Finn wasn’t sure how to answer her mom’s question. She didn’t think of her echoes that way. She hadn’t just felt what Nora had felt. She’d become her. Those memories were now as much a part of her experience as her mother’s. “Just that you were lost and scared. I wanted to help.”

Nora squeezed her youngest’s shoulder. “You did.”

“Zadie’s the one who actually found you.”

Zadie squirmed, then shrugged. “I just followed the birds.”

Finn knew there was more to Zadie’s story, but she didn’t press her. “So, wait … if a migratory instinct made you return home, why didn’t you come back a few months later? Isn’t that how migration works? It’s a cycle.”

“I’m not sure,” Nora said, shrugging.

“Birds migrate to nest,” Zadie broke in. Finn and Nora turned to look at her. “You left for Texas when you were pregnant with me, and you stayed until…”

“You were grown up,” Nora finished.

Zadie nodded.

The women were silent for a few moments as they considered this new theory. They could never really be sure why Nora had migrated when she did, just as they could never be sure why Finn and Zadie possessed their gifts. The world was a more extraordinary place now than it had been a month ago, before they knew about stars that sang or trees that talked with one another. It was a world where you could think you’d lost someone forever, only to be reunited years later. A happy ending, Finn thought, profoundly relieved that such a thing actually existed.

“Oh! I have something for you, too.” Finn pulled up her pants leg, undid the silver chain around her ankle, and handed it to her mom.

“My anklet!” Nora gasped.

“I’ve been keeping it safe for you.” Finn searched Nora’s face for a sign as to whether her mom remembered dropping it in their driveway five years ago—if she’d intended it as a bread crumb for Finn to follow or if the act had simply been a side effect of her confusion—but she found no such clarity.

Nora stared down at the tiny letters in her palm. After a moment, she said, “I think you should keep it,” then looped the chain around Finn’s ankle and closed the clasp. “It looks better on you, anyway.”

“Thanks, Mom.” Mom. The word should have come naturally to Finn, but it felt strange on her tongue. Nora was her mom, so then why did she feel guilty? Because Kathy and Steve are my parents, too, she thought. She realized then that she’d made her decision.

“I’ll be right back. I have to make a call.”