Coming Home

By Janet Roberts

10 year old Tom is abducted by his estranged father and taken to Poland, to work the land. From the first moment he is determined to run away and get back to England. But he has no money, no foreign language skills, no friends and is not even sure in which direction to go!
This is an inspiring story about courage, determination and the goodness of strangers.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Janet Roberts
• Release date: Nov 25, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465732378

Janet Roberts

In Janet Roberts' books, you’ll often find someone spending a bit of time by a lake, river or ocean somewhere in the world. Born and raised in Erie, Pennsylvania, on the Great Lakes, she loves an endless view of water for as far as the eye can see. Janet graduated from Temple University with a degree in journalism. After working as a journalist and later as a paralegal, she obtained her masters in communications from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Janet began writing fiction and poetry as a child and never let go of her dream of publishing a novel.  Although her current job as a security awareness program lead has meant moving to a variety of cities, she often returns to her Western Pennsylvania roots in her writing.  

Book preview

Coming Home

Janet Roberts

Smashwords Edition - Copyright 2011 Janet Roberts

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Chapter 1

Of course you leave any time. You free person. Love big house, mighty big car.

But it was lies – all lies. None of it was true. I should have suspected when he told Mum he was taking out for the day, and after she’d gone to work, produced a bag and rammed all my thick clothes into it.

Hey, it won’t be that cold at the zoo! I remember laughing, but he just ignored me.

Get in car he said, and within minutes we were gone.

But we didn’t go to the zoo, we went to the airport.

See nice planes. We take little trip. Big adventure. I felt uneasy. This wasn’t what I was expecting.

Think I’ll just go and ring Mum I said.

No time. Come. Give nice surprise. We ring later.

I wasn’t too sure this would be a nice surprise – like I thought she’d probably go up the wall, but his grip on my shoulder was firm as he pushed me through into the Departure Lounge. At ten I was used to doing what I was told – after all adults knew best.

When I got onto the plane the pilot announced we were going to Poland! I nearly had a fit. Poland! That was miles away, and I definitely wouldn’t be home for tea!

I want to get off! I remember saying, and he laughed, and I saw all the gaps in his mouth were his teeth had rotted. He might be my Dad, but I didn’t feel like his son, and I felt very, very uneasy about this sudden turn of events.

I was sick all the way – nerves more than anything I think and sheer worry. Like how was I going to get home again? He was very unsympathetic.

And it didn’t get any better once we landed. Some friend picked us up at the airport and drove us simply miles and miles into the countryside. They sang a lot, and drank from a bottle, which rather horrified me. I was going to say that drunk driving was wrong, and they’d get points on their licence, but then maybe the rules are different in Poland.

In the end I just curled up in a miserable heap on the back seat and mercifully fell asleep. It was dark when I awoke, and freezing cold. In fact I don’t remember ever being so cold, but we had arrived at an old farm building.

Get out. Home now he commanded, and I staggered stiffly out of the car. Even in the