Palm of Heart, Heart of Palm

by Hal Bennett on 11.06.2009

16 Responses

It looks like the carnival was a crazy hall of mirrors on the Amanda hunt front. Still, nice detective teamwork—themidnighter and aGirlLikeMe did a primo job of recognizing Jenny, the Hannah Montana lover (and personally, I’d like to give them props for even knowing who this Hannah person is, I like to cling to my ignorance there) and a shout out goes to Yori for biting the bullet and asking Jenny herself.

But I don’t think the night was a complete loss. I got a strange vibe from Madame Zee (yes, even in our brief encounter before I had to step out and pay the price for my seven funnel cakes). I don’t think she’s a phony, and I’ve been bothered by what she said to Callie about a quest. Plus, Milana and Willow might be onto something thinking that Madame Zee was cozy with Amanda.

I figured it was worth another shot—sans fried dough—to see if we could get more out of her. So Nia, Callie, and I agreed we would follow the carnies to their next stop, which was only about a 30-minute bike ride away. I also promised not to eat anything with sugar. (Corn dogs, however, were not discussed.)

It was strange. Madame Zee almost seemed to be expecting us when we showed up at her tent. We asked her if she could tell us more about our “quest” and she said, “No. You’re not on a quest… she is” and pointed to Callie. What the? Nia and I are in this thing as much as Callie is. I could see Nia about to say something really biting and I almost felt bad for the unsuspecting fortune teller. But then Madame Zee went on. She took Callie’s hand in hers, looked down at her palm, and whispered, all sing-song-y:

Stars ablaze,
On earth, in air,
Though none outshines,
The mother bear.

Its fire may dim,
But is not subdued,
She speaks to you,
Through love and clues.

As soon as she finished the word “clues,” she became all hot and bothered and sort of sank back in her chair, loosening her turban. Not sure I want to know what’s under there. Apparently, she needed to rest after all that. We asked if we could wait outside for her to do the other palms in the room, but she said that was it for tonight. Anyway, Callie was completely freaked—and so pale under her freckles that I wondered if she had overdone the funnel cakes. So we may not have any word on Amanda, but I think we just got a new assignment.

As anyone who has read Callie’s story—Invisible I—knows, Madame Zee’s message is obviously about Callie’s mom, Ursula, and her disappearance. But why now? Callie hasn’t heard from her mom in months. Have we missed a clue? Where should we start?

16 responses

  1. Squiggles

    Some of the clues that we’ve been picking up about Amanda may be linked to Callies mum instead.

    Stars Ablaze - They love stargazing

    The mother bear - They are both names for Ursa minor/major and mother obviously means her mother.

    Love and clues - In my opinion you need to check out Mr Thornhills connection ALOT more. There has to be more to it than just a letter. Maybe you could check out Callies school reports and old school letters to see if there is any hidden clues in those. To figure out the connection, you need to find out why she appears to be telling Mr Thornhill more that she’s telling Callies dad, why she appears to trust Mr Thornhill more.

    Mr Thornhill is the key link between both disappearances.

    • Milana

      I’ll send in my own interpretation:
      Stars ablaze- Squiggles stargazing idea
      On earth, in air- Star is another word for a famous person- a down-to-earth famous person
      Though none outshines the mother bear- No famous person is as important to Callie as her mom
      Its fire may dim- Even if Callie can’t see her
      But is not subdued- Callie knows she’s there
      She speaks to you through love and clues.- Her mom is leaving hints

      Could Amanda have had some contact with Callie’s mom?  Is she in some way forbidden to give the location straight to Callie?

      • soccachik666

        I think amanda and Callie’s mom are connected in some way and i agree with Squiggles about checking out the Thornhill situation. He may have some answers….

        • stef_stone

          Okay well my interpretation of this is that Callie’s brightest star is her mom, and though she is gone and the light is dim, it’s not altogether put out. I think that the disappearance between Callie’s mom and Amanda is connected, maybe Amanda’s clues are speaking to Callie about her mom, too? I also think we should investigate Thornhill.

          • Kenzi

            Okay so here is what I think it means:

            Stars Ablaze: I agree with Stef_stone there Callie’s brightest star is her mom
            On earth, in air: We know that Amanda is a very down-to-earth person as is Callie’s mom maybe there is some connection their and maybe the “In-Air” part means air also represents spirit and we all know Amanda was a free spirit
            Though none outshines, the mother bear: Maybe she is saying that Callies mom is the key to finding Amanda, but Amanda not be a key to finding Callies mom, so we should try to find Callies mom instead?

            Its fire may dim, though not subdued: Well I agree with Stef_stone there too! That because she was gone the light dimmed but is not gone
            She speaks to you, Through love and clues: Well thats kind of obvious Amanda has spoken to us through clues so some clues may be through Callie’s mom.

            I think there is a definate connection between Amanda and Callie’s mom, but I dont know what it possibly could be?

            • Squiggles

              Something that wasn’t really expanded on in the book that was weird about Mr Thornhill was the reference about a stuffed raven. Is his totem the raven? What does being a raven mean? I find it hard to believe the raven has no connection apart from the fact that Callie ends up with a key. Is the raven a warning to Thornhill? Is it a clue?

              • Kenzi

                Ohmigod! In Welsh Folklore the raven is the omen of death, it is said that if a raven makes a choking sound then you will most likely die! In the awake sense ravens are the guardians of the graveyard and the dead. In some eastern traditions the raven is the totem of the sun.
                This is a rhyme used to invoke a raven as bird prophesy is…
                One for bad news,
                Two for mirth.
                Three is a wedding,
                Four is a birth.
                Five is for riches,
                Six is a thief.
                Seven, a journey,
                Eight is for grief.
                Nine is a secret,
                Ten is for sorrow.
                Eleven is for love,
                Twelve - joy for tomorrow

                None of the raven prophesy meanings is for death…thats good right?

                • CheekyMonkey

                  I agree with Milana. I think the line “She speaks to you through love and clues” (that would be a good song lyric) is about Callie’s mom leaving her clues. And like everyone is saying the mother bear being her mom. The whole poem is about Callie and her mom, that is what I am guessing, and that is why Madame Zee only had a message for Callie and not Hal and Nia. If it was about Amanda they would have each gotten one.

                  I don’t believe in fortune telling. I think that Callie’s mom planted that message with Madame Zee, knowing the guides would go there, looking for Amanda. I think it definitely send Callie some comforting message from her mom and possibly Amanda. And maybe now that Thornhill is in a coma, and he was supposed to be looking out for Callie (like the note says in Invisible I) is Madame Zee another adult keeping HER eye on Callie for Ursula while she is away?  Maybe there is a whole group of adults that she’s asked to watch over Callie?

                  • MistorRandom

                    Okay. I agree with all of you, about the poem and stuff. But could someone please tell me the order of the books? I am confused.

                    • Kenzi

                      Well now there is only Invisable I-at least I think so…
                      Anyways I was thinking and I agree…my interpretation can’t be right. Anyways the poem has to be all about Callie’s mom and probalbly has no relevence to Amanda. They only thing in common is that they both have gone missing.

                      • soccachik666

                        maybe that rhyme that Kenzie said could mean something about there journeys. There’s supposed to be i think 8 books and so in the end of the guides search there will probably be alot of grief… Anyways back on topic, maybe this poem means that something is keeping Callie’s mom hostage when it says “Its fire may dim, But is not subdued” and that her mom is trying to send messages to Callie. We should also check out what got Callie’s Dad fired from his job with the computer thing. Maybe Cornelia could hack that database or whatever that Callie’s dad was trying to get into. There would be valuable info since we all agree that Amanda and Callie’s Mom are somehow connected.

                        • themidnighter

                          Remember Paris? We never knew who called Amanda in Laure’s phone. Maybe it was Callie’s Mom?

                          • Kenzi

                            Thats an idea…if only we could somehow find out who was behind that call…

                            • haitianqueen

                              OKAY I WILL SAY THEY DO HAVE CONNECTION IN SOME WAY. MAYBE AMANDA IS SENDING CLUES BOUT TOO FIND AMANDA IS MAYBE THE SAME CLUE TO FIND CALLIE MOM

                              • chmivita1234

                                I think that Callie’s mom thinks that Callie is ready to know that her mom is missing and she had to leave for her mom’s saftey and Callie’s! And (haitianqueen) already said this but i agree with her…... that the clues that Amanda is giving Callie, Hal, and Nia will lead them to find Amanda and Callie’s mom!

                                • lindzkin

                                  Whnever i’ve lost something, (that’s often) i start from the beginning.  I would also try to find a reson why Ursula left.

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