‘Stars is just stars.’
Saba and Emmi have finally made it to Mercy’s home at Crosscreek. What they find there is unexpected paradise compared to Silverlake, the only place they’ve known for their whole lives.
‘I ain’t never been so glad to be anywhere in my life’
Mercy’s place is, for the girls, an idyllic dreamland with water galore and peace and quiet. The windchimes leading to the house are mystical almost, and add to the peaceful atmosphere of Crosscreek. The water imagery too create the idea that Crosscreek is a safe haven. The effect the sight has on Saba is quite something considering her usual rock-hard attitude, ‘tears spring to my eyes’. The owner of the place also has great character. Mercy is a strong, wise, independent but solitary woman, ‘Tall. Lean...shrewd brown eyes. Sharp cheekbones’. At first glimpse, she appears to be harsh and likely unwelcoming, yet within a page, she has opened her home to her friend’s children.
‘Your father lied’
But what Mercy has to tell Saba isn’t quite is pleasant. ‘I wouldn’t say hidin...keepin out of the way’. Her endless questions about what happened at Silverlake and the circumstances surrounding Lugh’s abduction suggest she knows more than Saba first believes her to. And she does. To Saba, she reveals that it was most likely the Tonton who took Lugh away, and it doesn’t sound at all like a good thing, ‘couriers, spies, informers, bodyguards...executioners’. They work a lot in a place called Hopetown – ha! – where resides the ‘scum of the earth...robbers...cheats...lowlife’. It’s a place where chaal, the dangerous drug, is dominant. This unravelling of secrets previously unknown to Saba – hidden from her by her father – make her extremely uneasy. It is revealed that she must cross the previously mentioned Sandsea in order to get to Hopetown so she can find her brother. It is also revealed how the Tonton first gained information about Lugh, through a man called Trask, who was there at the twins’ birth but left as soon as Lugh was born to inform the guards in Hopetown.
‘We’re in another world’
Saba also stands by her decision to leave Emmi with Mercy. And yet it is not for lack of care for the child, ‘help her stand’, ‘take hold of her hand so she don’t fall’. No. Saba is definitely beginning to show a care for her scrawny and stubborn-minded younger sibling. Furthermore, Emmi shows herself to be just as tough as Saba; their similarities grow by the page, ‘No. I’m gonna walk’ she says, despite the severe injuries to her ankles. Emmi also possesses the talent of manipulation. She uses it only subtly, but Saba can sense it, ‘Stop playin deaf Emmi’. Her intelligence is also seen in her observing skills, ‘Saba always thinks what Lugh tells her to’; she picks up on a lot. However, Emmi’s youth and easily influenced nature is illustrated in her belief that it’s her fault her Ma is dead, something spoken to her by Saba often. Nevertheless, Saba’s guilt is clear, ‘I look away’ and there is a sense of hope for the sisters yet.
‘Nobody asks to be born into this world’
When Saba goes to leave Crosscreek she has the revelation that ‘a child ought to have a bit of fun’. Maybe this is how she can justify to herself leaving Emmi behind, or perhaps it’s something she regrets from her own childhood, if it even existed. Mercy gives Saba the gift of a heartstone that belonged to Allis, her Ma, but Saba is apparently uninterested and sceptical of it. The scene between Emmi and Saba is the closest we’ve seen so far. The younger sister ‘clings on tight’ to her departing sister who tells her ‘I’m countin on you’.
‘I’ll take care of myself’
Once again, Nero is seen ‘flying ahead’ but he is ‘chased by Tracker’, Mercy’s dog. This could be foreshadowing of Saba’s journey as she takes the next step down her blood red road to Sandsea and Hopetown – but is, or will someone be, chasing her?
~Ella
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