Summary

Marianne often visited her Great-Uncle Matthew in the nursing home when she was a child. She often “took him flowers from the garden, fairy cakes I had helped to decorate, my paintings, coconut ice…I liked him” (38). He was dying of bone cancer.

Marianne’s mother believed in fairies and other fantastical creatures, imbuing this belief in her children. She connected many of her beliefs to nature such as “The tree roots hanging down inside the little sandstone cave above the bridge were never an old witch called Grandma Grump It was always tree roots” (42). As a child, Marianne certainly enjoyed the stories and believed in something more whimsical than the physical world. Now that she is looking back, however, she wishes she had more memories of her mother that were grounded in reality. After her mother left, it was difficult to accept...