I manoeuvre myself and slip past her without touching her. I can’t leave her in the flat alone, but I can go into my room, shut the door and pretend. I can still smell smoke, even with the bedroom door shut. Smoke’s sneaky like that.

Outside my room, Mum starts banging around; maybe she’s cleaning up, destroying the evidence.

If I still had all my old books from Gran, then I’d read The Magic Faraway Tree now. I’d disappear into that world with Moonface and Silky and refuse to come out until the last of the smoke had gone. But, of course, my gran’s old books were probably one of the first things to burn.

Instead, I’ll wait until Mum stops crying and then I’ll go out for a while. Hopefully by the time I return, the smoky smell will have disappeared and all evidence of the burnt pot will be in the bin.

I wonder what Dad will say when he comes home. I hope he has good news. I’m worried the Separation Tree won’t survive its injuries. I haven’t told him yet, but I did some research about the flowering. I understand now why he was so quiet when I mentioned it. Flowering’s not a good sign. It actually means that the tree knows it’s on its way out, so it’s trying to produce seed. I had no idea trees could be so wise.

Chapter 9

Matt turns to look at me. ‘You sure about this?’

‘Yeah,’ I tell him, my mouth dry with worry.

He shrugs like it’s no big deal. ‘Well, we have to find a way up,’ he says as we sneak down the side of the house. It’s after six so the tradies have all gone home for the day, which is good, because if we got caught doing this, I’d be in so much trouble.

‘Laundry window,’ I say, like I’ve thought it all through. ‘The roof is lower at the back of the house.’