Subject: Elliot Asha
Case Officers: Amanda Booker, Nessa Dooley
Amanda Booker
Thank you for talking to us, Elliot.
Elliot Asha
I have to, don’t I?
Amanda Booker
You don’t have to do anything.
Elliot Asha
Kids always have to do things.
Amanda Booker
Do you understand why we’re here?
Elliot Asha
You’re checking on me. Ben said you’d come because I’m adopted.
Amanda Booker
We need to make sure Mr. Elmys is providing a suitable home environment.
Elliot Asha
I’ve lived here since I was a baby.
Amanda Booker
You like it here?
Elliot Asha
It’s my home. That chair you’re in, my mum used to sit me on her knee and cuddle me while we watched TV. My dad and I found a secret hiding hole beside that fireplace. Every happy thing that happened to me happened here. I don’t ever want to leave it.
Amanda Booker
No one will make you leave.
Elliot Asha
But that’s what would happen if you didn’t think Ben was good at being a dad.
Amanda Booker
Did he say that?
Elliot Asha
No. I’m ten. I’m not stupid. I’ve had to grow up. I’m not really a kid anymore, I suppose.
Amanda Booker
You stopped going to school, Elliot. Why?
Elliot Asha
I tried. After my dad… I tried, but my friends kept asking me about Mum and Dad. It made me cry, so Ben thought it would be better if he taught me.
Nessa Dooley
What has he been teaching you?
Elliot Asha
Everything. Maths, English, science.
Amanda Booker
He used to be a scientist, didn’t he?
Elliot Asha
Yes.
Amanda Booker
He worked with your mum and dad, didn’t he? Do you think they liked him?
Elliot Asha
They loved him. He was their friend and my uncle. I’ve known him since I was a baby. They wouldn’t have left me with anyone else.
Nessa Dooley
How often do you eat, Elliot?
Elliot Asha
Three times a day. When he first took me from the home, he was a terrible cook, but he’s studied Mum and Dad’s recipes and learned how to make nearly all of them. He just can’t get Mum’s Bolognese. There was a secret ingredient she used and she never wrote it down. It’s gone, I suppose. No one will ever know how it tasted. I miss them, you know?
Amanda Booker
We know. That’s natural.
Elliot Asha
I see them everywhere. Look at that photo above the fireplace. They look like they’re still alive. I just want them to come home. I want to go to the beach to look for them. It was my favorite place and theirs too. If they’re anywhere, they will be there. Lying on the sand, watching the waves and the dolphins. But Ben says he won’t take me. He says it’s too painful. I loved playing in the sand, and they’d always be there, watching me. Making sure I was safe.
Amanda Booker
Nessa, are you okay?
Nessa Dooley
I’ll be all right.
Elliot Asha
I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry.
Nessa Dooley
You didn’t. Don’t apologize, Elliot. You’re a brave boy. You have nothing to be sorry for.
Amanda Booker
Would you say you’re happy with Mr. Elmys?
Elliot Asha
I don’t know. We talk about Mum and Dad a lot, which makes me sad and happy at the same time, because I never want to forget them, but it also hurts to think about them. I love him, though—Mr. Elmys. Not like Mum and Dad, but in a different way, and he’s kind to me and looks after me. I’m not sure I’m happy. I don’t think either of us is, but we have each other. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Ben is the closest thing I have to a dad, and this is our home. Please don’t make me go away.