Chap­ter XXXIII begins with Mibs feel­ing com­plete­ly over­whelmed by the emo­tions swirling with­in her as she sits alone on the floor, sep­a­rat­ed from her fam­i­ly, with her father in the hos­pi­tal. The absence of her father’s com­fort­ing pres­ence has left her feel­ing unset­tled and unsure, and the weight of the moment caus­es her anx­i­ety to rise. Her broth­er, Will, notices her dis­tress and, along with a case­work­er named Bill, steps for­ward to offer her com­fort. Bill, rec­og­niz­ing how deeply affect­ed Mibs is, speaks to her with a gen­tle under­stand­ing, acknowl­edg­ing the pain she’s expe­ri­enc­ing. In an attempt to help ease her tur­moil, Bill sug­gests they go to the hos­pi­tal to find their father, a propo­si­tion that catch­es every­one off guard, as they had not expect­ed this offer. The sug­ges­tion is unex­pect­ed but also car­ries with it the promise of a sense of direc­tion, which leaves every­one in the room both sur­prised and cau­tious­ly hope­ful.

The sto­ry takes a reflec­tive turn as Mibs and her sib­lings begin to recount the chaot­ic events that have brought them to this point, shar­ing their per­spec­tive on every­thing that’s hap­pened. Bill lis­tens close­ly, offer­ing empa­thy as he absorbs their sto­ry, not inter­rupt­ing but instead show­ing them the care they need in this moment of cri­sis. After they fin­ish, Bill somber­ly informs them of their father’s con­di­tion, empha­siz­ing that the family’s pres­ence is cru­cial dur­ing such a dif­fi­cult time. This news fur­ther height­ens the sense of urgency, and Fish, who has always been aware of the weight of respon­si­bil­i­ty, acknowl­edges the grav­i­ty of the sit­u­a­tion. He sug­gests that every­one, no mat­ter how chal­leng­ing it may be, must remain strong in order to help their fam­i­ly through this tri­al. His words res­onate deeply with­in the group, as they real­ize that the sup­port of one anoth­er is essen­tial to get­ting through this hard­ship.

Bill then address­es the actions they’ve tak­en that led to the cur­rent sit­u­a­tion, acknowl­edg­ing that their behav­iors have caused con­cern among their fam­i­lies and the peo­ple around them. He reas­sures the group that there are no legal ram­i­fi­ca­tions for Lester and Lill, who have been the ones look­ing after the chil­dren dur­ing the chaos. Bill’s words help calm their fears, remind­ing them that the imme­di­ate con­cern is to safe­ly trans­port the chil­dren to Sali­na, where their father is being treat­ed. The news that there would be no legal con­se­quences brings a mea­sure of relief, allow­ing the group to focus on what’s impor­tant next—getting to their father. Mibs, feel­ing a deep sense of grat­i­tude toward Bill, silent­ly thanks him for the reas­sur­ance and kind­ness he has shown through­out this dif­fi­cult time. She wish­es, how­ev­er, that she could express her thanks more open­ly and with more depth than mere words could con­vey, yet in her heart, she knows the com­fort his pres­ence offers is invalu­able.

After a brief dis­cus­sion, the deci­sion is made that an armed offi­cer will accom­pa­ny the chil­dren for safe­ty on the jour­ney to the hos­pi­tal. Though the deci­sion is made to ensure the children’s secu­ri­ty, it also makes the sit­u­a­tion feel even more seri­ous, height­en­ing the ten­sion in the room. Mibs can’t help but notice the change in atmos­phere, feel­ing the weight of their cir­cum­stances more acute­ly. Mean­while, Lill com­forts Lester, offer­ing him words of encour­age­ment and sup­port, remind­ing him that they are all in this togeth­er. She reas­sures him, pro­vid­ing the emo­tion­al strength he needs to face the jour­ney ahead. As the fam­i­ly pre­pares to depart, Lill’s con­tin­ued sup­port offers a sense of sol­i­dar­i­ty, help­ing to steady everyone’s nerves.

As they get ready to leave, Bill offers Will a chance to ride along in the patrol car, an offer that is tempt­ing but also cre­ates inter­nal con­flict for Will. The idea of leav­ing his sib­lings behind, even in the safe­ty of the patrol car, feels wrong to him. Will, after a moment of hes­i­ta­tion, choos­es to stay with his sib­lings, fur­ther solid­i­fy­ing his com­mit­ment to his fam­i­ly. His deci­sion high­lights the strong famil­ial loy­al­ty that runs through the sib­lings, empha­siz­ing that, despite the uncer­tain­ty and fear they all face, they are com­mit­ted to stick­ing togeth­er. This deci­sion is not just about prox­im­i­ty but about the emo­tion­al ties that bind them, and Will’s choice under­scores the depth of the con­nec­tion between them.

As the chap­ter draws to a close, Mibs reflects on the unpre­dictable nature of life and how both pos­i­tive and neg­a­tive expe­ri­ences are often inter­twined. She con­sid­ers how the lessons she has learned from this chaot­ic jour­ney are shaped by the con­trasts between hard­ship and love, uncer­tain­ty and hope. The events that have unfold­ed so far have taught her valu­able lessons about the unpre­dictabil­i­ty of life and the pow­er of fam­i­ly sup­port. Mibs real­izes that despite the chal­lenges they face, the pres­ence of her fam­i­ly offers strength in the face of adver­si­ty. She also rec­og­nizes how each expe­ri­ence, whether good or bad, plays a cru­cial role in shap­ing the per­son she is becom­ing. As the jour­ney to Sali­na con­tin­ues, Mibs holds onto the hope that, despite the uncer­tain­ty ahead, the love and sup­port of her fam­i­ly will guide them through this dif­fi­cult time.