Chapter 3

Summary

• Hazel and her younger sister Flora are sitting in the grass of their back garden in Bloomsbury, England, during September 1939.
• Their mother is working at the Royal Voluntary Service, and they are waiting for her to return home.
• The threat of bombs and the impact of war are constant worries for Hazel, who often wakes up wondering if it's the day they will have to flee for safety as part of Operation Pied Piper.
• Hazel recalls the painful memory of her father leaving in his military uniform and the feeling that everything would unravel without him. That was the last time they saw him; he died in RAF training due to a plane engine failure.
• With their father gone and war looming closer, the family's home feels dimmer and quieter, and the girls have their knapsacks and gas masks ready should they need to evacuate.
• Hazel tries to calm Flora and distract her from the fear of bombings and the possibility of evacuation by telling a story about an invisible and magical place called Whisperwood and the River of Stars.
• Hazel and Flora imagine themselves entering Whisperwood, a safe and magical land where they can choose their adventures and become anything they wish—like bluebirds in their current tale.
• The story provides a temporary escape from their worries until they are unexpectedly interrupted by their mother's return.
• Their beautiful mother appears distressed, with a crooked line for a mouth and smudged eyeliner, holding a fluttering cream-colored piece of paper.