Wild Wings

In the following week, they rent the town hall and collect unwanted items from neighbors. Rob donates the expensive bike he received for his birthday and even makes the flyers for the sale saying, “Help us save Jeneba’s leg before it gets the chop” (222). Everyone in town shows up for the event. Iona’s grandfather, old Mr. McNair, offers to pay £400 for Rob’s bicycle. Afterward, the organizers tally up the proceeds and realize that they’ve raised more than £1,400. Callum despairs that it’s not enough, but Rob consoles him by pointing out that they’ve made a good start.

After cleaning up the hall, the boys find Mr. McNair waiting outside. He acknowledges that Rob is less mean and rude now than he once was. McNair gives the boy back his bicycle. Moved by his generosity, Mrs. McGregor offers to cook some trout for the old man. Just then, a reporter from the Scottish Chronicle arrives to cover the story of the fair. When Callum tells her that she’s too late, she says that she wants to know more about the Scottish osprey that migrated to Africa. Callum is careful not to mention the location of the osprey nest, but he knows that the word is out. He worries that “we’ll soon have people snooping all over the farm. Once Iris comes back, she’ll never be safe again” (232).

When the story appears in the local paper, it isn’t on the front page, and Callum hopes that it won’t generate much interest. He continues to keep tabs on Iris, who is still in The Gambia. With the end of winter approaching, he goes out at dawn to check on the nesting site because it might need repairs before the ospreys’ return. Callum is startled to find a man lurking near the loch. He is a reporter who wants to talk to him. The boy tries to dodge the persistent journalist, but at home he learns that other reporters are clamoring to talk to him at the village hall.

Everyone from the village has turned out to see Callum get interviewed. They have all promised to protect his secret about the location of the osprey nest, even though a swarm of reporters and photographers is badgering him for details. When Callum hesitates, Hamish steps in to save the day. He tells the reporters, “Callum and his friends here have been following one of the ospreys at the nature reserve where I work. We had a breeding pair there last summer” (241). Hamish leads the reports to the wildlife center so that Callum is off the hook. One reporter remains behind with more questions. Callum is resistant until the man says that he merely wants to inquire about Jeneba, because many people have donated toward her treatment. Over £10,000 has already been donated, and a London surgeon who likes birds has offered to perform Jeneba’s surgeries for free.

Jeneba writes to say that the infection in her leg is clearing up, and she will soon be well enough to travel to London for her operations. Mama Binta, the bossy head nurse at Jeneba’s hospital, will be traveling with her. The girl says, “[m]aybe [the marabout’s] dream of me walking across the ocean of clouds will not come true. Maybe I will really walk again” (246-47). She also says that her doctor, Max, is going back to America, but he left some medical books behind for Jeneba because she wants to be a doctor someday. All the money raised from around the world will be enough to cover her tuition when the time comes. Jeneba closes by expressing a desire to see Scotland and maybe see Iris, too.

The holiday season passes with news from Jeneba in her London hospital. She has already had four surgeries and sees snow for the first time. Mama Binta complains of the cold, dark, northern winter and wears several layers of clothing. Callum continues to track Iris in The Gambia through February. By March, the migration season has arrived again, and Iris’s tracker indicates that she’s on the move. Mrs. Wicklow’s entire class is now eager to follow the bird’s progress, so they take time during each school day to check. Hamish says that Iris is flying over open water rather than following the coastline, but other birds have occasionally done the same. When Hamish uses his binoculars to check on the nest, he confirms that Iris’s mate has already arrived.

Callum receives an email from Jeneba announcing that she and Mama Binta are coming to Scotland for a visit the following day. This places the entire village in an uproar because they want to stage a welcome party, and there isn’t much time. Callum writes back to tell Jeneba about the festivities. He also informs her that Iris’s mate has already come back, and the female osprey has reached the Irish coast. She might return in time for Jeneba to see her.

The next morning, preparations are in full swing. That night, before leaving for the party, Callum learns of a storm on the Irish Sea. He worries that Iris might be caught in the middle of it. When he checks for her signal, he can’t find it. The point of view shifts to Iris as she battles her way through the storm. Waves pummel her, and she must repeatedly fight her way to the surface. She shakes off the tracking device as she attempts to get airborne once more.

Callum tells Hamish that he’s lost Iris’s signal. The wildlife expert reminds him that trackers are designed to drop off at some point and advises Callum not to give up hope. Despondently, Callum prepares to meet the guests. When Mama Binta and Jeneba emerge from their car, he is struck with shyness and backs away into the crowd. However, Mama Binta coaxes him out, saying, “Callum McGregor, what you doing hiding in there? […] You get your skinny backside out here” (268). He receives a warm greeting from the nurse and her little patient.

By midnight, the party is still in full swing, complete with bagpipe music and dancing. Callum’s father and Hamish take Callum and Jeneba back to the farm so that they can get some rest. Hamish promises to drive them out to the loch early in the morning before he goes to work. That way, Jeneba can see the nest with her own eyes. After the adults leave, Callum prepares two cups of hot chocolate. He finds himself gazing into the steam rising from the warm cup and imagines Iris in flight. Jeneba compares him to the marabout and suggests that, [m]aybe the bird spirit, she flies to you too’” (273).

When Hamish arrives in the morning to collect the children, a dense fog covers the landscape, and he has trouble finding the right road. The Land Rover climbs higher up until the air becomes brighter on the crest of the hill overlooking the loch. The ground is still covered in fog, but the sun is burning off the mist at higher elevations. Jeneba insists that she must walk rather than use her crutches. As she steps out of the vehicle, her legs are surrounded by fog, just as in the marabout’s vision: “She was walking above the world, across an ocean of bright cloud” (280).

Callum reaches into his pocket for his binoculars, and Iona’s locket pops out. He feels Iona’s presence. On impulse, he gives the locket to Jeneba, telling her that Iona would have wanted her to have it. Callum’s eyes fill with tears at the memory of his dead friend, but Jeneba is looking at the sky, where she spots Iris returning. The bird calls out, and her mate answers. Callum spreads his arms wide and runs along on the ground in the bird’s shadow. Callum notices that, for “one brief, amazing moment, her bright sunflower yellow eyes looked right into mine” (284).