First Came the Owl Read Online Free PDF

mother’s family. It was amazing. And even more amazing, and sad, was that Nita had almost forgotten her mother’s laugh. Ma-jah hadn’t laughed for such a long time now.
    The bright green and gold memory faded, and Nita looked out at the winter sky of Maushope’s Landing. She pressed her pillow to her chest. She wanted to go home, but there was no home if Ma-jah wasn’t there.
    Suddenly she wondered if that’s how Ma-jah felt about the mango farm. That had been her home. And when she came back to the Landing after her visit, Dad said she was homesick. Nita had never wondered before if Mom missed Thailand. It had always been her and Mom and Dad, the three of them. Thailand was long ago and far away. But did Mom think Thailand was her real home?
    Nita rolled over. I don’t know, she thought. I just want her to come home! I’m homesick. The picture in her mind was of the lighthouse, but now there were palm trees planted out front in the snow.
    Anne had picked up her orange fairy-tale book while Nita was daydreaming. She had a set of these books in lots of colors including pink, green, purple, and blue.
    â€œAnne,” said Nita, “have you ever had a mango?”
    â€œNo,” said Anne, looking up from her book. “What is a mango? It sounds like a dance.”
    Nita laughed. “It’s a fruit. A fruit from Thailand—orange inside like the outside of that book.”
    â€œ Dee -licious,” said Anne. She pretended to bite off the corner of her book. “Tell me more about this wonderful country.”
    â€œI wish I knew more,” said Nita sadly.

Seven
    D AD CAME and picked Nita up early the next morning, before school. “We’ve got to both get packed, Nita,” he said, as they drove through the Landing. “I’ve got to go out on one of the boats, but just for one night, at the very most two.” He looked officially busy, in his blue Coast Guard clothes, and worried.
    â€œI wish you didn’t have to go, Dad,” said Nita. “What about Mom?” She was glad to see that no palm trees had sprung up in the snow by the lighthouse, though a string of colored holiday lights encircled the tower.
    â€œI know, I know, but I have to go.” He unlocked the door to their house and went off into the kitchen. His voice said, indistinctly, “… testing equipment … broken…”
    Nita wasn’t really listening until she heard him say, “I saw Mom this morning … you can visit.… Mrs. S. will…” The house was not very warm, and Dad’s footsteps seemed to echo on the wooden floor.
    She followed him into the kitchen. Dad was polishing his shoes. He had work shoes and dress shoes and he kept them all perfectly polished. The shoes were neat and thin, like their owner. Nita stuck her foot into the row of shoes. Her dirty sneaker didn’t look very Coast Guard–like. Dad pretended to dab some black polish on her sneaker, and she snatched her foot away.
    â€œI’ll need some new shoes if I get picked to be Snow White,” she said. “Do you think Mom will come to the play? If I’m in it?”
    He didn’t answer right away. “I think she’d really like to come to your play,” he said, finally. Dad looked unhappy. The lines in his face were deep and long. He went over to the window and sprayed a few of Mom’s orchid plants. They didn’t look so great. A few leaves were turning brown and they looked dusty.
    Maybe I won’t even try out, thought Nita. She felt cold, as if a little piece of winter ice had gotten stuck in her chest. Here she was at home, and it didn’t even feel like home.
    â€œCome on, kiddo,” said Dad. He sighed as though he were just too tired for discussion. Then he zipped his shoes into his duffel and held the door for Nita. She picked up her duffel bag. On the way to the car, she scooped some birdseed onto the feeder.