by Ellery Adams
Delilah’s face appeared on the other side of the ticket agent’s window.
“Guess what, Ms. Pennington?” The girl’s cheeks were pink and her cornflower-blue pompom hat was speckled with snow.
“What?” Nora asked.
The girl bounced on the balls of her feet. She was practically humming with excitement. “Harry made you a present!”
Delilah’s mother came up behind her daughter. She put a gloved hand on Delilah’s shoulder and said, “Let’s give Harry some space, okay?”
At first, it looked like Delilah might argue, but when her little brother raced ahead to the children’s section, Delilah smiled and hurried after him. Nora watched them. She loved that a toddler knew exactly where to find his favorite books in her store.
With his brother and sister out of the way, Harry approached the window next.
Over the past few months, Harry had become a regular in Miracle Books. He and his best friend had started a snow removal business and, with a record amount of snowfall in Miracle Springs that winter, the boys were making out like bandits. Not only had success given Harry an extra boost of confidence, but he also earned his own spending money. To his mother’s delight, Harry spent half of his earnings on books.
Harry said hello to Nora and proceeded to tell her about his art class. For whatever reason, he found Nora easy to talk to. The feeling was mutual, and Nora looked forward to Harry’s visits.
“We’re doing a unit on origami,” he said, going into more detail about his class. “I’m not very good at art, but I made this last week. It’s for you.” Harry placed an object bundled in newspaper on the counter.
Nora carefully tore the newspaper, revealing a hardcover copy of David Copperfield. The green cover of the discarded library book had been pierced at both ends. Equal lengths of fishing line ran from the cover to a metal ring.
“That’s how you can hang it up,” Harry explained, pointing at the ring.
Nora hooked her index finger through the ring and raised the book into the air. The fishing line pulled the book apart, and though Nora expected to see a fan of downward-facing pages, a dozen origami birds tumbled out from under the splayed cover instead. Each bird had a unique shape, color, and paper pattern. There was a pink rose flamingo, a white snowflake crane, and a glittering green duck, to name a few. The paper birds, which also hung from fishing line, swayed and twirled as if celebrating their freedom.
“It’s a mobile,” Harry said. “You could hang it here. If you want to,” he hurriedly added.
“Oh, I want to.” Nora smiled at him. “Harry, this is the most wonderful gift I’ve ever received. Thank you so much. I’ll hang it at the checkout counter so I can look at it all the time.”
Harry was about to turn away when Nora told him to wait. “I have something for you too.”
“You do?” Harry’s eyes were round with surprise. “A book?”
“Kind of. It has something to do with a famous book character. You and he have the same name. Plus, you remind me of him because he’s smart, funny, and kind. Anyway, the newest addition to Miracle Book’s menu is named after you both.”
Nora asked Harry to wait a moment while she made him something to drink. A few minutes later, she presented him with a steaming cup of hot chocolate topped with a layer of rainbow marshmallows. Floating on this marshmallow island was a cone of whipped cream.
As he took the drink in his hands, Nora showed him the menu board.
“Harry Potter Hot Chocolate with Magical Marshmallows,” he read aloud.
“That’s right. For you, Harry, this drink will always be free.” Nora pointed at the mug he held, which was decorated with a simple pair of round spectacles and a lightning bolt. “Your drink is too hot to try this second, so why don’t you get your brother and sister and I’ll make some magical hot chocolate for them too?”
Harry went off to fetch the rest of his family and Nora began making two more hot chocolates.
Delilah and her little brother appeared in the ticket agent’s window. They waited quietly, though their bright, curious eyes indicated that Harry might have given them a hint of what was to come.
Nora placed the hot chocolate on the ticket agent’s window ledge and the children’s mother carried the mugs to the coffee table. She covered the surface with napkins and told her kids not to spill a drop or they’d lose their chance to take a new book home. She winked at Nora over the heads of her children, signaling that her words were an empty threat.
Later, after the family had left with their purchases—Good Night, Gorilla; Misty of Chincoteague; The Dangerous Book for Boys; and The Other Boleyn Girl, Nora prepared to hang Harry’s mobile. She found a little hook in the box of random hardware she kept in the stockroom and hammered the hook above the cash register. She carefully picked up the mobile but didn’t hang it right away. Instead, she turned to the beginning of David Copperfield and read the first line.
“‘Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.’”
Nora didn’t read any more. After hanging the mobile, she spent a long time sitting on her stool, watching the paper birds float and spin, pushed along by invisible air currents.
As she sat in her quiet store and watched the flight of the origami birds, she remembered the books and the birds Abilene had created in the display window. Unlike Dickens’s character, who didn’t know what role he’d play in determining his own future, Nora believed that Abilene would be the hero of her own life. She didn’t need anyone else to save her. Like most people, she needed love, support, and understanding. But she didn’t need rescuing. She could rescue herself.
On the other side of the window Abilene had once decorated, the snow fell.
Nora sat in her warm and cozy store and watched the paper birds. Surrounded by her beloved books, she felt a deep sense of contentment.
She will be the hero of her life, Nora thought. And I’ll be the hero of mine.
Nora Pennington left her stool and went in search of something to read.
Reader’s Guide for The Whispered Word
1. At the opening of the novel, the Secret, Book, and Scone Society members discover a stranger in Miracle Books. What are some of the stranger’s unusual attributes?
2. The members of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society discover Amanda Frye’s body while delivering Secret Kindness bags to neighbors facing a tough time. What items would you want to see included in these bags?
3. What was your impression of Amanda’s Frye’s home? What struck you about the objects on her kitchen counter?
4. Virtual Genie is the newest business in Miracle Springs. Why might such a business thrive in today’s world?
5. The subject of absentee parents is raised several times in The Whispered Word. Which characters felt abandoned by their parents? In what way?
6. Why does Hester feel so protective of Abilene?
7. Nora prescribes the following books to help heal from heartbreak. Are there others you’d add to her list? Heart in a Box, Greg Behrendt’s It’s Called a Breakup Because It’s Broken, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Nora Ephron’s Heartburn, and Porn for Women by Cambridge Women’s Pornography Cooperative.
8. How do you feel about the relationship between Nora and Jed? What romantic things does he do for her?
9. Do you feel any sympathy for Kenneth Frye? What is he most motivated by? Have you ever met someone like him?
10. A significant clue is found inside a hollowed book. Have you ever owned a book safe? Do you hide things in usual places other than a safe or a safety deposit box?
11. How does food play a part in the novel?
12. What flavors would be in your custom Comfort Scone?
13. What was your reaction when Abilene finally shared her story with the Secret, Book, and Scone Society?
14. What mistake does Nora make that nearly gets her killed?
15. In the end, the appearance of Nora�
��s face is markedly changed. She opts not to have additional surgeries to correct the burns on her arm. Why does she make this decision?
