The Waterfall
Peter stands on the precipice looking down onto a waterfall. A lot of has changed over the course of the past year for the boy and now, looking at the falls, it seems as though it isn’t so much Peter that has changed as the world around him:
“It looked nothing like the falls of only a year ago: those falls had rattled peacefully over a few big ledges in the middle that were so stable you could leap from them. Now, the vast water poured and crashed, poured and crashed, as though furious.”
Vola
Vola saved Peter on his journey to find and save Pax. Ultimately, that relationship was forced to come to an end as Peter and Pax both recognized a fox belongs in the wild. The focus of Peter’s life subsequently shifted to his rescuer, caretaker and teacher and his life now revolves strongly around Vola and her life:
“The old man usually opened up a bag of chips and a beer the instant he got home from work, then heated up a supper out of cans. Tonight Vola’s home smelled like a restaurant.”
To Grief and Back Again
This is a sadder story than the original. Not in terms of particular scenes or events, but just a kind of mournful quality hanging like a dark specter over the entire narrative. It hangs especially heavy over Peter, who doesn’t capable of making an escape:
“Peter wiped his eyes. He had done enough remembering for one day. He had felt his way into grief and maybe felt his way a few steps back out.”
No Hug Zone
Peter has gone a whole year without being hugged. The last person to hug him was his father on the day that Peter had let Pax go. Vola had once tried, but Peter would not allow it. The year without a hug, however, was not entirely due to such obstruction on his part:
“His grandfather—well, his grandfather never attempted, not even when they’d gotten the news that Peter’s dad had died. It seemed as if the old man’s shoulders were rusted and his arms couldn’t rise into an embrace.”
Astrid…Astrid
Astrid is the five-year-old sister of Peter’s friend Ben. But he doesn’t think of her as Astrid. He’s reserved a special private nickname for the young girl that is metaphorically fitting, if his description of her is to believed, Why Echo?
“Not just because she copied everything her brother said or did, and not just because she was a smaller version of him—pale hair, freckled, and determined—but because somehow she was also fainter. As if she weren’t quite there. As if this whole life thing was a toss-up for her, except for how much she adored Ben.”
