I put leftover rice and meat into a bowl and fill another with milk and eggs, before carrying them carefully out to the back garden. The fox growls, but as soon as she smells the food she tries to sit up. Her leg will not support her though, so I place the bowls next to her, careful not to touch her. She sniffs at the contents suspiciously, looking up at me with wary yellow eyes.
I take a step back, showing her I mean no harm.
At once she eats ravenously, slurping the milk before attacking the meat and rice. It is clear she has not eaten in days.
“I am Reema,” I tell the fox, “and I will not let you and your cubs go hungry.”
The fox stops eating for a long moment and stares at me. I do not know if she understands, but the suspicion has gone from her eyes.
“You need a name,” I say. But what she really needs is the freedom to run wild again and look after her young by herself. A name is all is have to offer her tonight.
“I will call you Hurriyah,” I say softly in Arabic, and then in halting English I add, “I will… call you… Freedom.”
I smile in the darkness as I gaze at Hurriyah and her cubs cuddled up in the old coat.
For the first time in this strange land I have something I can call my own, something to care about and hope for.
Something called Freedom.
About the Author
Victoria Williamson is a former primary school teacher from Scotland who has taught in schools around the world, including in Cameroon, Malawi and China. She has a Master’s degree in special needs education, and has worked in the UK with children who have additional support needs. Her critically acclaimed debut novel, The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle was inspired by Victoria’s experience teaching in a school where many pupils were seeking asylum.
Victoria divides her time between writing, visiting schools and libraries, and speaking at literary festivals. Her stories feature the voices of some of the many children she’s met over the years on her real-life adventures around the world.
Find Victoria on Twitter @strangelymagic.
Copyright
Kelpies is an imprint of Floris Books
First published in 2019 by Floris Books
© 2019 Victoria Williamson
This eBook edition published 2019
Victoria Williamson asserts her right under the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be
recognised as the Author of this Work
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced
without prior permission of Floris Books, Edinburgh
www.florisbooks.co.uk
British Library CIP Data available
ISBN 978–178250–620–1
The Boy with the Butterfly Mind Page 19