wouldn’t mind seeing the view.’