Summary

Mary returned from gathering mint at the start of Chapter 9, “Selfheal,” and Nóra declared they would be visiting Nance again that night, New Year’s Eve. The two discussed the losses of loved ones: Mary’s sisters and Johanna specifically. Nance remembered the first time she banished a fairy from a child, a mute and unenthusiastic girl, shortly after moving to the valley. Following Maggie’s old advice, she used foxglove, and the mother later reported the return of her child. She felt mixed emotions about the proof of her ability to convene with the fairies.

Mary, holding Micheál, and Nóra walked to Nance’s cabin, and Nance asked Mary to chew the mint to release its “juice” once they got there (187). Nance spooned the pulpy liquid into Micheál’s ears, then rubbed selfheal on the soles of his feet...