Orphan Island

The other kids all disappear to their own cabins early that evening, which is typical for nights when there’s been a “Change.” Normally, the children eat dinner together and then sit around the fire circle while the Elder reads a book aloud. However, on nights when a Change has occurred, everyone goes to their separate cabins early to be alone, except for the Elder, who gets acquainted with the new child, or Care. Jinny is so distracted on the dock after Deen leaves that she almost forgets about her new Care, Ess, who at first keeps asking about “Mama,” and Jinny doesn’t know how to handle it. She takes Ess to her cabin, where she’s meant to sleep head-to-toe next to Jinny—in one of many “Elder Lessons,” Deen explained that this prevents the child from drooling on the Elder’s face.

Ess won’t go to sleep, so Jinny leaves to get some tea for them both, first stopping by Sam’s cabin to collect Deen’s mug, which will now become Ess’s mug. Jinny then heads to the outdoor kitchen that the children all share, where a kettle of clean, hot water is always kept. She gets the tea and returns to Ess, who is still asking about “Mama.” Jinny is sad because she doesn’t know how to help with this. She can’t relate to what Ess is feeling because she doesn’t remember arriving at the island and certainly doesn’t remember missing her “Mama” or even if she had one.

Jinny wakes up in the morning to Ess sticking her fingers in Jinny’s nose, which catches her off guard; she smacks Ess’s hands away, making her cry. Jinny offers Ess breakfast to cheer her up and leads her down the path to the kitchen. Ess is thrilled by all the animals, flowers, and sunshine. Along the way, Jinny shows Ess the book cabin, storage cabin, and “wishing cabin,” which is like a toilet. Jinny is relieved to learn that Ess is potty trained and doesn’t require help. However, Jinny realizes that Ess will need help with many things and that Jinny will be the one responsible for helping and teaching her everything she needs to know to survive on the island.

Normally, each child has specific jobs, and cooking is Ben’s job. However, all the children are allowed to pitch in here and there and to fill in to do others’ jobs when necessary. Jinny starts cooking eggs and grilled plums because no one else is awake yet and Ess is hungry. Ess has had eggs before but not plums. The eggs start exploding, and Ben comes to take over cooking. Eevie complains that Jinny woke everyone up. Jak and Oz, who are best friends and almost twin-like (despite being two years apart in age), welcome Ess. Jinny introduces Ess to Sam, Joon, and Nat. The order of the children from oldest to youngest is currently Jinny, Ben, Joon, Oz, Eevie, Jak, Nat, Sam, and Ess.

Jinny’s job is to gather firewood, and while she hopes to leave Ess somewhere else while she does this, Ess follows her, so the job takes longer. At breakfast, Ess makes a slight mess while feeding herself. Eevie and Oz fight over the last plum, and Ess hides under the table. Jinny comforts her by climbing underneath with her, which makes Ess giggle and smile. This, in turn, makes Jinny feel more cheerful as well.

After breakfast, Jinny takes Ess to get rid of the shoes that she arrived on the island with. This is part of their initiation, and the Elder always helps the Care do this on the Care’s first full day on the island. All old shoes are discarded in a special pile on the beach, which stays there like a shrine. Jinny explains that without shoes, their feet get tougher, making it easier to walk on the island’s varying terrain. Ess wants to keep her shoes, which she calls “Mama shoes.” This surprises Jinny; she has never heard about any other Cares resisting the rule before. She considers letting Ess keep her shoes for now but then remembers how Deen believed that there’s a reason for each rule, even if they don’t understand what it is.

Jinny tries to convince Ess to give up her shoes by pointing out her own old shoes in the pile and by saying that everyone does it. These strategies don’t work. Finally, she compromises, saying that Ess can keep the shoelaces, which Jinny will make into a bracelet that Ess can then call “Mama” instead of the shoes. Ess agrees to this; she throws her shoes in the pile, and Jinny fashions the laces into a bracelet on Ess’s wrist. Jinny promises that Ess can always keep the bracelet and that it’ll protect her and keep her company like Mama.

Jinny also shows Ess the island’s snakes, which aren’t poisonous and don’t bite. Ess is scared at first because, as Jinny knows from books, snakes often are dangerous. However, she tries to convince Ess that island snakes are different. Next, Jinny takes Ess to the storehouse to get her some clothes. All the children wear the same clothes: pants and a tunic made from green fabric. The storehouse has many of these uniforms but not an unlimited number, and the supplies are never replaced. Whenever a new child arrives or someone outgrows their clothes, they get new ones from the storehouse. Clothes that become too worn out for use are repurposed as rags. After getting Ess new clothes, Jinny and Ess return to find Nat and Eevie shucking “ersters” (oysters), which Jinny helps with. They find a pink “moonball” (pearl), which Ess wants to keep, but Eevie snatches it instead.