“Why did I do it?” I whisper to Kiwi as he perches on my shoulder. Kiwi’s always understood my problems. “Why did I tell him everything?” I sit down on a chair and look out onto the sunset. Kiwi hops down my arm and onto my lap as I look into his large, brown eyes and let out a sigh.

“I guess he’ll have to stay until we figure out what to do with him.” I decide climbing the ladder to my room. I gently place Kiwi on his sleeping leaf beside my bed and blow out the candle, falling asleep as soon as I close my eyes.

“Hey. Hey! HEY!” I jolt awake, to see a face staring over me. I have not woken up well over the past few days. I sit up in bed, startled

“Oh, hey, you’re awake” Liam says, standing over me “I thought you were never going to wake up.”

“What do you want?” I ask, annoyed.

“I was just wondering what’s for breakfast.” Liam asks

“Breakfast doesn't happen until the pre-breakfast chores are done. So if you want breakfast, help with the chores.” I say, grabbing my jeans.

“If you want to be helpful, go down the path on your right, and start picking some fruit.” This doesn’t have to be done till later, btu Liam needs to adjust to rainforest life. Once he’s gone, I take of my pyjamas and pull on my jeans, a t-shirt and a jacket. Most of the things I wear are Mum’s old clothes, and Dad’s shoes, so I’m always close to them. I go down into the kitchen, where Patcho has his perch. He hops on my shoulder and we head down to the beach and collect what the traps have caught. It’s a good haul today. Five salmon, two haddock and a few prawns. A good bucketful of mice from the mousetrap, plus the reeds are spreading, which is a good substitute for wheat.

I haul everything back up to the treehouse and prepare some leftover dragon fruit for breakfast. Liam comes back, hauling three sacks of various fruit behind him.

“Well you did well.” I say

“We’re set for a while.” he says, beaming

“We? What do you mean we? You’re only staying here until I figure out what to do with you.” I say firmly.

“What? No! You can’t make me go back to the orphanage!”

“Why not?”

“A: I’m not going back to that ridiculous life, and B: do you even know where it is?” Liam argues

“Well, no I don’t know where it is, but I’ll, make sure you go back. Why don’t you want to go back anyway?” I ask

“Because that life was boring. It was the same thing day after day.”

“Well, it’s the same here.” I state

“Well, you’re always busy, you’re the only one who can do chores. At the orphanage, most of the time, because we’re all in the same class, Ms Rebar’s just teaching you stuff you already know.”

“That may be true, but It’s harder when you don’t know the simple things in life, like how to socialise with other people.” I admit.

“I thought there were other people on Madagascar.” Liam saya

“It’s a good 15 days trek through the rainforest.” I explain, getting up from my chair

“Come see.” I lead him to a map in the study. “See this?” I point to a red dot down the south of the island “This is us. And see this?” I move my hand to a blue dot “That symbolizes civilization.”

“So how long have you been here?” Liam asks

“Twelve years.” I reply

“Well you’ve missed out on a lot.” Liam says

“What do you mean?” I ask, curious

“Well, it’s just that there’s been a lot going on in the world. For example, the Iraqi civil war-”

“The what?” I interrupt

“The Iraqi Civil War. It originally started in 2003, and ended in 2011, but it started again in 2014 and it’s still going. Why?”

“My mother’s family lives in Iraq.” I say “So that means they’re probably in the middle of a crisis.”

“Yeah, they might be.”

“What do you mean, they might be? Do you know? Tell me!” I shout.

“What? NO! I’m just saying the war might be impacting them, that’s all” Liam throws his hands in the air, as if he’s surrendering

“Just impacting them?” I ask annoyed.

“Wow, you’re missing out on a lot. Do you have a computer?” Liam asks

“Yes.” I point to the my Dad’s laptop

“Can I use it?” Liam asks. I hesitate before answering

“Be careful. It was my father’s.” I say. Liam sits down at the desk and goes into Google. He types in Iraqi war and clicks on the first website that comes up.

“Right. It says here that the Iraq civil war was caused due to an escalation from the conquests of places such as Mosul and Fallujah-” “Fallujah? That’s where my mother’s family lives!” I cry “We’ve got to help them! Keep reading.” I order. Liam looks at me funny and keeps reading

“and other major areas around northern Iraq. The civil war has resulted in the resignation of former Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki. The war has impacted the lives of many soldiers and civilians from around the country, including country alliances such as-” he stops. I look over and see that the computer’s not working. Then I see Spike nibbling at the wires.

“SPIKE!” I shout. I chase him out of the room. “Shoo! Go! Get out! Urgh! Look what you’ve done, you stupid capybara!” I scream. My only source of information has been ruined.

“We’ve got to do something!” I decide. “The lives of the only family I have left are at risk! They may already be dead, for all we know!” I run across the bridge connecting the study and the kitchen, then sun up the stairs into my room. Liam follows close behind.

“Hey! What are you doing?” he asks

“Packing. What does it look like?” I answer, stuffing jeans, t-shirts, a hat and sunscreen into a backpack.

“Packing? For what?” Liam asks

“I’m going to Iraq. I’m going to save my family.” I grab a sleeping bag, a pair of sunglasses, and run down into the kitchen, where I pack two string bags full of all the food they can carry.

“Here, pack some things and take this.” I shove the second bag into Liam’s hands

“Wait, what? Am I coming?” he asks, flabbergasted

“Of course!” I reply, taking a world map off the wall.

“Wait, wait, wait. If you think I’m going of to a war-torn country with a random girl I’ve known for less than 24 hours, you must be mad. I’m sorry, but you must be.” he says

“What would you do if the only family you had left was at risk of dying? Would you sit back and do nothing?” I ask. Liam sighs.

“I guess not.” he starts to go up to his room.

“Right. Meet you back here in half an hour. One bag packed with the essentials. Got it?” I order

“Alright.” Liam sighs, shrugging his shoulder.