When You Trap a Tiger

It turns out Lily ran into Ricky, a friendly white boy her age wearing black jeans and an orange shirt. Ricky’s one of Jensen’s tutees getting summer help. Lily tells Jensen her name but allows the teen to fill in the rest herself (i.e., she recently moved in with her grandmother across the street and is looking for books on tigers). Ricky mentions that his great-grandfather hunted tigers before they became endangered. Lily still thinks that the tiger tail she saw was real.

On the way home, Halmoni tells the girls, “When something wrong happen, you fix it” (90). She says her mother told her that sad and scary stories make people forget goodness, so they must remind them of the good. Halmoni starts coughing, and Lily realizes Halmoni sees a tiger in front of them. Lily reaches for her mugwort. Halmoni steers off the road and stops the car, getting out to vomit. The girls debate calling 911, but Halmoni tells them to call Mom.

Mom arrives and insists that Halmoni take a pill. She drops off the girls before taking Halmoni to the hospital. Lily consults the first stars of the evening and thinks they tell her to “Fix it” (94).

Lily goes downstairs in the middle of the night to see if Mom and Halmoni returned from the hospital. She’s relieved to see Halmoni sleeping in her bed; Mom is asleep on the couch. Suddenly, the kitchen shadows take the form of a massive tigress. The tigress asks Lily for help reclaiming Halmoni’s stories, suggesting that when a story’s magic is sealed, it becomes “sour” and a “kind of poison” (98). Lily accuses the tigress of lying. The tigress stands her ground and insists that getting rid of the sad stories will make Lily a hero. Lily ruminates: “What if these stolen star stories are making Halmoni sick?” (99). The tigress leaves. Lily says she’ll help, but she doesn’t return.

Lily can’t sleep. She goes downstairs at dawn and overhears Mom and Halmoni talking. Mom mentions being able to “buy more time” and begs Halmoni to “try the other treatments”—but the latter insists that she wants to live the way she wants “right now” because she has no power over when she must leave (101). Lily hears Mom crying and Halmoni telling her to be strong. Lily thinks what she overhears is more frightening than seeing tigers. When Mom discovers Lily, she reveals that Halmoni has brain cancer. Mom already told Sam; she also mentions that a side effect of Halmoni’s cancer is hallucinations. A desperate Lily knows the only way to save Halmoni is to find the tigress and accept her deal. She recalls the “family of tiger hunters” (105) and thinks they may help.

Lily tells Sam about the tigers, about saving Halmoni—but the latter cuts her off and tells her to “get it together” (107). Hurt, Lily leaves for the library. She finds Jensen and Ricky. After hearing Jensen’s plan for a bake sale (inspired by her complimenting Joe’s cupcake), Lily asks for a pudding cup. When Jensen leaves to get it, Lily asks Ricky how his great-grandfather hunted tigers. Ricky doesn’t know, and Lily tears up. Concerned, Ricky offers to help her make a tiger trap. Lily tries to deter Ricky, but he’s eager to help; she relents. Ricky tells her he’ll come over with supplies—but just when he’s about to share his phone number, an irritated Sam shows up.

Sam demands to know why Lily ran away without a word. Jensen’s bubbly nature wins her over; she recalls Sam from their days at Sun Elementary School, invites her to help coordinate the bake sale, and shares her phone number. Lily feels irritated by Sam “stealing” Jensen so effortlessly, but redirects her attention to Ricky’s phone number. As the sisters return home, Lily apologizes for running off. Sam says she feels trapped in Halmoni’s house, mad at Mom and mad at their situation. Lily looks at the house and realizes it does look like a trap.

Ricky shows up dressed in camo—camo hat included. Sam confronts Lily, threatening to call Mom as the younger didn’t get permission to have a friend over. Lily asks her not to: “Sisters…keep each other’s secrets” (125). Sam relents when Lily doesn’t back down from her stare. Ricky tries to get Lily to see the merits of an outside pit, but she insists on a basement trap. They carry the boxes and chests downstairs, intending to tie them with rope. Ricky talks about his mother’s love for hats and that buying hats together was a special thing between them. Ricky accidentally lets go of one of the boxes, and Lily falls onto it. Lily is upset over breaking something as it brings bad luck. The contents of the box appear to be in good shape, including three small jars in bubble wrap.