Missing May
Author: Cynthia Rylant
Realistic Fiction
Summer lives with her elderly foster parents Ob and May. Ob is an artist and May enjoys working in the garden. Summer loves the small town they live in, even if they don't live the most glamorous life. When May suddenly passes away, Ob and Summer are overcome with grief the pair struggle to live life without their precious May. In addition to missing May, Summer worries that Ob is slipping away from her and tries desperately to get closer to him and make sense of what May left behind. One day, while sitting in the garden, Ob is visited by May's spirit. Summer at first does not believe him, but Ob sounds happy and hopeful, so she goes along with his story. Meanwhile a young boy from Summer's school starts hanging around their house. Cletus is quirky and does not have the best hygiene, making him even less appealing to Summer But, Ob takes a liking to Cletus and in order to make Ob happy Summer puts up with Cletus' long visits and stupid photo collections. One day, Ob tells Cletus the story about May's spirit and the two decide to visit a phychic in the next town over to arrange a conversation with May through the Medium. Summer finds the whole notion a little silly, but Ob is happy and she herself is beginning to believe that May is hanging around. At this point, the venture of talking with May again gets the best of her and Summer agrees to try the psychic. The three take a trip to the next town to meet the woman who can help them get closer to may, but upon arriving at the address the group finds that the woman passed away long ago. Deflated, the group heads back home, dashing Cletus's hopes of visiting the capital on the way home. Ob is heartbroken, and Summer is nervous. But just as they are passing the exit to the capital, Ob's mind changes and he announces that they will visit the capital anyways. In the end Ob realizes that he will see May again some day and for now he needs to stay with Summer. In May's memory Ob places his precious whirlygigs out in the garden, where the wind, "May's spirit" can reach them. In addition to finding closure, Summer gets closer to Ob and gains a new friend who turns out not to be so bad.
