A Mango-Shaped Space

When Mia wakes up the next morning, she can no longer see the colored clouds. She thinks about how today is Thursday, meaning that she has six days until she can go back to the acupuncturist. She multiplies six by 24 to calculate that this means that she has 144 hours to wait. Later, she realizes that, weeks ago, being able to do that math in her head would have made her overjoyed, and now, she barely thinks about it. 

Later that day, Mia, Zack, and their parents go to Mia’s old elementary school to volunteer for a food drive. At the school, Mia sees Billy’s mother. She goes up to talk to her and explains that Billy told her about his colors. Billy’s mother is exasperated and says that Billy is always making up stories. Mia tries to explain that Billy is not lying, and that she also sees colors. She tells her about the meeting for people with synesthesia and invites Billy to come. Billy’s mother brusquely dismisses Mia and tells her that her family will be away that weekend, even though Mia did not specify a date. Mia heads back to her brother, feeling embarrassed. 

When they get home, Mia has another email from Adam. He says that he has done some research about the clouds that Mia could see and thinks that she was seeing people’s pheromones. After school one day, Mia and Jenna ride their bikes to get supplies for Jenna’s upcoming party. Jenna tells Mia that Rebecca offered to French braid her hair for the party. Mia says that a French braid would look sophisticated, and Jenna admits that she does not want Rebecca to think that she likes her. Mia returns to the acupuncturist for her second appointment with Roger. Faith tells her that, this time, she will run an electric current through the wires. As the needles go in, the balls of colored light return.

Mia is delighted by the return of the intense color clouds. This time, the experience is much more overwhelming. It is not just people who have the clouds, but “the bushes, the birds…and everyone else! Things that people have touched, such as parking meters and door handles, all have colored smears on them” (182). When Mia gets home, she sees mango-colored trails that show her where Mango has been walking all day. At dinner, her mother tells the family that everyone needs to help out at Thanksgiving dinner. Beth proclaims that she does not want to eat turkey at their Thanksgiving meal because eight billion turkeys “are killed in America each year” (183). Mia’s mother agrees to a tofu loaf instead of a turkey but says that their father will not be happy. 

The next morning, Mia wakes up and can still see the colored clouds. This makes school a much more overwhelming experience than usual. Just before the Thanksgiving assembly, Mia realizes that she has left part of her history group project, a painting of the ship, at home. Mia calls her dad and asks him to bring the painting to school as quickly as possible. She skips the assembly and hides in the bathroom until her dad arrives with the painting. In history class, Mia and her group give their presentation. Mia lets everyone else do the talking until the time comes to talk about her art. She describes how she used watercolors to evoke “the memory of the Igbo revolt” (187). Their history teacher is impressed with their project and hangs Mia’s painting in the class. Roger confronts Mia and says that he knows that she left the painting at home that morning. 

The next day is Thanksgiving. Mia’s color clouds have mostly faded to a “faint glimmer,” with “Mango’s color [still being] the brightest” (188). Mia’s father is not happy about the lack of a Thanksgiving turkey, but he listens to Beth’s explanation that, “Thanksgiving is about giving thanks for the freedom of all living things, [including] turkeys” (188). Mia is excited about the synesthesia meet-up the next day but nervous about meeting Adam in person. She asks Beth if she can borrow one of her dresses and is relieved when she grudgingly says yes, in the spirit of Thanksgiving.