Wild Bird

“Something about her letter tweaks me, and hard. […] Just because she can’t handle me, she has me hauled off in the middle of the night, removed from her precious house like a criminal?”

Wren reads her mother’s letter on her way to Utah and feels an intense sense of betrayal. Because Wren’s issues stem from a place of isolation and loneliness, the manner of her removal to camp is an especially painful one, as it makes her feel like her own family has rejected her. This is something that has been criticized by people who have attended such camps, and for someone like Wren who already has trust issues and feels a lack of belonging, the way she is taken to camp is extremely painful.

“Anabella was in the eighth-grade wing and too busy making her own new friends to worry about me. Outgoing and really pretty, she was instantly popular. […] I used to try to live up to that. I used to try hard.”

Wren describes how easily Annabella made new friends at their new school, while Wren didn’t. Annabella’s easy adjustment is painful to Wren for multiple reasons. It makes Wren feel inadequate, for she is unable to find the same social success and feels like she is failing. She also feels left behind, and her loneliness intensifies. This pain eventually turns into hatred toward Annabella, and the sisters’ relationship is strained for a long time.

“Her singsongy voice is not so friendly anymore, but Fine? That’s it? No cross-examination? I watch her as she walks around the desk and toward the door. No calling me a prevaricator?”

Upon lying about her past substance abuse, Wren is stunned when the doctor does not question her further during her physical examination at camp. This reaction is new for Wren, as she has been on the receiving end of her family’s suspicion for the past three years.