BooksBarbecue
Back How to Disappear Completely Save as PDF
Chapters (58)
  1. Cover
  2. Dedication
  3. Epigraph
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. 42
  46. 43
  47. 44
  48. 45
  49. 46
  50. 47
  51. 48
  52. 49
  53. 50
  54. 51
  55. Acknowledgments
  56. About the Author
  57. Back Ad
  58. About the Publisher

But for now, there were sunshine and tulips and foxgloves that bloomed at her heels.

For now, her balsam bark heart beat steady in her chest.

image 50 image

When I look up, Boomer and I are alone once more in the Spinney. As I knew we would be. And I think that’s okay.

Before she ever brought me here, Gram told me that if there was one thing she believed, it’s that there is magic in the world for those who want to see it.

I always thought when Gram talked about magic, she meant fairies and fauns and forest trolls.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever see the charmed folk again, at least not the way I once did. But I know now that there are other kinds of magic in the world.

Like how some people are shape-shifters. You think they’re one thing, and then suddenly they turn into something else completely. Wicked mothers and sisters can become your biggest cheerleaders. Old witches become enchantresses, and kindly grandmothers hide forests of secrets behind their twinkling eyes.

Or like how sometimes, the right person walks into your life and you walk into theirs just when you need each other most. Like you’re each other’s lucky charms.

Or the way that people can live on inside you for a long time, even when they’re supposed to be dead and gone.

And maybe there are such things as curses, too. But there’s also magic in the ways people find to overcome their curses, and maybe even find a way to make something beautiful out of them.

I know now that people can disappear. But they can also come back.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I always used to think of magic as this kind of treasure waiting to be found, like a robin’s egg or a five-dollar bill dropped on the street. Or a forgotten railroad tunnel that can lead you into another world entirely.

But now, I think magic is more like something you have inside of you. Like love or kindness or stories.

I close the journal and put it back into the hollow for Madeline to find. Ivy’s story is finished now. My story, on the other hand, is just beginning, and I have no idea how it’s going to end.

Some mornings, I still wake up and examine my skin for signs that my treatments are working. Thinking that I could find a breadcrumb trail to follow back in time, to when I had only one color of skin.

But today, I looked at my reflection and saw a different girl than the one I was before that first spot appeared on my toe. Not just plain old Emma, but a girl who is totally one of a kind. I saw a girl who is braver than she used to be, and kinder, too. A girl with beautiful sycamore skin.