She looked at the Wolfsbane, thinking of Jackie. He was the only person who didn’t make her feel like she might need to fly away. She supposed it was the part of her that was a human being that made her like him.

But she wished she didn’t. It hurt too much.

“Let’s go find you an insect,” Raven said to Baby.

She ran away from the Wolfsbane, pretending she was flying, and Baby flew with her.

When she got home, Mama was in a sad mood. Raven was almost more afraid of the sad moods than the angry ones. Mama was lying on the ground by the back door. Her eyes were open, staring up at the sky.

Raven knelt next to her. “I’m home, Mama,” she said.

“I’m a bad mother,” Mama said without looking at her. “I should have left you in the forest.”

“You asked for me. I was yours. You were supposed to take me.”

“I did ask for you.” Tears pooled in her eyes, and when she closed the lids over them, they squeezed out like two tiny creeks that ran down her cheeks.

“You’re a good mother,” Raven said. She kissed her cheek. “I’m going to make dinner.”

Mama was silent, her eyes closed. It scared Raven. Every time it happened, she was afraid Mama would never open her eyes again.

She went inside and heated leftover casserole in the microwave. When she returned to tell Mama dinner was ready, the sun was behind the trees and hills. “Mama, I’m going to help you get up, okay? You need to go inside.”

She tried to lift Mama by her arm, but she wouldn’t move. Raven went inside and put some casserole on a plate. She poured a glass of milk and ate sitting next to Mama in the growing darkness.

After she put the dinner things away, she tried to get Mama up again, but she wouldn’t move. Raven got two pillows and a blanket. She lifted Mama’s head, put a pillow beneath, and spread the blanket over her. She lay down under the blanket with her arm wrapped around Mama. A barred owl talked to Raven for a while, telling her everything would be okay.

She woke in darkness, wet with dew. She put her hand on Mama’s cheek. Her skin was cold. “Mama, we have to go inside. Mama, Mama . . .”

She kept at her until finally Mama sat up. Raven took her arm to help her stand and walked her into the house. She led Mama to her bed, put a nightgown on her, and slipped socks on her feet. “I’ll make you breakfast,” Raven told her.

“No,” Mama said, staring.

Raven always wondered what Mama saw when her eyes stared. It had something to do with the earth spirits. Raven was afraid the spirits would one day pull her too far into their world. They would want Mama more and more as she came to know them better.

Raven spent the day keeping Mama in the world of people. She talked to her, brought her water and food, made her go to the toilet. She did her lessons in Mama’s bed, telling her about the work as she did it. She read her books.

A few times, Raven went outside to feed Baby. “Mama is with the spirits,” Raven told her. “I can’t be with you today.”

Baby flew down from the tree and perched on the fence that protected the vegetable garden from rabbits and deer. “I wish you knew my way of talking,” Raven said. “I would tell you to go to the Wolfsbane and see if Jackie is there. If he is, you could tell him I can’t come today. I can’t go there until Mama comes back.”

Baby tilted her head and looked at Raven, her dark, shiny eyes serious, as if she understood. She opened her wings and lifted off the fence.

“Tell him I’m sorry,” Raven called as the blue streak disappeared into the trees.

7

Mama spent almost two days in the world of the spirits. When she returned, she was sad and shaky. Coming back to the world of humans was always hard for her.

The next morning, Raven went to the Wolfsbane. Jackie wasn’t there. Baby flew to a tree on Hooper’s side of the stream and called to her. Raven thought she wanted her to go to Jackie’s house. She walked farther downstream, past the Wolfsbane, saying to Baby, “I can’t go there anymore. I ran away from his mother.”

Baby kept calling to her.

“No,” she said. She turned around and saw it right away, a blue piece of paper stuck onto the deer antler inside the “ancient” TV. The paper had writing on it. She pulled it off. Jackie’s printing was bigger and more wobbly than hers. It said, Meet me at noon Sunday.

Baby landed on her shoulder.

“Is this why you flew over here? You wanted me to see this?”

Baby made a soft sound and fluttered her wings.

“Thank you for showing me.” She gave the bird a peanut.

Raven wasn’t sure what day it was. She hoped she hadn’t missed Sunday while she was helping Mama. She crumpled the paper and hid it under a log as she walked home.

Mama was in the kitchen cooking. It was nice to see her doing that.

“Did you have a good walk?” Mama asked.

“I did.” She couldn’t say how wonderful it had been. Because Jackie had written her a note and wanted to see her again.

Raven went to the hanging calendar Mama made her mark every day to teach her about days, weeks, and months. “I forgot to mark my calendar,” she said. “Do you know what day it is?”

“I’ve lost track. Let me see.” She went into her office to look at her computer.