Finn nodded.
Even through the thicket, they could feel the wind from the ocean. They could hear it, too, in the gentlethwapof the cotton drapery and the wind chimes that danced above their heads. It was midafternoon. The sun spilled in through the open roof of the nest. A garland of colored sea glass cast turquoise trapezoids on Zadie’s bare arms.
“I can’t believe she made all this,” Finn said as she ran her fingers along the wall of woven branches. “It must have taken her years.”
“Too bad she didn’t make one for us when we were younger. I would have loved reading in here.” Zadie glanced at her sister out of the corner of her eye. “You know, I’m still having a hard time wrapping my brain around allthis.It doesn’t feel real.”
“Same.” Finn sat cross-legged on the ground and looked up through the hole in the roof. “You know, my bird, Chris, used to do this thing… he’d hop around his loft, flap his wings like crazy, makea ton of noise. I figured he was sick or something, so I took him to the vet. She said it was normal for birds in captivity to act that way. In the spring, they get restless because they know they’re supposed to be migrating, but they can’t.”
“I’m guessing Mom is Chris in this analogy?”
Finn continued, “I asked the vet how birds know how to migrate over such long distances. She said there are lots of different theories—magnetic fields, the position of the sun, even smell—but no one knows for sure.”
“It’s a mystery.”
“So are we, if you think about it.”
Zadie joined Finn cross-legged on the ground. “How are you feeling, by the way?”
“Honestly?” Finn smiled. “Pretty good.”
The fog that had settled over her sister appeared to have been lifted, just as it had from their mother. Somehow their reunion had saved them both.
As if Finn had read Zadie’s mind, she said, “When I was in her memories, I always felt like I was only half there, you know? I guess bringing us back together was enough to make her whole again.”
“Sure, if you want to be corny about it,” Zadie joked.
“If you’ve got a better explanation, I’m listening.”
“Nope. Let’s run with yours for now.”
Finn smiled. “Okay.”
Zadie angled herself toward her sister. “Hey, about the other night—”
“Don’t worry about it. I said some shitty things, too.”
“So we’re good?”
“We’re good.”
The wind struck another chord on the chimes. They listened wordlessly to the music.
After a few moments, Zadie asked, “Was that Kathy you were on the phone with earlier?”
“Yeah.” Finn hesitated. “She says she’s booking me a ticket. Myflight leaves tomorrow. I wish I could stay longer, but I’ve already worried them enough as it is.”
Zadie nodded. She’d known this day was coming, but it still stung. “So you’re taking them up on their offer, then? To adopt you?”
Finn looked surprised. “Oh! No… I told them I love them and that I’ll always be in their lives, but that I couldn’t do that to Mom… or to you.”
A lump formed in Zadie’s throat. “Really? You said that?”
“Unfortunately you’re stuck with me,” her sister said with a smile.
Defying every aloof instinct in her body, Zadie scooped her sister into a hug. She wanted to tell her how much it meant to her that she’d chosen them, how muchFinnmeant to her, but she’d spent all her emotional energy on the hug itself. Instead she cracked, “And to think I was so close to getting rid of you.”
“Ha! You’re gonna have to try harder than that.”