Lalani of the Distant Sea

This summary section includes “Chapter 56: A Simple Solution,” “Chapter 57: Bai-Vinca,” and “Chapter 58: Lalani’s Story.”

At school, Hetsbi confides in his teacher Taiting, whom the menyoro appointed as a teacher because he wasn’t good at making boats, fishing, or sailing. Hetsbi identifies with this problem. He tells Taiting that he really wanted to vote for Maddux but was too afraid. Taiting advises Hetsbi that he will have other chances to be brave and should stop reproaching himself for past mistakes.

Back on Isa, Bai-Vinca comes flying at the girls from out of nowhere. They engage in a fierce battle, and Bai-Vinca manages to sink her talons into Usoa’s shoulder, wounding her. The girls continue to fight until they are backed into the trunk of a hollow tree. Lalani is convinced that they will lose because they are small and only have a tiny arrowhead to use as a weapon. However, Usoa tears off a piece of tree bark and uses it as a stake; she drives it through Bai-Vinca’s heart, killing her. Usoa thinks she will die from her shoulder wound and asks Lalani to tell her a story that will make her cry.

Obeying this request, Lalani tells the story of Anya of Arkaley. She was born with a shell on her back, and all the people of her village avoided her because they thought she was cursed. Because of this, Anya grew up without friends. One day, a traveler named Zo Zi arrived and said he could remove Anya’s shell for a price. She offered him her house, and he succeeded in separating Anya from her shell. After Zo Zi left with Anya’s house, Anya tried to become a part of her village, but even without her shell, they rejected her attempts to be one of them.

Anya traveled to other villages where she was also rejected. She finally arrived at a town gate and was greeted by a man who also had a shell. He said she could enter and enjoy a prosperous life if she showed him her shell. Anya already threw it into the sea, so the man turned her away, commenting sadly that she had spurned the gift life had given her merely to be accepted by people who rejected her.

This summary section includes “Chapter 59: Cade,” “Chapter 60: In Sanlagita,” “Chapter 61: Challenge,” and “Chapter 62: You Are Ziva.”

Back in Sanlagita, Cade has taken to wandering the north shore of the island. He is sad that his brother and cousins died when they sailed away and is equally sad that Lalani is gone. While he sits by the shore, he sees an empty boat floating toward him. He recognizes it because it belonged to his missing brother. Cade immediately alerts everyone in the village. After inspecting the boat, Drum calls a town meeting. He announces that it should be dismantled to make a grand house for himself and his son. Nobody volunteers to work on the project.

Instead, Cade and Hetsbi come up with a plan. They tell Drum that he is the strongest and most capable man in the village and that he should set sail with Kul for Mount Isa. Maddux backs up the suggestion, and the rest of the townsfolk take up the cry. They implore Drum and Kul to save them by embarking on the journey. This appeal to his pride makes it impossible for Drum to decline the challenge, and Drum and Kul agree to go.

The narrative switches to the point of view of the ghost girl named Ziva. Like Lalani, she hoped for something better than her dismal life in Sanlagita. She recalls her sea voyage and how the sailors blamed her for their misfortune and threw her overboard. Even though she drowned, she didn’t succumb to the whenbo trees. Instead, she roams as a ghost. She is aware of Lalani’s goodwill and how the girl declared she would have been Ziva’s friend if she had lived. As a result, Ziva helps Lalani survive on her journey. She was the one who whispered to the pahaalusk to help Lalani and save her from drowning. She also collects fruit and places it beside the hungry girl after she reaches Isa.

This summary section includes “Chapter 63: Fei Diwata,” “Chapter 64: Rise,” “Chapter 65: Pointed to the Sea,” and “Chapter 66: You Are a Sanlagitan.”

Lalani believes she can save Usoa if she can reach Fei Diwata, so she continues to run, fending off more attacks with her arrowhead from fearful creatures called the nunso, who try to drag her underground. She becomes weaker and weaker as she travels on, eventually collapsing. Then, the pahaalusk arrives and carries Lalani on its back to the base of a magnificent tree. From within the trunk emerges a human girl whose “hair was bright and shining. She wore a dress made of leaves and a belt of vine. She was a small creature, even smaller than Lalani, but her eyes—brown and sparkling—held many secrets” (371). This is Fei Diwata.

Fei Diwata asks if Lalani has her udyo, but the girl doesn’t understand the question. Realizing that Lalani is injured and feverish, Fei Diwata brings her the petals of a flower called the osnoom. She says that the nunso are taking care of Usoa, and she will be healed. Then, she notices and inquires about the pouch around Lalani’s neck. Lalani says that she got it from Ellseth as he was being swallowed by the earth. Fei Diwata remembers that Ellseth was the thief who stole her udyo. She reaches into the pouch and retrieves the arrowhead, then she affixes it to an arrow. Using her bow, she shoots the arrow into the tree, and it springs to life. Hundreds of birds take flight, singing, and Fei Diwata tells her that “[b]irdsong […] carries all of life’s good fortunes” (376), implying that good fortune is to come.

Several days later, Drum and Kul set out on their journey to Isa. Five days afterward, their ship floats back to shore in pieces. A severed arm holding a gavel also appears, confirming that Drum and Kul were killed by Ditasa-Ulod. Veyda takes the gavel, intending to strike the gong and summon everyone, when she sees a cloud of birds flying toward the island. Some are singing, while others carry seeds and plants in their beaks. Others carry the petals of the miraculous osnoom flower. They release these treasures over Sanlagita.

Shortly afterward, Lalani’s boat approaches the island, and she returns safely from her perilous journey. After her arrival, the island is transformed into a prosperous place. The Sailing Days come to an end, and the village now “celebrates […] the day a girl climbed out of an abandoned scouting boat and came back home” (384). In other words, they rejoice at Lalani’s return and at the good fortune she has brought with her.