Cardboard Boy

A humanitarian worker measures the true impact of his commitment. Theo, a dispirited workplace inspector, audits Malak, a child working at a cardboard plant in a port city somewhere in Asia. The child's resilience and low-key fortitude, displaying a maturity beyond his scant years, touch the man. When Malak, the same age as his own son, disappears, Theo cannot let it rest. His quest for answers only raises more questions about the traps of structured help and acquired privilege.
An unsettling 11 000-words psychological drama, quietly told by multiple awards-winning Canadian SF author Michèle Laframboise.