Spells for Forgetting

Emery goes to see Nixie, who is making candles. Emery helps with the process while they discuss the day’s events. Nixie is concerned about her and says that her relationship with August was “no ordinary childhood love” (88). She accidentally mentions the town where August lived after Saoirse Island, and Emery realizes that Nixie knew where he had gone. Nixie confesses that Emery’s mother and August’s mother wrote to each other for years. Betrayed, Emery goes home and looks through her attic until she finds the letters from August’s mother. She learns that he and his mother changed their surname from Salt to Somerfield.

Emery processes her discovery and remembers the months she spent searching for August online, hoping to find where he went. Eventually, her parents confronted her and told her to stop looking. Emery goes to see her father with the letter and learns that he knew where August was but hid the truth from her. He insists that he was only protecting her, but Emery implies that he was really protecting his own secret.

At nine years old, Emery and Lily study magic with Emery’s grandmother Albertine. They practice making a cut rose grow. Using an apple to tell a story, Albertine recounts how the island orchard was started by Lily’s ancestor before being passed through marriage to the Salt family. When Albertine goes into the kitchen, Lily sneaks a look further into the spell book.

Emery unearths the ferry tickets that she hid away after the fire. She and August had been secretly planning to leave the island, and she feared that they would implicate him further. She remembers Lily’s funeral and finds another hidden item: the deed to the Salt orchard. After August’s grandfather Henry died, the council announced that the orchard had been left to the town. Dutch calls and asks to meet Emery, and she leaves for the tearoom. Before she goes, she sees a starling outside her window. Once at her door, she meets August. They are both nervous, and Emery rushes off.

Noah reflects on his life with Emery. He remembers her vulnerability after the fire and the way she would go to August’s old house and sleep in his bed. Noah would go over and carry her home. He waits outside her empty house before driving off to Leoda’s house for a small council meeting; he tells them that Emery might become a problem.

August goes to visit Emery at her shop. She confronts him about his betrayal, taking off without saying goodbye. They briefly discuss their current lives. Dutch comes in and is surprised to see August but is cordial. He tells him that he’s now running the orchard. August leaves, and Dutch follows. He tells him that he and Emery are now together and implies that he doesn’t want August shaking things up. August alludes to them both keeping secrets and promises that he’ll be gone soon.

Emery is restless, hiding from old nightmares that have recently returned. She goes to her mother’s letters and begins reading them. August’s mother, Hannah, tells Emery’s mother about her new life on the mainland. In the final letter, she laments the night of the fire and calls August’s actions “unforgivable.” Emery becomes frightened that August did kill Lily after all.

Five months before the fire, August returns home late and bloody. His mother is asleep, but Emery wakes up and sees his wounded face. She wants to tell Jakob about August’s grandfather’s abuse, but August refuses. He reminds her that they’ll soon be leaving Saoirse Island. August reflects on his father, who abandoned them years ago. He decides that he can’t blame him.

In the present, Emery processes the contents of the letter and decides to confront Nixie. Outside her house, she meets Dutch, who’s fixing his truck. He asks to talk about their relationship, but Emery is hesitant. He storms away, and Emery feels guiltily relieved. She goes to see Nixie and shares the letter, claiming that it contains proof about Lily’s murder. Nixie advises her to proceed with caution.

August goes to the records office to claim a copy of the deed to his house. The receptionist, Sophie, is nervous around him. She pulls out the folder for his house but finds it empty. She advises him to order a copy from the records office on the mainland. August leaves as another woman comes in. The two women begin gossiping about him once he’s gone.

Jake looks over a recent case, hiding his whisky in a coffee cup. Emery comes to see him and asks why he was so certain of August’s guilt all those years ago. Reluctantly, Jakob explains what happened: Lily was found in the woods with seawater and seaweed in her lungs, although her hair and clothes were completely dry. August and Dutch claimed to be together just before the fire. He admits that the autopsy revealed that Lily was pregnant, even though Emery adamantly denies that she was seeing anyone. She realizes that Lily must have been secretly seeing August. Jakob also mentions the family’s history of violence, with August’s father and grandfather both being abusive. Emery makes excuses and leaves. Once she’s gone, Jakob phones someone and tells them about the visit.