Summary

Oscar’s life finally makes sense to him in a horrible kind of way. He holds his brother for a while, and then lays the wooden boy carefully back where he found him. The comments made by so many people ring in his ears; and he realizes that this explains why he couldn’t remember his past or his time in the Home. He may never have been there at all. Now it makes sense to him that he feels more at home with the trees than with people. They are his family.

Finally, the roaring in his ears subsides and he gets up and does his chores; restocking and dusting – things he was made to do. Callie arrives, but he doesn’t understand her expression. She asks if he has anything to say, but when he remains silent, she tells...