Chapter 14

Summary

• Hazel paces the kitchen after hanging up with Peggy Andrews, feeling overwhelmed with thoughts and unsure of what to do next.
• Hazel retrieves a wooden trunk from the linen closet, revealing a key taped inside the door frame, and opens it to find her possessions, including her sister Flora's teddy bear and memories of Harry.
• She repairs the damaged teddy bear named Berry and reflects on her past adventures in Whisperwood and the guilt of neglecting her sister because of her first love, Harry.
• Hazel calls her friend Kelty for support and to share some information.
• Kelty arrives, looking chic as usual, and Hazel expresses her disbelief that Kelty's daughter, Midge, prefers her father, Fergus.
• They go through the trunk's contents, which include articles about Flora's disappearance, overshadowed by major historical events such as WWII news.
• Hazel and Kelty discuss Harry's sketches and Hazel reveals she's kept them, thinking there might be a clue to Flora's disappearance.
• Kelty remembers Flora mentioning Whisperwood to her, a fantasy land Hazel created for herself and Flora when they needed an escape from their reality.
• Hazel shares about the Whisperwood she created, a place of refuge, distinct from how it's portrayed in the book by Peggy Andrews.
• Both women speculate about the author Peggy Andrews and the possibility that she could be Flora.
• Hazel reveals she has already phoned Peggy Andrews but got hung up on, and now she feels she must speak to Bridie Aberdeen to explore if she knew about Whisperwood.
• Kelty suggests searching for Flora and Peggy Andrews but Hazel is hesitant to contact Harry, reflecting on painful past events and the estrangement that followed.
• Hazel admits she hasn't returned to Binsey since she left and feels it's too late to reconcile with the Aberdeens or find Flora, despite their once close relationship.
• The chapter ends with Hazel and Kelty pondering if the path to Flora has become irreversibly obscured by time.