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Back The Wilderwomen
Chapters (37)
  1. Copyright Notice
  2. Dedication
  3. BEFORE
  4. AFTER
  5. ONE THOUGHTS ON SUN HATS
  6. TWO TIME FOR CAKE
  7. THREE TWELVE MONTHS
  8. FOUR PSYCHIC KARAOKE
  9. FIVE A SECOND SLEEPING BAG
  10. SIX SIX MONTHS
  11. SEVEN THE EARLY BIRD GETS THE PANCAKE
  12. EIGHT SIX MONTHS
  13. NINE FOLLOW THE MUSIC
  14. TEN THE STARS ARE BRIGHTER IN THE DESERT
  15. ELEVEN SIX MONTHS
  16. TWELVE EVERY STAR HAS A SONG
  17. THIRTEEN PSYCHIC KARAOKE
  18. FOURTEEN ONE MONTH
  19. FIFTEEN A WELL-TRAVELED HAT
  20. SIXTEEN JOEL VS. THE VOLCANO
  21. SEVENTEEN TWO WEEKS
  22. EIGHTEEN HOUSE OF MEMORIES
  23. NINETEEN IF TREES COULD TALK
  24. TWENTY THREE DAYS
  25. TWENTY-ONE SEARCH PARTY
  26. TWENTY-TWO NOT THE SAME ZADIE
  27. TWENTY-THREE WAVES OF SMOKE
  28. TWENTY-FOUR THE DAY OF
  29. TWENTY-FIVE THE SKY IS FULL OF BIRDS
  30. TWENTY-SIX NEST
  31. TWENTY-SEVEN
  32. EPILOGUE
  33. TWENTY-EIGHT A SONG ABOUT A BIRD
  34. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  35. Also by Ruth Emmie Lang
  36. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  37. Newsletter Sign-up

Zadie asked their neighbor, Mrs. Reyes, to watch Finn while she drove around town. She checked all of her mom’s favorite haunts, the 24/7 Pancake, the laundromat down the street that sold coffee and doughnuts, the stone bridge on the river, and of course the Fro-Yodel. None of the employees had seen her that night, so she headed to the last location on her list.

It was Thursday, open mic night at Hound Dog’s. Thankfully, it was still too early in the evening for anyone to be manning the door, so Zadie was able to slip in unnoticed. She looked around the room of dimly lit faces before heading to the empty stage. A sign-up sheet sat on a stool next to a large speaker. Zadie scanned the list of names but didn’t see her mom’s. Then she approached the bar. “Have you seen Nora Wilder today?”

“I haven’t,” the bartender said, then turned to his coworker at the register. “Hey, April. You seen Nora tonight?”

The woman shook her head. “Sorry.”

A sickening feeling rose in Zadie’s throat as she hurried back to her car. “What have I done?” she whispered to herself. She’d watched her mom leave. She’d watched her leave and had said nothing.

It was her stupid premonition’s fault. It hadn’t said: Stop your mom before she leaves forever! No, it had told her to close the window. And she had. She’d closed the goddamn window. What’s the point of having a psychic ability if you can’t prevent bad things from happening?

There was no point, she decided, and swore never to use her gift again.

TWENTY-FIVE THE SKY IS FULL OF BIRDS

Zadie had turned down what felt like every street, every alley of the little seaside town, but the only sign of life her headlights caught were the glowing eyes of a raccoon glancing up from its roadside dinner of discarded hot dog. She even drove down the sand for a mile or so, looking for figures in the water, but saw no one. When she returned to the stretch of beach they had camped at the night before, she put her car into park and pulled out her phone. No missed calls. She tried Finn’s number again, but it went straight to voice mail. Either the battery had died or she’d shut off her phone. “Finn, please call me back. I’m serious. You’re scaring me.” That was the fifth voice mail she’d left. She would have to try another tactic.