Chap­ter XXI focus­es on the narrator’s reflec­tion on a cru­cial life les­son taught by their moth­er, Mom­ma, about the con­cept of “scum­bling.” In an insight­ful con­ver­sa­tion, Mom­ma explains this artis­tic tech­nique, which involves using just the right amount of paint to bring out one’s unique traits or “savvy” with­out over­whelm­ing every­thing else. The les­son res­onates deeply with the nar­ra­tor, espe­cial­ly in rela­tion to their broth­er, Fish, who has strug­gled with his over­pow­er­ing savvy. This pow­er, com­pared to a wild storm, has been dif­fi­cult for Fish to man­age, but the les­son teach­es that con­trol is nec­es­sary for his abil­i­ties to be both impact­ful and man­age­able, a mes­sage that hits home for the nar­ra­tor.

As the jour­ney con­tin­ues through the chaot­ic land­scape of Emer­ald, the scene shifts dra­mat­i­cal­ly as Fish’s pow­ers inten­si­fy, cre­at­ing a whirl­wind of emo­tions and uncer­tain­ty. The group feels the ris­ing ten­sion, with the nar­ra­tor expe­ri­enc­ing grow­ing anx­i­ety, feel­ing the absence of com­fort and secu­ri­ty as they move fur­ther away from home. The sit­u­a­tion reach­es a cli­max when a “No Park­ing Any Time” sign is lift­ed by the wind cre­at­ed by Fish’s storm, soar­ing through the air, cre­at­ing a moment of real dan­ger. How­ev­er, in a remark­able show of con­trol, Fish chan­nels his pow­ers to redi­rect the sign, which not only dif­fus­es the imme­di­ate threat but also marks a moment of per­son­al growth for him. The suc­cess of this action instills a sense of con­fi­dence in Fish, show­ing that he has begun to under­stand the del­i­cate bal­ance required to har­ness his abil­i­ties.

Once Fish regains his com­po­sure, the group finds solace in each other’s pres­ence. Despite the ongo­ing chaos out­side, there’s a grow­ing sense of uni­ty among the chil­dren and Lill, who sup­port one anoth­er through the tri­als they face. Will and Bob­bi, ever sup­port­ive, bond with Fish, help­ing him cope with the real­iza­tion of his grow­ing con­trol over his pow­ers. Lester, the adult of the group, remains most­ly unaware of the sever­i­ty of the storm, con­sumed by his duties and respon­si­bil­i­ties. Lill, how­ev­er, sug­gests that they con­tin­ue on their jour­ney toward Sali­na, where the pos­si­bil­i­ty of reunit­ing with their father looms large. Her reas­sur­ance pro­vides com­fort to the chil­dren, offer­ing them a glim­mer of hope amid the uncer­tain­ty.

Through­out the chap­ter, we see the char­ac­ter of Lester being weighed down by his grow­ing anx­i­eties regard­ing his job and respon­si­bil­i­ties. His inter­nal con­flict cre­ates ten­sion between his oblig­a­tions and the children’s imme­di­ate needs. Lill, ever prac­ti­cal, rec­og­nizes that the children’s request to go to Sali­na is of para­mount impor­tance and push­es Lester to focus on their needs rather than his own con­cerns about deliv­er­ies. She calls for clear and open com­mu­ni­ca­tion, sens­ing that trans­paren­cy is vital to main­tain­ing uni­ty with­in the group. As they con­tin­ue on their jour­ney, Lill’s deter­mi­na­tion to face their shared cir­cum­stances head-on sets the tone for the group’s resilience in the face of adver­si­ty.

The chap­ter wraps up by empha­siz­ing the inter­nal and exter­nal con­flicts that the char­ac­ters are nav­i­gat­ing. Each char­ac­ter must con­front their respon­si­bil­i­ties, desires, and fears while also try­ing to main­tain a sense of hope for the future. From Fish’s new­found con­trol over his pow­ers to the com­plex rela­tion­ship dynam­ics between the char­ac­ters, the chap­ter show­cas­es the evo­lu­tion of their per­son­al jour­neys. The unpre­dictable nature of their jour­ney serves as a con­stant back­drop, pro­vid­ing both chal­lenges and oppor­tu­ni­ties for emo­tion­al growth. As the char­ac­ters con­tin­ue to forge ahead in uncer­tain times, they are learn­ing to bal­ance their indi­vid­ual strug­gles with the col­lec­tive need to sup­port one anoth­er. The chap­ter high­lights the impor­tance of growth, both emo­tion­al and phys­i­cal, as they move for­ward into the unknown.