Son: Book 2, Chapter 14  Summary & Analysis

By midday, Claire is hot and sweaty. She stops on a narrow ledge to drink, grateful to Einar for teaching her to balance without her arms. She pulls out her gloves and rope as she puts the water gourd away, thinking how amazing it is that Einar had the climb memorized so well after only doing it once. Now, she has to throw her rope twice, but she manages to throw her rope around a gnarled tree so she can walk along a tiny strip of granite. This completed, Claire is again in the shade. She still has so far to go.

Now Claire is working her way through a narrow, shady tunnel. It’s pleasantly cool, but it’s dark and slippery. When she reaches for her gloves to give her some traction, she finds that she’s lost one. So, she climbs up bit by bit, switching the glove from hand to hand as she climbs. She thinks of Einar’s advice and focuses on the birds’ nest she’ll reach when she emerges from the tunnel.