At least two inches of snow had fallen when Mama returned. She was out of breath as always, pale, and sweating despite the cold. But she wasn’t whispering anymore.

“I have hot beef and barley soup ready for you,” Raven said. “I’ll put bread in the oven.”

“No bread,” Mama said. “I’ll just have the soup.”

Raven put one bowl of soup on the table. She wouldn’t eat because Jackie said they’d have dinner at the party.

“Aren’t you having any?” Mama asked.

“I had some while I made it. I’m not hungry.”

Mama’s hand shook slightly as she brought spoons of soup to her mouth.

“The snow is pretty, isn’t it?” Raven asked.

“Yes.” She looked at Raven with gleaming eyes. “I saw a spirit I’ve never seen before. It looked like my mother made of white swirls. She was calling to me.”

A cold lump of snow seemed to fall into Raven’s stomach. “You never told me your mother’s earth spirit is here. Why has she come to this land?”

The fervent shine in Mama’s eyes diminished. “I don’t know if it was her. Maybe it was a dream. I think I was sleeping. No, but . . . no. I don’t remember.”

Mama pushed back her chair and stood shakily. “I need to rest. Please don’t disturb me.” She went to her room and closed the door.

Raven put the soup away and cleaned the kitchen. She dusted the furniture with a cloth, though she’d done that two days before. She kept looking out the windows at the snow. It called to her, too. But not as a dead person. It was very much alive, inviting her to go outside.

She put on her boots and coat and wrote a note for Mama: I’m out walking in the snow. I’ll be home later. She put the note in the usual place on the refrigerator with a magnet.

Darkness was coming fast with the snow. She found a flashlight and her warmest hat and gloves.

She crunched through the snow in the direction of the stream. She hadn’t yet decided if she would go to Jackie’s party. The invitation of the snow might be enough for her. She had never walked in heavy snow in the dark before. The crystalline flakes looked like falling stars in the golden beam of her flashlight.

It took a long time to get to the stream. She dawdled in the falling stars, and twice the white darkness tricked her into going the wrong way.

She shined her flashlight on the trickling stream. Its depth would swamp her boots. Her feet would be soaked, cold, and heavy. She either stepped into the water and went straight to Jackie’s house, breaking her promise, or she walked away.

The burbling water was telling her to go downstream, toward Jackie. But that was what water always did. It went where it wanted without thought of consequences.

But what were the consequences? She could think of none. Mama had been exhausted. She would sleep for a long time. If she woke, she would see the note and appreciate that her daughter wanted to walk in the snow. Anyway, she was much too sick to come looking for her.

Raven stepped into the water, and her boots filled. Her feet hurt, then went numb. She walked as fast as she could. She shined her light on the Wolfsbane. All those years, and it was still there keeping the werewolf away.

She hurried onto dry land, through the alder trees, across the field. She saw the fence ahead. Beyond it, the little yellow house with golden windows was a sweet dream in the falling snow.

She walked to the fence. She couldn’t tell if her boots were touching grass that leaned over the boundary. Snow covered everything. She leaned down and slid through the fence boards. She walked a few steps and turned around, shining her light on the fence and her new footprints in the snow. How easy it was.

She jogged the rest of the way to the house, laughing when she tripped over something and fell on her stomach. She ran to the front door and pressed the doorbell, her breath coming out in fast white clouds.

“I’ll get it!” Reece called from inside.

The door opened. “I don’t believe it!” Reece said. “You breached the fence magic!”

“I did.”

“And you survived in one piece!”

“I think I lost my toes. I can’t feel them.”

“Get over here, you damn crazy Bird Girl!” He grabbed her in his arms and swung her in a circle.

Jackie hugged her, then Huck and Ms. Danner. They peeled off her hat and coat, even helped her pull off her boots.

The house smelled delicious, like apples, spices, evergreen, and woodsmoke from the blaze in the hearth. Raven wouldn’t let Ms. Danner take her to get dry clothes until she looked at the fir tree with its tinsel, lights, and shiny ornaments. How strange it made her feel, to see that poor dying tree inside a human house, even as its glittering beauty lit up her heart.

“We started doing Christmas trees when my mom got married,” Jackie said. “My dad loved them.”

“I’m still not keen on it,” Ms. Danner said, “but the boys wanted to continue the ritual.”

“Go put on dry clothes,” Reece said. “We were just getting ready to eat.”

“And you don’t mess with Reece when he’s hungry,” Huck said.

“Unless you’re Bird Girl,” Reece said, rubbing his fingers in her hair.

After Raven changed, Ms. Danner poured her a cup of hot spiced cider. At Reece’s request, dinner was vegan tacos and burritos, same as the last meal Raven had at their house.