Summary: Chapter 36

Elaine’s mother finds Elaine in the street as she walks home from the ravine, and Elaine doesn’t tell her mother what happened. Elaine believes the Virgin Mary saved her.

That night, Elaine dreams of being chased through school. A hand pulls Elaine to an invisible staircase, and she ascends until she can no longer hear her shouting pursuers. 

Elaine stays home for two days. Cordelia calls to apologize, which Elaine knows she didn’t want to do. 

Back at school, Cordelia suggests the girls punish Elaine for telling on them. Suddenly, Elaine realizes she can walk away from Cordelia and the others, and that Cordelia’s admonishments had only been Cordelia imitating an adult all along. She compares it to stepping off a cliff and discovering the air will hold her. Finally, she leaves this group of friends behind.

Summary: Chapter 37

As an adult, Elaine often goes into churches to look at the statues of saints, but the statues of the Virgin Mary never look right.

During her first trip to Mexico, Elaine wanders into a small church. Its Mary statue depicts a woman dressed in black with charms pinned to her dress. Elaine calls her the Virgin of Lost Things, the only Virgin statue that seems real to her. Elaine considers lighting a candle, but she doesn’t know what to pray for. When Ben finds her, she can’t remember how she got on the floor. 

Previous section Chapters 31–35 Next page Chapters 36-40 page 2

Popular pages: Cat’s Eye

Take a Study Break