2. Jodie

Summary

• Kya's siblings, Missy, Murph, and Mandy, begin to leave due to their abusive father.
• One morning Kya awakes, hoping for a breakfast from her mother, but finds her last sibling, Jodie, cooking in her place.
• They eat breakfast together and try to avoid their father, but he soon appears and horrifies them with his disheveled appearance.
• Later, Jodie informs Kya he is leaving. He advises her to hide from any visitors and their father in the marsh.
• Kya is left alone for the first time after her brother leaves. Fear fills her, but eventually she feels comfort in the familiar sounds and smells of nature and falls asleep.
• Kya's abusive father appears a few days later. He starts a bonfire and cruelly throws Kya's mother's remaining paintings, dresses, and books into the fire, leaving Kya devastated.
• Left alone with her father, Kya learns to adapt, staying out of his way and spending most of her time in the woods and marsh.
• Kya's father, a veteran with a disability, gives Kya some money to buy groceries and orders her to take care of the house.
• Kya learns how to shop for groceries, even managing to overcome her fear and discomfort at interacting with people in the village of Barkley Cove.
• Despite initial difficulties, Kya learns how to cook simple meals for herself with the groceries she buys.
• Even though unsure of her birthday, Kya considers her seventh birthday around the time of the autumn moon. She spends the day hoping her mother will finally return, but this doesn't happen.
• Kya ends her perceived birthday by sharing a quiet moment with a seagull on the beach.