The book focuses on the children's perspective, and they are left to believe their parents have abandoned them. They later discover that their parents were taken away by the "Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children" (SPCC).
The reader can infer that the parents were deemed unfit to care for their children, but the exact reason for their removal remains unclear. It's suggested that they may have been neglectful or emotionally unavailable, but the book doesn't delve into the specifics of their actions or the SPCC's reasoning.
The ambiguous nature of the parents' disappearance adds to the mystery and intrigue of the story, leaving readers to ponder the complexities of family and responsibility.