She looks over everything on the table. “You know what, you’re right. We do. I have, like, ten hours of video.”
“Is it all going into the documentary?”
“Oh, no. I have a lot of editing to do. Amy’s going to help. It’ll take me the rest of the summer.” She tilts her head. “What are you going to do? The cabins are still kinda quiet.”
I peek inside the bucket. “I think I’m going to…keep this going. Continue talking to people. Knock on doors. Make sure we take care of the lake.”
She gives me a thumbs-up. “I gotta go. Amy’s singing on the main stage in a few minutes.”
“Oh, cool.”
“Later!” She slings the strap around her shoulder and runs off, the camera bobbing against her hip.
Zach’s standing in back of the booth, straightening things up. A breeze ruffles the brochures, and he clamps a hand on the top one. With the other, he pulls his phone from his pocket and smiles, then starts texting. When he’s done, as he’s putting his phone down, I steal a glance. A long message to someone named Ryan. My heart bursts a little.
A crowd gathers by the food tent. I hear Amy’s voice ring out, and a few minutes later, applause. She really does have a good voice.
There’s one last peppermint candy in the bowl. I unwrap it and pop it into my mouth. It’s sharp and sweet, like the sage leaves. Like me and Jess. Maybe like everything.
I sit in front of the table as the first round of fireworks lights up the sky above the lake. Zach comes around and sits next to me. He’s leaving tomorrow.
We watch the bursts and explosions, trickles and sizzles, and listen to the oohs and aahs.
“I have to tell you something,” he says.
“What?”
“I’m not going to try to be a different person anymore.”
I tap the toe of my shoe against his red canvas one. “Good choice.”
He has such a great smile.
It’s Labor Day. School starts on Wednesday. The air feels different, like it always does at the end of summer: a little cooler, a little tired.
Mom and Dad are at the cabins, closing them up for the off-season. Mom took down all the notes from the Thought Wall, then wrote one herself and stuck it up there. We survived, it says. See you next year. A new and improved #RennLakeRentals!
Next June will be my thirteenth found day. I’ll be a…teenager.
I finish packing my backpack, arranging notebooks and my pencil case. I go outside and sit on the porch step; then, for some reason, I get the urge to ride my bike. I haven’t ridden it all summer. I wheel it out of the shed, brush off some dust, and bring it around to the front of the house.
Even though I’m too big for it now, like the swings, I pedal through town, past the shops and toward the lake. But instead of going to Renn, I turn and take the road that heads toward the river. The wind is blowing my curls and my knees are practically smacking into my stomach, but I keep riding. I’ve never gone this far before but something’s pushing me onward.
I pass the part where the mouth of the river meets Renn, then ride a while longer. Finally, I slow down and hop off my bike. I’ve only seen the river from a distance, from the window of a car or a bus, when we’ve gone on school field trips. But now, I drop my bike, go up to the water, and sit on the bank.
I wonder if I’ll be able to hear the river too. I wait and listen, but there’s no sound. Suddenly, something pops up. A small face with slick, dark fur and brown eyes, looking right at me. It’s an otter, bobbing in the current. It seems to tip its head a little, as if it’s studying me; then, with another splash, it dives below. I’ve looked on a map, and I know the Tru River goes north for miles. How far will the otter swim? I watch to see if its head will pop up again, but I don’t spot it anywhere.
The river is calm, not what I expected. I thought I’d see a swift current, maybe even raging waters. But it feels sort of…content.
I stand, brush off my shorts, and get on my bike. Maybe there is a reason for everything, even if you don’t know it. Maybe things end up how they’re supposed to be.
When I get to Main, I stop in front of Alden’s. He’s changed the window display to get ready for autumn—curled leaves and glittery pumpkins and scattered acorns. His displays are definitely getting better.
I go across to the lake, then leave my bike on the shore and walk toward the water. I promised Zach I’d text him if I hear something. And he promised to let me know how it’s going in high school.
There are tiny bubbly openings here and there in the green, dotted among the islands, and I’m hopeful. “Renn?” I whisper.
Quiet. But not a terrible quiet. An expectant, better kind of quiet. But no words yet.
Jess is racing toward me. “There you are! I’ve been looking for you everywhere!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Something excellent happened.” She jumps up and down. “Are you ready? It’s amazing! They want to interview us for the news!”
“Like, a TV station?”
“Yes!”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, from Madison! They called Mom. They heard about everything we’re doing, and my documentary, and they want to do a story on us!”
“Wow! When?”
“Not sure. We have to work that out.” She looks at my bike. “Where were you, by the way?”
“I rode out to the river.”
“Why? That’s far.”
“I don’t know…I just wanted to.”
“You can be really weird sometimes.”
I smile. “So can you.”
She sighs. “Didn’t Mom and Dad get you that bike for your ninth found day?”
“Yeah.”
“Annalise…?”
“What?”
“Can we be done with found day? I hate it.”
“Oh, really, I couldn’t tell.” I roll my eyes.
“It’s not just the two celebrations, and double cupcakes, it’s just…”
“You know what? I hate it too.”
“Wait, you do?”
“Yeah.”
She crosses her arms. “Then let’s get rid of it! It’s old news, what do we need it for?”
“Because Mom and Dad love it?”
“Maybe we can tell them to call it something else.”
“Like…?”
She looks me in the eyes. “I’ve been thinking about this. A lot. Found day’s just about what happened to you when you were a baby, but if we call it sister day, it’s about how it is now. What do you say?”
I grab her hand. “I say it sounds as perfect as pink lemonade pie.”
“Ha! Good. Done.” She grins. “Let’s keep the cupcakes, though.”
“Definitely.”
Jess points to the office. “Let’s go tell Mom and Dad right now.”
“You go ahead. I’ll be right there.”
“Okay.” She marches toward the office, her tufts of hair rising and falling with each step. She goes inside, and I get a glimpse of her through the window talking and gesturing to Mom and Dad. And just like that, I know found day is gone. Because of Jess. My sister.
I turn back, look at all the magical, beautiful floating islands.
“Renn?”
And then the whisper comes. Barely a sound. I don’t know if it’s in my head or radiating from the water, but I hear it.
The answer is here. It always was.
The summer has come and gone. It was not quite what I expected.
Life is like that.
I am old. Very old. There are some things I have learned along the way.
They are simple things that stay with you, solid and safe under your skin. When they are needed, they rise to the surface.
Opposite forces exist for a
reason.
Out of something bad often comes something good.
Answers can always be found.
And now Tru and I are about to play. There are fish to be counted. There is air to breathe and there are people to love. A girl who listens.
There is so much.
Hi, this is Zach. Annalise asked me to tell you some cool stuff about lakes and rivers, stormwater runoff, algal blooms, and floating plant islands.
So, here goes.
LAKES
People say amazing a lot. But lakes are really amazing. Compared to oceans, lakes are small players, but they have a big impact.
Our planet has millions of lakes. You can find them on every continent and in all kinds of environments. Many of them were formed by melting glaciers thousands of years ago. I live by Lake Michigan. It’s so big and stretches so far, it’s hard to believe it’s not an ocean.
Lakes and ponds cover less than four percent of the earth’s surface. That may not sound like a lot, but they have a crucial job. Carbon is an element that’s the basis of all forms of life on earth. Lakes cycle carbon between the surface of the water and the atmosphere, which helps regulate the earth’s global temperature and the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. Lakes also hold carbon in decaying layers of organic muck at their bottoms. They bury way more carbon than oceans do! And they provide a home to a wide variety of organisms, from plants to animals, fish, reptiles, and insects.
Lakes, like people, go through different life stages—being born, maturing, getting old, and finally (sadly) dying. All lakes, even the largest ones, will slowly disappear as their basins fill with sediment and plant material. This happens slowly, over hundreds or thousands of years. But with climate change, this process is speeding up. We are speeding it up. Warmer water, less ice in the winter, and flooding—all linked to global warming—are affecting every aspect of lakes.
If you’re a science geek like me and want to read more about lakes, visit National Geographic’s website (nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/lake) and ScienceDaily (sciencedaily.com/terms/lake.htm).
RIVERS
As with lakes, countless species of fish, birds, and other animals live in and along rivers. Rivers are part of ecosystems, which connect all the plants and animals in a particular area that rely on each other and the surrounding environment for survival. Many rivers feed into lakes, like Tru and Renn. Rivers are much more than what you see when you look at the surface of the water. They provide breeding areas for migratory birds. Fish spawn in rivers. And maybe most importantly, rivers give us drinking water! The majority of the water supply in the United States comes from rivers and streams, and the health of river ecosystems directly affects the quality of the water we drink.
Many rivers are being seriously polluted and/or depleted. I don’t have to tell you that breaks my heart. (More than Leo did.) (I’m a lot better now.)
Anyway, to learn more, visit americanrivers.org/threats-solutions/protecting-rivers/the-value-of-wild-river and nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/river.
STORMWATER RUNOFF
Runoff is the result of rain or melting snow flowing over sidewalks, streets, and driveways instead of being absorbed into the ground. The water picks up debris, chemicals, and other pollutants, which go into a lake or river. Runoff can do a lot of damage, making it difficult or impossible for plants to grow, destroying aquatic habitats, creating health hazards, and causing algal blooms. Oceans have been affected too. Red tides on Florida’s coast are harmful algal blooms that produce toxins. They’re happening more frequently and can last for a few weeks or longer than a year. One cause is runoff from nearby towns and farms. Many fish, birds, and sea animals, especially turtles, have died because of the tides.
We all contribute to the problem, and often we don’t even realize it. But we can change our habits. Be careful about what you pour down the sink. Compost yard clippings. Use a rain barrel to collect rainwater so it doesn’t wash into lakes and streams, or create a garden with plants native to your area that will soak up rainwater.
At Prairie Crossing School in Grayslake, Illinois, students raised money to replace concrete sidewalks with permeable pavement, allowing rain and snowmelt to go directly into the ground, decreasing runoff. Read about what they accomplished here: filterpave.com/prairie-crossing.
For more on what you can do, visit epa.gov/nutrientpollution/sources-and-solutions-stormwater.
ALGAL BLOOMS
I could go on and on about algal blooms and how worried I am about them. In the last few years, they’ve become more frequent in lakes and other bodies of water around the world. Scientists think this is related to warmer temperatures, heat waves, and other extreme weather events. The problem can be intensified by runoff, leakage from sewer systems, and other pollution.
Harmful algal blooms, also called HABs, occur in fresh water when blue-green algae grow out of control. A bloom doesn’t have to be toxic to be harmful to the environment. Blooms can kill wildlife and cause beach closures. Exposure to a bloom can be dangerous for people. Pets have a higher risk of getting sick because they’re smaller and may drink lake water or lick it from their coats.
If a bloom grows large enough, it can create a dead zone, covering the surface of the water and blocking sunlight, which affects species living below the surface. No oxygen gets through, and aquatic life disappears.
Scientists are studying algal blooms to figure out why they’re occurring more and what the long-term effects might be. Read more on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration site (oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/hab) and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services site (dhs.wisconsin.gov/water/bg-algae/defined.htm).
FLOATING PLANT ISLANDS
Have you heard of something called allelopathy? It’s an incredible phenomenon! It’s when one plant influences the growth of another. Trees are a great example. Many use their roots to pull water from the soil away from nearby plants so the tree can survive.
This is what floating plant islands do!
The islands act as a wetland, which is a natural purifier, and clean up contaminated water. How cool is it that nature has a solution to that problem? A wetland marsh is like a giant pasta strainer. Power to the plants, right?
These islands help regulate phosphorus and nitrogen levels to improve water quality without the use of chemicals. Not only that, but the islands themselves provide a habitat for birds, reptiles, and other wildlife. In 2014, one company’s floating-island design was chosen by the US State Department as one of the top innovations in water technology.
The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) is working with the Chemehuevi and Colorado Indian Tribes to study floating islands in Lake Havasu (on the border of California and Arizona) and the Colorado River, both located within the tribes’ reservations. The tribes identified native plants to use on the islands. Early results have shown promise—two months after launching the islands, the water’s nutrient concentration was reduced to a safe level. If you want to read more, visit epa.gov/sciencematters/epa-uses-floating-vegetated-islands-remove-excess-nutrients-water.
AND SO…
Each positive action we take will create a better future for everyone on this planet. I’m worried, but I’m also optimistic. Kids are taking charge and forming organizations to save our earth. Here are some I know of.
The teens behind Zero Hour (thisiszerohour.org) say that time is running out to address climate change issues. They’re marching, protesting, and raising awareness. You can become an ambassador in your community to educate and help come up with solutions.
Inspired by Greta Thunberg, a Swedish teen and climate activist who started Fridays for Future (fridaysforfuture.org), millions of students around the world participated in demonstrations in March and September 2019 to urge adults to act. Check youthclimatestrikeus .org for more
info, including the movement’s platform to transition to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030, keep the water supply safe, and preserve public lands and wildlife habitats.
Another organization formed by young people concerned about climate change is iMatter (imatteryouth.org/campaigns). This group urges kids and teens to attend government meetings at the state and local level to push for changes such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions and stopping construction of new fossil fuel projects.
You, and I, and everyone can be heroes. And so can nature. It can help us. It has answers, if we just look hard enough. And listen.
I am forever grateful to my editor, Dana Carey, who gave this book the utmost attention, care, and love. Without her keen eye for detail and her ability to see the big picture, this story wouldn’t be what it is. Thank you to Wendy Lamb for being our guiding star, and to Alyssa Eisner Henkin for always believing in my work and cheering me on, even when I doubt myself.
A round of applause to Celia Krampien for capturing the feel of the story with the vintage-postcard cover art and to designer Bob Bianchini for pulling the concept together. I am in awe of your talents since I can’t draw a straight line. Thank you also to copy editors/comma queens Colleen Fellingham, Alison Kolani, Bess Schelper, and Kathleen Reed for your thoroughness and diligence with the manuscript.
I am greatly appreciative of the help I received from Gina LaLiberte at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Amanda Koch at the Wisconsin Division of Public Health, and Jackie Weber and Gregg Zink at Integrated Lakes Management in Waukegan, Illinois. They never hesitated to answer my numerous questions and patiently explain scientific information. Thank you also to Mark O’Brien and Molly Pinta, who generously assisted with Zach’s character.
As always, to Ben, Rachel, Sam, and Cassie: your unending support through all the ups and downs it takes to write a novel is valued more than you realize.
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