SPEAKER_01 1:05

Chapter 5. The door closes behind us, but I barely hear it. It's all I can do to keep my mouth from hanging open. We're in a house, but it feels like we're still outside. Or maybe even more like outside than when we were outside. Plants are everywhere. Huge, prehistoric looking plants. Fruit trees in giant pots, rows and rows of herbs and flowers and ferns on shelves and tables in every direction. Just like when we were walking through the neighborhood. Only it feels easier to breathe in here. The air itself feels alive. The woman leads us out of the foyer. We step into a big room with a long blue sofa and a worn leather chair in the very center, with tables and tables of plants lining the walls all around them. My name is Miriam, she tells me, as she holds out her hand. You and I haven't seen each other in a very long time. My eyebrows are so high that they sting a little. We've met before? Oh yes, many times. You were very small though, so I'm not surprised if you don't remember me. Wow, I did not expect that answer. Amazement stretches my mind wide. How could I forget someone like her? I start to ask more, then notice Peev across the room about to tug an apple off a small tree. I sometimes share my apple slices with him, and he loves apples, so it makes sense that he'd try to serve himself. I don't want him to eat the seeds though, so I hurry to stop him. Plus, it's rude to snatch other people's fruit off their trees, especially in the house. I think so. It hasn't really come up before. Whoa boy, I say, and tug the apple from his mouth. I notice a small clipboard in the apple tree's pot, leaning against the trunk. I glance around the room and spot these clipboards everywhere, in every planter on every table. Is this woman a gardener? Or maybe a scientist? I turn to face her. Why am I here? Miriam smiles, her eyes as green and shining as the greenery all around her. You're here because it's time. Time for what? That remains to be seen. I purse my lips and try to be patient. I guess she's not much for straight answers. Maybe I need to back things up a bit. How do we know each other? Her smile widens as she sits on the sofa and pats the cushion next to her. Come, Coral, let me explain. Finally, I walk Peev her way and make him sit before I take a seat. Then I wait. Miriam reaches over and lays her hand over mine. It's warm at the center, but the fingertips are cool, and her touch makes me remember and then forget a faded something. Colour fills my mind almost like someone tipped a can of lavender paint over my head. I look into her eyes, hoping to understand. I have known of you since before you were born, Quirl, and I met you on the very day you entered this world. All I can do is blink and hope that this will make sense soon. Your mother and I knew each other very well. I was her research assistant and her very good friend. She squeezes my hand and then clasps it to hers in her lap. If my name doesn't sound familiar, it's because you knew me as Mimi. Mimi Mimi I say it to myself over and over and each time something new flashes in my mind. Ginger cookies, peppermint tea, a nubby blue sweater, a small metal ball, like a dozen rubber bands cast in copper, shining at me from the top of a very messy desk. I look up at her again and see her this time, like my mind turns the camera lens and brings her into focus. Mimi I remember a Mimi. I just murmur the crinkle lines around her eyes and the deep dimple, just one dotting her cheek, tumbling me into a warm bubble of deja vu. Her face relaxes. I am so happy to hear that. But why am I here now? Miriam takes a deep breath. Clearly you've come here because you are ready. I want to flop back in my seat. I usually really like puzzles, but they're driving me kind of nuts right now. Okay, what am I ready for? That too remains to be seen. No offense, Miriam, but you just don't sound like a scientist. That makes her laugh, and the sound jolts me into a memory. I see her and my mother nodding and talking as they work, then bursting into laughter as I stumble toward them in my mother's lab coat. Tears flood the rims of my eyes and I clap my hand over my mouth with a gasp. You now remember me as a scientist, don't you? Mimi asks, and I nod. She nods too. Very good. Where's my mom? The question, the one I never allow myself to ask anymore, just pops out of my mouth before I know what's happening. She reaches out for my hand again. I know you miss her coral, and I know she misses you. My heart does a funny jumping thing. She knows my mom misses me. Present tense? So you're in touch with her? You know where she is? In theory, I do. I just can't take it anymore. I pull my hand away and this time lean away from her and against the back of the sofa. The compass starts shifting in my pocket and I pull it out. Why did this show up at my house? Miriam winks at me, her bright eyes seeming more pixie than human. Now we're getting to the right questions. I try to think of an answer for that one, but I'm stumped. It appeared because you asked, Coral. My brain itches a little. I asked for a compass? She raises a pointer finger in the air. You asked for change. I make a little nod. That part is true. In your case, this will be no ordinary change, no typical right turn instead of left. You, my dear coral, have a destiny, and by making the request you made today, you have set that destiny in motion. My pulse starts a warning beat. Thump thump. Friend of my mother's or not, this is sounding a little crazy. I lean forward, desperate to understand every word. Much of what comes next will not make the kind of sense you're used to. It will not make the kind of sense you've been taught should rule the world. But that word should is key. Shoulds belong to man, not nature. And they can cause sometimes more harm than good. I gulp, suddenly feeling like I'm in school, though I have no idea what class. A weird urge to run home rushes through me like a tidal wave is coming, and I might not survive out there on my own. I gulp again, desperate for more air. Maybe I don't really understand any of this at all. I can tell you're overwhelmed, Coral. So let me just say this. You have a mission, and while I know its intention, I'm not allowed to give you specifics. I can tell you that by accepting the compass, you have activated your unique destiny to become Pathfinder of the EcoMasters. As Pathfinder, you will find a path that leads in ways that I cannot explain to three other girls of your age, and together you will become the drops which lead to a wave of change on our dear planet Earth. All I can do is stare at her. She looks normal and kind, not like someone I would usually fear. I glance over at Peev, who's curled up and dozing near her feet. He doesn't seem bothered by her at all. I don't know what to say, I tell her finally. Understandable, she smiles. And irrelevant. The process is now set in motion. I stand up. It feels like I've been here for days. Well okay then. I guess I'll be going. She jumps to her feet and pulls me into a hug. It has been beyond wonderful to see you again, dear Coral. We shall have more time together in the future. But for now, let the compass be your guide. Sure, I tell her, I'll go wherever it takes me. As I say this, I wonder if she's ever really looked at that thing. Even if I promise to follow it, I have no idea how to read those symbols or if it even has all the right parts inside. Don't compasses use magnets? Excellent, excellent! You will be an exceptional pathfinder, Coral. You bet, I tell her, so ready to get out the door. Come on, Peev, let's get home. He looks up at me, clearly happier to keep napping, but I gesture for him to get up, and he finally pushes his big leg to a stand. I grab hold of his leash and, following Miriam, tug him out of the room. Just before I get to the foyer, I glance down at one of the plant tables. A copper ball lies there, nestled between some ferns. Exactly the one that I pictured in my mind earlier. My mouth goes dry and I think about doing something I never do stealing. I mean would she really even miss it? And why do I care so much? I start to walk away because I am not a thief. But then this strange, bubbly energy rolls through my body and I freeze, a little scared and a lot cler curious. What the bleep is happening to me? Faster than I knew I could move, I reach out, snatch it, and tuck it into my pocket. Then tug at my t-shirt so it flops loosely around my middle. Whatever this is, whatever it used to mean, I know in my bones it's also part of my mom. I may have walked across New York City to end up with more questions than answers, but at least I can leave with a little piece of her. Please take the greatest of care, Coral, Miriam says as she opens the door. You too, I tell her. She rubs my shoulder as I pass, then reaches down to Pat Peeves' hind end. Keep the watch, Peave, we're counting on you. He gives a sharp wag of his tail, almost like a soldier salute, and then keeps walking. I follow him to the street, mystified, but more determined than ever, to figure out why everyone's so worried about my safety.

SPEAKER_00 16:18

Hi everyone, this is Lucy again. Just to recap on chapter five, we learn, or we meet Mimi, who we learn that she was a part of Coral's life when she was younger, and how she used to be best friends with Coral's mom. We learn a little bit about Coral's mom and how she plays a part in this mysterious world that she's kind of getting herself into. And we learn a little bit about what Coral's involving herself in, which leads to even more questions, which is kind of interesting. But I'm just really excited to see how the plot line revolving around Coral's mom evolves, and how we learn a bit more about how she plays a part in the happy finder world that Coral's starting to get into. I also find it really interesting how Mimi says that Coral asked for the compass and how Mimi knew that Coral was ready when she started and wanting to shit. And so I just thought that that was very interesting. And I'm really excited to see what the next chapter is.