Seed. Lisa Heathfield

to him. The bonnet of the car is hooked open above their heads.

      ‘Come on,’ I say to Ellis and he follows me, past the chaos and tables of oily springs and machine parts.

      ‘Hi, Jack,’ I have to say as he hasn’t even noticed us. His eyes are so focused on the ticking metal in front of him. He looks up and sees Ellis, and for a second he seems confused. ‘This is Ellis. The boy who’s come to live here.’

      ‘Oh, hello.’ Jack reaches out to shake Ellis’s hand, but must realise that his skin is dirty from the work and so he just shrugs lightly and smiles. ‘I’m glad you’re here.’ If he is unsure about this boy from the Outside, he doesn’t show it.

      ‘And this is Kindred John,’ I say.

      Kindred John wipes his hands on an old cloth slung over his shoulder. ‘Welcome,’ he says, as he shakes hands with Ellis. ‘Do you want to join us?’

      ‘I’m showing him around,’ I say too quickly.

      ‘Yeah, I think I’ll put off working as long as possible.’ Ellis laughs. But none of us do. We know that laziness disintegrates the soul.

      Who are these people who Kindred Smith has brought into our home? And why do I not want to walk away? I can feel the air of Outside trickling off Ellis and yet I stay, standing by him.

      ‘We won’t be long,’ I say to Kindred John, but he’s already turned back to the engine.

      ‘See you later,’ Jack says, and something passes between them that tells me they will be friends.

      It’s quieter when we leave the barn. The whirr and knocking of the machines is behind us as we start to walk through the meadow. I glance at Ellis’s T-shirt, at his clothes from the Outside. They look so wrong. And they confuse me because somehow I want to touch them. They make me have questions I cannot ask.

      ‘It’s nice here,’ Ellis says.

      The long grass brushes against my legs and I’m so proud to show him our home. ‘It’s the most beautiful place in the world,’ I say.

      ‘Have you travelled?’

      ‘No,’ I say. ‘I just know it is.’ He’s unsettled me again and I don’t know why.

      ‘Well, I’ve lived in enough places,’ Ellis says. ‘And here is definitely one of the most beautiful.’ He smiles at me and then looks up at the huge arc of sky above us. ‘It’s certainly better than where we’ve just come from.’

      ‘You’re lucky. Papa S rarely lets people from the Outside into Seed.’

      ‘Mum was desperate to come here after she bumped into that Smith guy, but he didn’t think we’d be allowed. It took him a while to persuade your leader.’ Ellis laughs lightly. ‘I think because my mum and Smith knew each other when they were young, you know, it kind of convinced him.’

      The thought of Kindred Smith actually living on the Outside feels so wrong. I try to imagine him as a boy, but my mind won’t let me.

      ‘When she met him again, it was the first time I’d seen her happy in years.’ Ellis drifts his hand through the top of the long grass.

      Kate is calling to us. We stop as she walks across the meadow. She doesn’t run.

      ‘You went without me,’ she says when she reaches us, but she’s smiling.

      ‘I didn’t know where you’d got to,’ I say.

      ‘Where are we going?’ she asks.

      ‘The lake?’ I suggest.

      ‘It’ll be perfect today.’

      ‘Lead the way then,’ Ellis says. So we do.

      We walk through the strawberry field, rather than around it, carefully stepping in a line over the rows of squat plants. The straw is scratchy on my feet and I tread carefully, not wanting rotten strawberries to squelch between my toes.

      Kate stops and touches Ellis’s elbow. ‘Here,’ she says, bending down and reaching under the soft leaves. She passes him a perfectly ripe strawberry. ‘Try this. I bet you’ve never tasted one like it.’

      Ellis puts it whole into his mouth and we watch as his jaw moves. He’s smiling as he eats. He swallows and wipes the juice from his lips. ‘I think you might be right,’ he says.

      We keep walking and take him through the vegetable garden. Elizabeth is picking some runner beans.

      ‘Elizabeth,’ I say, rushing over to her. ‘This is Ellis. He’s come to live with us.’ I’m speaking too quickly, dizzy in the sunny air.

      She smiles at me, then kisses her palm and reaches out to touch Ellis’s chest. ‘You are very welcome,’ she says.

      ‘Thank you,’ Ellis replies. I wonder if he thinks she looks like me. Maybe I’ll ask him later.

      ‘We’re going to show him the lake,’ Kate says, picking a green bean and crunching it raw into her mouth.

      ‘Hey,’ Elizabeth laughs, gently slapping her hand away. ‘These are for evening meal. In fact, when you’ve shown Ellis the lake, you’d better come back and help me. The gooseberries need picking and sieving.’

      ‘It’s Pearl’s turn for that,’ Kate says. ‘I definitely did them the last time.’

      It’s one of the tasks none of us likes. The gooseberry thorns are sharp and long. Then there’s the pushing them through the sieve to get rid of the skins. I try not to think badly of it, but it always seems a lot of work for very little to eat.

      ‘I could help you, Pearl,’ Ellis says. I hadn’t been expecting it and I feel my cheeks redden. ‘You’d have to teach me how to do it, though.’

      ‘You’ll be needed in the work barn,’ Kate says.

      ‘Talking here won’t get anything done,’ Elizabeth interrupts. She rubs the base of her back.

      ‘Come on,’ says Kate, and she pulls lightly on Ellis’s arm. I think I should stay and help Elizabeth, but there’s something about Ellis that makes me want to be close to him. Something I don’t understand. So the three of us walk out from the vegetable garden, over the field and into the shade of the trees that hide our lake.

      We walk without speaking. There’s just the sound of dry leaves under our feet. When we get to the lake, I watch Ellis’s eyes and I know that he’s impressed. How could he not be? Surely there’s nowhere on the Outside like this. The water is still as ice, patterned with striking sky blue and deepest greens. Patches of bugs hover and swoop and fly.

      Ellis nods his head slowly as he looks around him. Kate and I are watching him as he bends down and picks a thick, flat piece of grass. He puts his thumbs hard on either side of it and brings it to his lips. A high, raspy call fills the air and shoots through the forest.

      I stare at him. Did I just hear Mother Nature?

      ‘How did you do that?’ Kate asks. She seems uncertain of him, suddenly.

      ‘You’ve never seen anyone blow grass before?’ He’s chuckling at us. And I realise now that it’s a trick. Mother Nature wasn’t working with him after all. And why would she? This strange boy with long hair has an edge that makes me mistrust him.

      ‘No,’ I say strongly. I bet there’s plenty at Seed he’s never seen before. Things much more magical than making grass sing.

      Ellis’s expression changes slightly. ‘Have you lived here all your lives?’ he asks. I don’t think he’s mocking us now. He seems curious. The change in him confuses me.

      ‘Of course,’ I say.

      ‘Yes,’ says Kate, more quietly.

      ‘So you were born here?’

      ‘Yes.’

      ‘So,