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safety was all the robot really wanted, so she stood there, motionless, all perfect lines and angles set against the irregular shapes of the wilderness.
As the robot looked out at the island, it never even occurred to her that she might not belong there. As far as Roz knew, she was home.
“You have taught me an important lesson. I can see how camouflage helps you survive; perhaps it could help me survive also.”
“But why do you pretend to be something you are not?” said the robot. “Because it’s fun!” said the opossum. “And because it helps me survive, as you just saw. You never know, it might help you survive too.”
“You’ll never be the perfect mother, so just do the best you can. All Brightbill really needs is to know you’re doing your best.”
“I will still act like your mother, no matter what you call me,” said the robot.
“We’re a strange family,”
smile. “But I kind of like it that way.”
“I forgive you,” said Roz. Whether she was capable of true forgiveness is anybody’s guess. But they were nice words, and Thorn felt better when he heard them.
“You were out for a few minutes,” said the gosling as he hugged his mother. “But it seemed like forever to me.”
“Life is short.”
“Everything has a purpose.”
“Perhaps I am simply meant to help others.”
The wilderness really can be ugly sometimes. But from that ugliness came beauty.
As he sat there, watching the robot’s animal gestures and listening to her animal sounds, Brightbill realized just how special his mother really was.
“But I care about this island far too much to put any more lives in danger. And so, my friends, I must leave.”
Brightbill had been Roz’s son from the moment she picked up his egg. She had saved him from certain death, and then he had saved her. He was the reason Roz had lived so well for so long.
