In Chap­ter XXXIII, the nar­ra­tive begins with the pro­tag­o­nist, Mibs, over­whelmed by her emo­tions as she sits on the floor, sep­a­rat­ed from her fam­i­ly, par­tic­u­lar­ly her father, who is in the hos­pi­tal. She is com­fort­ed by her broth­er Will and a case­work­er, Bill, who rec­og­nizes her dis­tress. Bill gen­tly engages with Mibs, val­i­dat­ing her feel­ings and sug­gest­ing that they should go to the hos­pi­tal to find their father, elic­it­ing sur­prise from those present.

As they share their sto­ry, Mibs and her sib­lings recount the chaot­ic events they’ve expe­ri­enced recent­ly. Bill lis­tens empa­thet­i­cal­ly and then deliv­ers somber news about their father’s con­di­tion, empha­siz­ing the need for fam­i­ly dur­ing dif­fi­cult times. Mib­s’s broth­er, Fish, acknowl­edges the grav­i­ty of the sit­u­a­tion, sug­gest­ing they all need to be strong.

Bill address­es the group about the trou­bles they’ve caused, reflect­ing on how their actions have led to con­cern among their fam­i­lies. He reas­sures them about the lack of legal reper­cus­sions for their guardians, Lester and Lill, who had tak­en care of them dur­ing their cri­sis, and notes that he needs their help in trans­port­ing the chil­dren to Sali­na.

Relieved by this news, Mibs silent­ly thanks Bill for his kind­ness, wish­ing her feel­ings could be con­veyed with­out words. After a brief dis­cus­sion, it’s decid­ed that the jour­ney will involve an armed offi­cer for safe­ty, to accom­pa­ny the chil­dren back to their father. Lill com­forts Lester as they embark on this jour­ney, con­tin­u­al­ly encour­ag­ing him.

As they pre­pare to leave, Bill offers Will the chance to ride in the patrol car, a tempt­ing offer that fills Will with con­flict. Ulti­mate­ly, he choos­es to stay with his sib­lings, reveal­ing the depth of fam­i­ly loy­al­ty amidst uncer­tain­ty. The chap­ter clos­es with Mibs reflect­ing on the inter­twin­ing nature of good and bad expe­ri­ences, pon­der­ing the unpre­dictabil­i­ty of life and its lessons.