The Key to Extraordinary

Located at the bottom of a hill, Earl’s yard is already flooding. Even though the water is rising, there is room beneath the porch for a person to hide. Crawling under, Emma shouts for Earl. Cody Belle’s flashlight finds the boy, paralyzed and clutching a blanket. Emma knows that she will have to go get him. As she gets closer, she realizes that Earl is holding his dog. Coaxing him to safety, Emma follows behind, but she accidentally swallows water and gets stuck. Suddenly, she is pulled out and hears an unfamiliar voice. It is Earl.

Everyone makes it inside the house. Distraught about the treasure, Emma knows that she made the right decision. Then, Earl talks about surviving the tornado. He was living in a trailer with his dad but was alone when the storm hit. Following his dad’s instructions, he went outside to hide in a ditch with his dog. However, two tornadoes were already there. After watching trailers get smashed to bits, Earl hunkered in a ditch and screamed. When people found him later, he could no longer speak. Emma calls him a hero, emphasizing that all heroes work through their fear to do what is needed. Citing Cody Belle and her mom as examples, Emma explains her theory that courage and fear go hand in hand. Then, she asks about the night in the graveyard. He confesses that he had a dream about finding his voice there. So, once awake, he went to the cemetery, but he only discovered an old key, which he shows them. It is the key from Emma’s dream.

When the kids return to the cafe, Warren and his men are carrying the trunk up from the caves while Penny Lane flies overhead. Earl realizes that Emma left the treasure to save him. Emma gives the key to Warren and silently apologizes to her mom and Lily Kate. However, Earl reminds them of the legend: Only the pure of heart can get the treasure, and there may be consequences for the unworthy who seek it. Pretending to be unphased, Warren tosses the key back to Emma, who opens the lock. Inside, Keeping Susans cover another book. Frustrated, Warren claims that the treasure is a lie and storms out. The kids look through what appears to be an old photo album. One page has the three flowers from Emma’s dream: a violet, a daisy, and a red rose. They also find a letter tucked into the binding. It shares what happened with Lily Kate, the Conductor.

The entry was written by Amelia Abernathy. Like the Wildflowers before her, Lily Kate had the Destiny Dream. In it, a treasure chest contained no riches, only the words “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (208). Uncertain, the girls continued their job of selling flowers unique to the hollow. Lily Kate wore a vial of crushed Starblooms, as she had a weak heart, and the flower has healing powers. When the Civil War began, their father informed them about the Underground Railroad and his plans to help freedom seekers. He called them a treasure.

The girls became conductors, leading people to hidden caves beneath the church. Lily Kate had already written in the Book of Days, so she ripped out the entry to keep the secret. Other townsfolk offered hiding places too, signaling compliance with a flower—violet, daisy, or red rose—and the compass rose symbol. Lily Kate concocted ghost stories to scare people away from the cemetery, while Amelia invented “Darlin’ Daisy” to list the sanctuaries across town. Their father drilled the star holes in the church floor for those hidden below.

One night, the authorities arrived, so Lily Kate gave Amelia a Telling Vine and instructions on where to hide a family. She also gave away her vial of Starblooms. When she returned to the church, she died of a weak heart. Amelia continued working for the Underground Railroad and advised that people are the true treasure in our lives. As the kids finish reading, Topher runs in, relieved to see them. Then, Waverly races in and tells them to get outside quickly.

Everyone in town stands in the graveyard watching tiny blue flowers rise from the ground, bloom, and shimmer in the morning light. Greta calls the Starblooms “Healing Blues” and claims that they have not appeared like this in a long time. Next to them, violets, daisies, and many other flowers grow and blossom. Suddenly, the cemetery is awash in color, and everyone hears “Darlin’ Daisy.” As people sing along, the sky rains rose petals and a strong wind carries voices from the Telling Vines, filling everyone with wonder.

One month later, Topher and Blue wake Emma on her birthday to reveal a new drum set. As Granny Blue prepares breakfast, Emma looks at her blank page in the Book of Days. Although there was no gold in the chest, news of the discovery led people to Blackbird Hollow in droves. Additionally, the state has deemed the site historically significant and barred Warren Steele from tearing it down. Emma, though, still feels the Big Empty. Grieving, she closes her eyes and imagines that her mother is there. When she hears her mom’s voice, she opens her eyes and sees a Telling Vine blooming outside the window, sharing a song that her mom used to sing about how they are always connected. Emma understands that she has not lost her mother.

Later, Emma is joined by Cody Belle and Earl on the back porch. She still does not know what to write in the Book of Days. Flipping through it, she discovers Blue’s entry taped in. The woman calls herself “Grandmother to Topher and Emma Pearl” (223). Earl and Cody Belle ask for permission to write beneath Emma’s name, and they write that she is a friend to both. She agrees that this is a wonderful legacy, being a “true and faithful friend” (225). The group decides to form their own version of Club Pancake. Then, Emma writes her entry in the Book of Days about how her fate is to unite people and help them find a sense of belonging. Her advice to future generations is to never doubt themselves.

Then, Topher plays the violin for Waverly as Club Pancake strolls through the graveyard with flowers and Boneyard Brew. Penny Lane flies in circles overhead while fireflies glitter everywhere. As Emma holds the Book of Days tight to her chest, she hears the song in the wind.