DAY 30

I went down to the river today.

It’s not far from my tiny flat. 1,300 or so steps. I’ve never been this close to the edge before. I wanted to...

I don’t know what I expected.

The tide was out, the water was so still. I stood at the lip of it and wished for something. I’m not going to tell you what (you can guess if you want) but it didn’t happen.

Instead:

When I finally raise my head, eyes stinging, chest thudding, throat empty, I see (I think I see) something floating in the water.

What is it? I register the shape: oblong. The size: small, no more than the size of a diary.

Bobbing. It’s a...book? Because the water’s so still I don’t know how I missed it before; how it managed to find its way to where I stand with my toes just wet.

So of course I fish it out. It’s got a green cover; the wet has made it pucker but I can read the words on the front:

THE FEMALE SHIPWRIGHT 
MARY LACY

I bring it home, push open the door to the flat; thunk goes the door on the Box of Things and I wince before laying this random treasure the Thames has offered up across my hallway radiator; hoping the pages will dry out over night.

Let’s see what secrets you might give me Mary Lacy.

Night.

FOUND was written by Abi Zakarian
Co-directed by Emily Carewe and Jessica Rose McVay
Sound design by Anna Short
Illustrations by Katie Gabriel Allen
Website by NIMA

Ziazan - Jessie Bedrossian
Mama - Nathalie Armin
Lou - Rose Wardlaw
Reena - Amy Trigg
Kai - Emily Steck
Bunny - Gabby Wong
Mateo - Mika Onyx Johnson
Alejandro - Pedro Leandro
Man on Foreshore - Josh Finnan
Stevie - Ché Francis
Lena - Lilly Driscoll
Mary Lacy - Natasha Magigi