The Someday Birds

After the Duck ride, Charlie’s family heads to the waterpark. The twins are thrilled, but Charlie doesn’t want to go. Ludmila slathers everyone in sunscreen and leads them into the park. Meanwhile, Charlie thinks about what Davis said last night. She took him aside to tell him she still doesn’t fully trust Ludmila. Charlie didn’t agree but knew Davis didn’t want to hear his opinion.

Charlie watches his siblings at the park. He notices Davis flirting with another boy and compares them to prairie chickens. Then everyone gets ready to go on the water slide. Charlie doesn’t want to join, but the twins beg and tease. Although afraid, Charlie gives in and imagines himself as eagle. He’s scared the whole way down, but when he emerges at the bottom, everyone gives him high fives, smiles at him, and congratulates him. He is happy and proud until his family notices his leg is bleeding because he got cut inside the slide. After Charlie gets his cut cleaned up, he thinks about his time at the park. He realizes that his fear before the ride was worse than actually getting hurt on the ride.

The waterpark gives Charlie’s family a free night’s stay at the Coyote Holler Lodge because of what happened to Charlie on the slide. They check into their room and go to the Roadrunner Roadhouse for dinner, and Davis asks Ludmila more about her brother. Ludmila explains that Amar used to work as “a community reaching-out person for his unit” and was driving the jeep Dad was in when the bomb went off (206). Charlie and his siblings are so surprised, they fall silent. Charlie doesn’t understand why they didn’t know this about Amar before.

After dinner, Charlie and Davis take Tiberius for a walk and talk about Amar, Dad, and Ludmila. They realize everything they thought about Ludmila is wrong. Then Davis notices a murmuration of starlings. Charlie tells her about the birds as they watch them fly overhead. They compare themselves to the birds, and Charlie lists the people who would be closest to him if he were in a murmuration. Afterwards, Charlie imagines meeting Tiberius Shaw and silently lists all of the questions he’d ask him.

Over breakfast, Ludmila calls Gram. Gram informs them that Dad might need more surgery but that they should continue having fun on their trip. Charlie imagines telling his dad about all the birds he’s found and places he’s seen.

Charlie and his family arrive at the Field Museum in Chicago, where Charlie can’t wait to see the Hall of Birds. After they park, they meet up with one of Ludmila’s friends from Sarajevo, Mariana. She leads them into the museum while chatting with Ludmila. Davis and the twins go to see the mummies while Mariana’s coworker Helen shows Charlie the Hall of Birds and the bird lab. Charlie is thrilled by the specimens and excited to hear Helen tell him bird facts. He sees specimens of passenger pigeons and an emu in the Hall of Birds and checks them off his list.

Charlie’s siblings race up to him and insist they have something to show him. They lead him to the bathroom that has been ranked America’s best restroom.

Charlie’s family spends the night at Mariana’s house. Mariana notices Charlie repeatedly washing his hands and tells him he doesn’t have to feel bad about the habit. She explains that she used to be afraid of things too, like driving. She then encourages Charlie to try fighting his anxieties little by little.

Charlie and Davis lie awake listening to Mariana and Ludmila talk in the kitchen. After everyone goes to bed, Charlie reads his museum brochure and thinks about meeting Tiberius Shaw.

Charlie and Davis listen to the women talk in the morning. Mariana asks Ludmila why Amar kept fighting when it was so dangerous. Ludmila admits how frustrated she was with Amar for joining the military. They hadn’t talked in a long time when he died. She found Robert because she thought he might be able to tell her something about Amar. Then Davis reveals that she has a flash drive from Dad’s computer which might have an interview with Amar.

Charlie, Ludmila, Marianna, and Charlie’s siblings crowd around the computer and watch Dad’s interview with Amar. Amar explains that he joined the military because he felt he couldn’t do anything else. He misses his sister and wishes that she could understand his choices. He tells Robert that Ludmila still loves him and asks him to reach out to her when he gets back from Afghanistan.

Everyone is quiet after the video ends. Charlie notices that Ludmila is crying. She tells the group that Robert emailed her shortly before he was injured. She went to the hospital to see him because he was her last connection to Amar. When Amar died, she felt like she had no more family, but now she feels like Charlie and his siblings are her family.

Back on the road, Charlie thinks about everything he’s learned about Ludmila. He wonders if Ludmila feels angry at Dad for surviving the same accident that killed Amar. Everyone is quiet until Davis breaks the silence and asks Ludmila more about her story.

When the fighting in Sarajevo worsened, Ludmila and Amar’s mom went into labor. The neighbors insisted on taking her to the maternity ward. Afraid, Amar insisted that he and Ludmila follow her to the hospital. Just after she disappeared into the building, a bomb fell on the ward. Amar and Ludmila helped some women and babies escape, but their mom never came out. Amar led Ludmila then ran through the streets until a couple, the Liebowitzes, found them and invited them into their cellar. The couple were journalists and protected the siblings for a month. They wrote a story about Amar and Ludmila that helped them get out of Bosnia. Afterwards, Amar told Ludmila the Liebowitzes’ kindness was proof that “[t]here is good everywhere” (250).

Charlie studies his bird list. He has three he still hasn’t found. In Pennsylvania, he looks out the windows hoping to find the remaining birds. The family stops in Amish country. A woman named Anna invites the family to camp out on her family’s farm.

That night, Charlie can’t sleep. He gets up in the dark and takes Tiberius outside. He hears a crack in the distance, and Anna runs up to see if he’s okay. Her friends saw a deer and shot it, and she thought they hit Charlie. Charlie sees the dead deer and can’t help thinking of Dad.

In the morning, Charlie takes Tiberius out again. In the field, he spots some turkey vultures feeding on the deer carcass and checks them off his list.