Contents
Chapter 13
Overview
Natalie wakes from fever as Mary forces her out of bed, pushing her toward routine despite severe pain. Natalie bonds with Maeve and limps outside, confronting the reality of her injury and isolation. A buried fragment of a plastic microphone suggests their pioneer world may be staged, jolting Natalie’s perception.
Summary
Natalie wakes from fever to Mary at her bedside, who curtly insists she get up, dismissing Natalie’s terror as moods and threatening to saw off her foot if she refuses. As Natalie sits, she recalls the trap injury and Old Caleb’s comment about its force, and wonders if Old Caleb climbed into bed during the night or if that was fevered hallucination echoing her mother’s voice.
Maeve appears, tender and eager, and curls beside Natalie, offering comfort and chatter about dreams. Seeking a manageable task and companionship, Natalie lets Maeve help choose clothes, lamenting the drab, scratchy pioneer wardrobe. She uses a hand-carved walking stick and leaves her bandaged foot unshod.
At dawn, Maeve leads Natalie toward the chicken coop. Each step throbs; Natalie tests her earlier belief that this could be a film set and realizes the pain, air, and mountains feel undeniably real. Mary briefly appears on the porch, beating a rug, a moment so perfectly composed it unsettles Natalie.
Natalie stumbles and notices a small black object half-buried near her boot. She pries it free and recognizes plastic that looks like a broken lapel microphone piece. Pocketing it, Natalie’s doubt surges: she hasn’t been taken to a set—perhaps the set has been built around her, and Yesteryear is an elaborate fabrication.
Who Appears
- NatalieProtagonist; wakes post-fever, in severe pain, coerced to rise; bonds with Maeve; finds a plastic mic fragment, suspecting a staged world.
- MaryStern caretaker; declares the fever broken, orders Natalie up, threatens amputation, appears doing chores on the porch.
- MaeveAffectionate child; comforts Natalie, helps choose clothes, leads her outside toward the chickens.
- Old CalebPatriarchal figure; recalled commenting on the trap’s force; possibly visited at night, blurring dream and reality.
- Natalie’s mother (voice)Internal/hallucinatory voice urging Natalie to get up, echoing during fever and doubt.