Summary

Still recounting the story of the storm, the narrator pauses briefly to remember, "my mother once said that I'd be amazed at how many things a person can do within the act of falling" (9). Continuing the tale of The Flying Avalons' last performance, the narrator explains that while her mother was falling after the lightning strike, she thought quickly enough to tear her blindfold off. Rather than grasp her falling husband, Anna moved in another direction entirely, grabbing a wire and burning her hands. Eventually she was lowered to safety. The narrator explains that three people died that day. Her mother broke her arm and was knocked unconscious by parts of the tent that had fallen. She was taken to the hospital and stayed there for nearly two months. In that time, she delivered her stillborn baby.

Harold Avalon was one of the...