The fourth in a series of true short stories from foster carer Mia Marconi.

Kira first came to foster carer Mia Marconi’s home on respite care when she was three. She had suffered an unimaginable amount of abuse in her short life. Although she couldn’t tie her shoe laces, she could smash a room to pieces; she fought against everything like a wild cat.

At the age of five Kira moved permanently to live with Mia and her family, but by the time she was nine years old the whole family was at breaking point.

Mia is the kind of person who won’t give in and believes she can always change things for the better, but try as she might she can’t change Kira. So after six years, with a very heavy heart, she is forced to question whether she can really help this lost and damaged child.

Raw, shocking and honest, this short story will shed new light on the role of foster carers, revealing the kind of heartbreaking real life situations carers like Mia Marconi are confronted with every day.