Chapter 6: Life Imitates Art

Emily came into the girls’ bedroom while Caitlin was brushing her teeth. She stood next to the air mattress and smiled at Kara, who was already in bed. “Thank you for helping me with dinner, sweetie.”

Kara smiled and shook her head. “I don’t mind. I like helping my dad when he cooks.”

“Does your dad need your help? Does he cook to give your mom a break?”

Kara rolled her eyes. “Mom can’t cook to save her life. Dad does all the cooking.” She lifted her right fist and flexed her index finger. “Mom says she cooks like this — dialing for takeout.” She grinned at first, but her smile faded.

Emily sat down on the floor next to her. “What wrong, sweetie?”

“I’m just thinking… about my family.” Her face screwed up. “I miss them all so much.”

“Oh, honey…” Emily took Kara in her arms. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Kara’s reply was muffled. “Maybe…”

“Would it help to tell me about them?”

Kara mulled that over. “I guess. Umm, well, my brother and sister and I get along really well. He’s fourteen and she’s seven, so we like different things, but we have stuff we like to do together too. Like ride horses when we visit Grandma and Grandpa’s farm.

“Jordy spends most of his time with his friends, but he’ll play video games with me, or even play dolls with Laura, which is pretty awesome for an older brother.” Kara was calming down, so Emily let her go while keeping a comforting arm around her. Caitlin had come back in and was sitting on her bed, listening.

“Mom is very… intense. She has so much energy; she’s amazing. Jordy is the same way. If my mom doesn’t like something she doesn’t hide it, either. She and Dad work really hard, so sometimes when they’re busy we don’t get to see them as much.

“Dad is more laid back, like Laura and me. He’s almost always cheerful and happy; I love that. He’s kind of forgetful, though. He’s always running out to take care of things he suddenly remembered…” She trailed off. “Oh… oh! If those comic books Dr. Penny showed me are right, then maybe… that’s when he runs off to be Superman?” She frowned, upset at her parents again.

Emily and Caitlin exchanged a glance, but Caitlin held her tongue.

“I guess that explains why he’s traveled all around the world, too, if he can fly. He… I told him I wanted to see all sorts of places around the world too, and he said someday we’d do it together…” She bit her lip and looked down.

Emily asked, “What kind of places do you want to go?”

“I always wanted to go to the Hebrides, in Scotland. I guess I just like the name. Dad promised we’d go there someday.” She half-laughed. “Maybe it won’t be as hard as I thought.” Her gaze drifted far away for a few moments.

“Kara?” inquired Emily gently.

Kara looked up at her. “Emily… if my Dad is really Superman like those comics say… do you think he’ll come rescue me? I mean, if he’s Superman…”

Emily composed her answer carefully; she didn’t want to encourage the girl’s fantasies. “Kara… remember, Superman is a character in a comic book, and no one could really do the things he does. But even so… I’ll bet your father loves you very much, and he’ll do anything he can to find you and bring you home again.”

Kara considered that, and her face slowly relaxed into a small smile. “Yeah… yeah… you’re right. Even if he’s not Superman… he and Mom… they won’t stop until they find me.” Some of her tension left her, and she leaned over and hugged Emily. “Thank you.”

Emily hugged her back tightly. “You’re welcome. And now… I think you two should get to sleep; it’s late.” She kissed Kara’s forehead. “Good night, sweetheart.”

“Good night, Emily.”

Emily hugged and kissed Caitlin good night as well, then turned out the light as she left the room. Kara was tired, and fell asleep almost immediately.

• • •


Emily, troubled by Kara’s low mood, felt slightly guilty that they hadn’t had much time together during the week. Her foster daughter had been bored Friday night as they didn’t have a lot to read at home that was suitable for a sixth grader, and there was only the one ancient computer to share. Emily decided to dedicate her first weekend off in several weeks to some quality family time.

The fostering course she’d taken had emphasized how important it was for children to feel loved, safe, and part of a family. She didn’t want to take the place of Kara’s own family — whoever they really were behind the fantasy — but she was determined that Kara know that she had a caring family she could count on until her parents could be found.

She’d briefly considered taking the girls to Baltimore or Washington on a mini-vacation, but her limited budget wasn’t really up to it. Besides, she though it might be good for Kara to become familiar with Milford and the surrounding area.

Caitlin grumbled somewhat but acquiesced, as long as she could be home in time to watch the World Series Saturday and Sunday nights. Kara had wanted to get together with her new friend Bailey, and Emily promised there would be time for that.

While Caitlin slept in on Saturday Emily took Kara to the Milford library, where she scoured the stacks like a swarm of locusts. Kara got her own library card and checked out eight titles. They stashed the books in the car, then walked around downtown as Emily pointed out the shops and landmarks. They visited the Milford museum.

There wasn’t a lot else to do in Milford, so once Caitlin texted that she was up and ready they collected her and headed for Dover.

They stopped at the mall and had pizza for lunch. They swung by the movie theaters but decided to pass on the films that were showing.

They went to one of the local bookstores and browsed, but didn’t buy. Kara noted some titles she wanted to find on her next visit to the library.

They found a miniature golf course and played a round. Emily was rewarded by seeing Kara start to unwind. Her foster daughter grinned, she ran from hole to hole, she laughed when she made shots and even when she missed them. The melancholy that had clung to the girl seemed to dissipate.

Kara wasn’t very good at mini-golf but didn’t seem to care much; she seemed happy just to be playing. Caitlin was much better, but was gracious about it and helped Kara all she could. They all had a blast.

Emily was a little worried about spending so much time in the sun with Kara’s photosensitive skin, but nothing bad seemed to come of it. Kara said she didn’t think about the itching while she was having fun, and that it hadn’t gotten any worse.

When they headed home for dinner, Kara was chattering a mile a minute about the fun she’d had, and Emily had a satisfied smile on her face.

While Caitlin watched Game 3 that night, Bailey came over for a couple of hours. It was a little cramped in their small home — especially with a baseball game going on the TV — but Emily was reluctant to let Kara go visiting on her own just yet.

The visit went well, however, and Kara beamed from having strengthened her new friendship. Emily decided she’d been overprotective and resolved to give Kara freer rein in the future.

Sunday they headed for the shore. They drove down to Cape Henlopen State Park and enjoyed the area around Lewes. Kara grew excited, exclaiming that this part of Delaware looked familiar: she was sure she’d been there before. Emily took that as an encouraging sign.

It was a beautiful day, perfect for enjoying the scenery. They ate a picnic lunch they’d packed that morning. They watched the Cape May ferry come and go.

On the way home they turned off Route 1 onto Slaughter Beach Road and visited that stretch of the shore. They parked the car and walked along the beach for a while as the sun hung low over the western hills. Back in the car, they swung by the marinas and went to see the historic Mispillion Lighthouse.

They drove home on Cedar Beach Road. Emily didn’t mention that this was where Kara had been found. She didn’t want the girl to dwell on it.

It was getting too close to game time to go out to dinner or go grocery shopping, so Kara and Emily went to get burritos while Caitlin did her remaining homework for Monday.

After Emily checked that Kara had done her reading for school, the three of them watched Game 4 with the sound turned low. Caitlin gave a play-by-play that was far funnier than anything on television.

Around the sixth inning the day caught up with Kara and she fell asleep against Emily’s side. Emily gently gathered her up and carried her to bed.

Emily counted the weekend a success. She and Caitlin had treated Kara as family, and judging by the number of smiles the little girl seemed happier.

• • •


In her dreams, Kara kept poking the inside of the bubble, and it kept bulging inward randomly, as if something outside was poking too. It was almost like a game.

Suddenly she poked it just so, and it cracked. Shocked, she watched as spidery fractures radiated from where her finger had touched, until the entire bubble was covered. It crumbled to fragments and blew away, like dust in a strong wind.

An enormous flurry of… somethings was running around her, bouncing into her, bouncing into each other. It was like being in the middle of a ping pong ball machine except they weren’t ping pong balls. Sometimes they were tiny winged snakes, sometimes they were little lightning bolts, sometimes they were the pet hamster, Snowpuff, that she’d had when she was Laura’s age.

They flew every which way, bouncing into each other and into her, some of them hot, some of them cold, making her skin itch, running completely wild, all the while giving off noise like television static. They stretched off into infinity.

She tried to ward them off, but they were everywhere. As she batted at them, she yelled, “Stop it. Stop it! Stop it!”

• • •


Kara sat heavily in the seat she’d been assigned in English; now that she knew Megan, she recognized her a couple of seats over and waved. Megan waved back.

Kara was tired, despite having fallen asleep early. She knew she’d had weird dreams again last night but still couldn’t remember them very clearly. She planted her elbows on her desk and used her hands to support her head. She shook herself to try to wake up, and forced herself to sit upright.

The bell rang and the English teacher, Ms. Maloney, said, “OK, everyone. Today we’re going to do something a bit different. I’d like to ask each of you to think of a favorite fictional character.” She noted the excitement in several faces and added, “In written fiction: a novel or short story, not a movie, TV show, or comic.”

Most of the excitement disappeared.

“I’ll call on some of you to name your favorites, and then we’ll have a discussion about what makes them interesting. Take a minute to think of your character and then we’ll get started.”

Kara’s mood brightened; this sounded like it could be fun. She knew instantly whom she had in mind. It was one of her favorite books.

The discussion was halting at first, starting with the obvious candidates like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. A few kids had read Twilight or The Hunger Games. Kara was happy when Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle and Meggie from Inkheart came up; she’d loved both books. Some kids were brave enough to mention characters in books for younger readers, and the discussion really opened up after that.

Ms. Maloney smiled at her. “You look like you have some ideas, Kara. Do you have a favorite?”

Kara nodded, though she felt shy when all the eyes in the room turned to her. “Well… I’ve always loved Amelia Earhart.”

“Who?” asked one boy. Ms. Maloney looked perplexed.

Kara blushed, and ventured, “You know… Amelia Earhart? The woman pilot from The Girl Who Flew?” Everyone was silent. “By Annabeth Houghton?”

Ms. Maloney was squinting at her. “I’m sorry, Kara, did you say Amelia Earhart?”

Kara’s blush deepened. “Yes… I know it’s an old book but I really like it. She’s such a great character…”

A girl said, “No, Amelia Earhart was a real person. I saw a special on her on the History Channel…”

Everyone was looking at her; she dropped her eyes to her desk, her face on fire and her mind swimming. How could Amelia Earhart be a real person? That was like saying Harry Potter was a real person!

After an awkward pause, the discussion moved on. Kara stopped paying attention. She felt like she’d fallen into a book herself: Alice in Wonderland.

• • •