What I Carry

Muiriel spends the day before Thanksgiving blissfully cooking and baking with Francine. That night, Kira asks Muiriel to meet her at Blackbird, where she shows her friend a beautiful chalk mural of the Puget Sound that her boss paid her to create. Kira tells Muiriel that her kindness and bravery inspired her to make art for the first time in a year. She watched the documentaries about people who age out of the foster system, and she wants to help Muiriel build a life that will make her happy: “I get why you’re so careful. And I understand you’re scared of being trapped, but I know about the ways to stay, the ways to do things like school. We’re here. We’ve got you” (219). Knowing that Kira means every word, Muiriel hugs her.

When Muiriel was seven years old, she and a boy around her age were placed in respite care on Thanksgiving because her foster parents were going out of town for the holiday. Muiriel was kind to the boy, who had just entered the system. He snuck a miniature dollhouse out of the respite woman’s home and gave it to Muiriel because he saw how enchanted she was by the toy.