Finally a Loss...

As I predicted in my last post, school was a complete mess. Once Miranda got there, there were really few people and they were told that there wouldn't be food or buses or too many subjects. They were also told that if they didn't want to attend school they could go to the principal's office and get textbooks and materials like notebooks and pencils to be home schooled. Of course, Miranda went to the principal's office and she chose textbooks for Jonny and her. Plus she was really happy because she stole a lot of notebooks to keep her diary. That day when she arrived home, Matt announced that there was a letter from dad and Lisa in the post office. It said that they were okay but that they weren't able to get to Colorado, since Kansas city wasn't letting anyone go through to get to other places. They would try other ways of getting to Lisa's parents and they would try to survive too. That let all of them worried. A few days later, her mother tripped and she sprained her ankle, which meant that Miranda was going to have to be responsible of cooking and cleaning all by herself. Plus, she had to visit Mrs. Nesbitt daily, now that her mom wouldn't be able to.

Homeschooling was easier.

One of those days, Miranda and her mom, cut their hair really short because they couldn't wash it anymore and the sad thing is that they didn't even mind about how they looked anymore. Also, as it was to be expected, things got worse everyday. There was no word from dad and by the beginning of October, the natural gas stopped flowing, so everyone had to move their mattresses downstairs so that they could all sleep together by the wood stove and keep warm. To make life a little more miserable, Miranda found out that Megan and her mother died. She understood why Megan wasn't alive anymore but she decided to go to their church to find out what had

happened to her mom. Once she asked the reverend, he said that she had committed suicide after her daughter's death. Miranda couldn't believe it. Days went by and she continued visiting Mrs. Nesbitt, the family neighbor that had taken good care of her when her mother was away in her childhood. In one of those visits, the old woman told her that she was expecting to die soon, that she was weak and that she had some instructions for when Miranda found her dead body. First, she indicated what she wanted each of Miranda's family members to inherit from her. Sure, she had  a son of her own, but he had died with the first waves in New York. Second, she wanted for them to get all of the supplies and food that she would leave in her house so that they had a better chance of survival and finally she wanted for them to give her body to the hospital. Two days after this conversation, Mrs. Nesbitt died. Miranda went to get help from Matt to help her fulfill the good neighbor's wishes. It was their first true loss. They were cheered up a little when Peter showed up with an actual, real chicken for thanksgiving. This really made them look forward to surviving. For a while, life just carried on just the four of them in the house, trying to learn something from those textbooks and trying to carry on.

"We  may not have a future, but you can't deny we have a past" (Pfeffer, 252)
I have sometimes believed that it is useless to study history; after all, they are all dead. I understand however that history repeats itself, and therein lies the importance of learning it. In this chapter of the book, I realized that our identity, our family, or society and everything that we know is made up of our past. Because of all those stories, discoveries, battles and even friendships, our lives and realities are the way they are. It was just interesting realizing how important somethings are even when we don't even realize it.

"Why feel sorry for myself today when tomorrow's bound to be worse" (Pfeffer, 275)
I now see that the author hides some really thoughtful ideas throughout the novel, such as the fact that we never know what will happen next. The uncertainty of whether life will change forever or things will be perfectly fine. This means that we should cherish everyday and have in mind that everything is unique and special in every moment.We should appreciate all the small things life offers because they could be gone any moment. I have learned to appreciate all these little messages that Susan Pfeffer shares with us in every other chapter. It just makes me feel like I am actually learning something from reading this book.

Like I predicted, Miranda's life just got harder. She lost Megan and Mrs. Nesbitt and her supplies are scarcer every time. I can't wait to finish the book! I hope it has an unexpected, non-typical closure. What I mean is that I hope that the book doesn't have a "they lived happily ever after" ending. On the other hand I do wish that at least Miranda survives since I feel so attached to her. I do not understand how she is coping with the loss of two loved ones. Was she mentally prepared for this after all she has gone through? I guess I'll have to answer that by myself.  I have many, many questions, but I don't want to consider them unanswered until I complete reading the book. I will  try to finish as fast as I possibly can to tell everyone who reads this blog my final comments and thoughts on it. I am looking forward to my next post!