WRONG WAY - GO BACK 


By Tessa Harvey

It took all her money to book a place on the rickety boat waiting at the coast. The cost was exorbitant, but none of them had had a choice. The voyage had been terrible.
    No matter how hard she had clung to her daughter, the storm had torn her away savagely.
Helping the children had come naturally to her. Her son had died in childbirth. Now as she watched that man take Eddie - stuffing some kind of sweetmeat in his mouth, she felt once again helpless. "I will come back for him," she whispered softly to herself. But it had not been possible to keep Alice, after all.
    The shock of seeing her brother snatched away seemed to have drained her of all life. She did all she was told, ate, cared for her normal necessities and slept, but otherwise she just stared, unseeing.
    Reluctantly, the woman left her at a nearby school, instructing an older student to take her to the principal.
    Then Eden went to find work in a kitchen or factory, where no-one fussed over missing papers.
    Used to endless vistas and an outdoor life, this work would be hard for her, but better than being behind wire for years, feeling helpless and useless, even hopeless.
    Eden had watched where the man went. She would go and check to watch over him. Somehow, she vowed, I will rescue Eddie and get him back to his sister. I will work hard and get money for us all. And tell them about Jesus.





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