This passage makes it clear that Sylvie does see Ruth as a kind of sister and equal. The true sisters both of them have had—Helen and Lucille, respectively—have avoided and abandoned them. Ruth and Sylvie have one another, though, and share feelings and interests neither of them shared with their own real sisters. This important connection doesn’t matter to the townspeople of Fingerbone, though—they can’t understand why Ruth and Sylvie need each other so much.