Down the road, he stopped at the Cobb Friendly Grocer, helped himself to a shopping trolley with a wonky wheel. He traversed the aisles, bought bottles of tepid mineral water, expired blocks of dark chocolate, and a garden shovel from the same aisle as the rolls of gaffer tape. He paid an exorbitant outback sum and asked the pimple-faced attendant for directions.

Accelerating through town, Manolis passed groups of men swilling from bottles. Bins overflowed; loose newspapers blew, wandering the streets like stray dogs. He continued on through the settlement south of town, the one-room tenements, corrugated metal and wood scraps and earthen floors. He slowed at first but ultimately picked up speed when the locals showered his vehicle with cans, bottles and rocks.

Reaching his destination, first by car, then foot, Manolis cocked his elbow, drained half a water bottle with a sharp crack. The mineral belch that followed made the assembled kangaroos scatter in all directions. At least his ribs were pain free, for which he was grateful. Dark clouds were massing, the first Manolis had seen since leaving the city. In the middle distance, a cloudburst dumped precious rain onto the parched land.

Bending his back, he broke the earth in the scrub with his blade, and started digging.

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

Sincere thanks to Dexter Petley of Jericho Writers for astute editorial advice and patience; to Jonathan Myerson and Claire McGowan at City, University of London for the opportunity; to Barry Scott and Katharina Bielenberg for incredible publishing; to Kate Goldsworthy for unparalleled editing; to Zoë Waldie for insight and guidance; to Kathryn Heyman for wisdom and mentoring; to Jeanine Leane, Kerry Reed-Gilbert and the First Nations Australia Writers Network (FNAWN), and Sayed Hussainizada, Jerome Mukiza Rugaruza, the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) and Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services Australia (MARSS) for manuscript comments; to Frances Fyfield and Dreda Say Mitchell of Arvon Foundation for early instruction and encouragement; to Lee Gordon, Anthony Ferguson and Maurits Zwankhuizen for reading and feedback; to Martin Shaw for being an agent extraordinaire; and to my family for their enduring love, support and belief.

Peter Papathanasiou was born in northern Greece in 1974 and adopted as a baby to an Australian family. His debut book, a memoir, was published in 2019. Peter’s writing has otherwise been published by The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, The Seattle Times, The Guardian UK, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, Good Weekend, ABC and SBS. He holds a Master of Arts in Creative Writing from City, University of London; a Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Sciences from The Australian National University (ANU); and a Bachelor of Laws from ANU specialising in criminal law.