The Key to Extraordinary

“The dark night had already faded to a pretty, pale, blue at the horizon. A cool wind prickled my skin and rustled the branches of the big oak in the center of the field. It was a life sound the wind made, a pretty rasp and then shhh…which was kind of strange considering all that lay before me.”

The early morning imagery that Emma describes demonstrates her appreciation of nature and its beauty, as she relishes every sound and feeling. Also, by describing the wind as making a “life sound,” she suggests that it has its own presence or sentience. The quieting sound that it makes is foreshadowing because her life is about to be upended by her Destiny Dream and her quest to save the cafe, so it is like the calm before the storm.

“But whenever I walk through Blackbird Hollow Cemetery and I call out the names on the stones, I always feel…something. I know they aren’t here, those folks. But I believe they’re somewhere. And maybe what I feel is their happiness when they pull back the curtain and take a look at what’s happening back here on earth.”

Emma describes her belief in ghosts. Although she acknowledges that they may not be tangible, she can feel their presence. The curtain that Emma refers to suggests a thin barrier between the world of the living and the world of the dead, adding a magical element to the narrative.

“It wouldn’t have surprised me one bit if Blue’d popped a wheelie and driven that motorcycle straight into heaven. Kind of like Elijah, in the Bible, with his chariot of fire. Except we’d be on a Harley-Davidson.”

Emma remembers riding with Granny Blue on the woman’s motorcycle on her 10th birthday. She alludes to the Bible and the prophet Elijah, who, despite facing much adversity, never wavered in his belief in God and was rewarded by being transported to heaven in a chariot of fire. By comparing Blue to Elijah, Emma indicates how much she reveres and trusts her grandmother, who also remains tough and steadfast through life’s challenges.