Four children on an island
Surrounded by roads
Rather than water
Hidden in plain sight
Escaped to a slither
Of wilderness
Beside a busy motorway

Four children unwanted
Bullied
Betrayed
Broken

Four children
Utterly alone
Completely let down
Stealing to survive
Living off the land
Learning together
Leaning on one another

Four children and a dog
Sharing food and resources
Sharing knowledge and skills
Sharing stories
Equals

A story of self discovery
Of friendship
Of belonging
Of recovering
Regrowing

A story of found families

Four children searching for safety
Seeking a better way of life

Gil
An orphan
Passed from one foster family
To another
Promised always
That this time it would be different
But it never was

Riley and Grayson
Beaten brothers
Bullied boys
Abused by their father
Always feeling one
Must be the bad one

Pez
Wonderful and wild
A way with animals
Abandoned by all
Let down by those
She loved the most
Rejected and left alone
By those who never ever should
Outcast for being
A curious child

Four children on an island
Full of secrets
Hearts full of courage
Heads full of dreams
Each full of hurt
Memories filled with
Confusion and horror and pain

Four children and a dog
And a condor
Four friends
A found family
Bonded
Belonging together
Loyal to the last
Loyal when it matters most

Four children threatened
Four children afraid
Four children run
Together
To start over
Again
Only this time
No longer alone

Nowhere Island is written by Tania Unsworth
It is published by Zephyr Books