How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Nothing. Only you can hear what the cedars say. I can't. And you know the way to the lake. Not me. And one day it'll be you singing to the cedars, like Ma does. Not me." (2.40).
Tilja discovers that Anja—not her—inherited their mother's powers of speaking to the cedars. Now she'll have to build a life entirely different from the one she'd envisioned, and feels alienated from her family as a result.
Quote #2
Tilja didn't answer, but gave her a hug and kiss and ran to meet Ma. Ma knelt and held her tight, both of them sobbing quietly. Her hug was as awkward as ever.
"Oh, I'm so happy to see you!" Tilja said as soon as she could speak. "Is Da all right? The river told us the pass was open and there'd been fighting in the Valley." (19.64-65)
When Tilja sees her family for the first time after coming home, she doesn't blab her whole story out. She takes in the simple rewards of a job done well and returning to those she loves most. She savors the moments of embracing her mother and sister, and only after that does she break into conversation.
Quote #3
Tilja stopped and gazed down at the long-loved farmstead. It looked shuttered and dark and still. All the way from the lake she had been twanging with worry about Da. According to Ma, the boys had arrived two days back in the last light, told her their news, and at dawn flown off to the army. Ma didn't think there could be much that two boys, even on a flying horse, could do against a horde of mounted warriors, but Tilja was confident in the Ropemaker's magic. That wasn't enough, though. Da had left ten days earlier, taking Dusty with him. Neither of them knew anything about war, and there must have been fighting already. Anything could have happened to Da, and she knew it and Ma and Meena knew it, and all the while they had trudged between the trees it had been impossible to think about anything else. (20.1)
Tilja comes home and sees Woodbourne, but she can't even process the joy of being at her house because it's dark and closed up, reminding her that her father is off at war. Her dad's been gone for ten days, but he's not a soldier and he could easily get hurt—or worse. Her family is of paramount importance in her mind now that she's back in a familiar environment.