The Bone Sparrow: Chapter 29 Summary & Analysis

It’s surprisingly easy to find Jimmie’s house. Jimmie is lying on the ground under the window, feverish and breathing quickly. The door and the window are locked, so Subhi breaks the window with a rock and climbs in the window. He’s never been in a house before. He gets water for Jimmie, but when he tries to give it to her, it’s like she’s forgotten how to drink. Seeing Jimmie’s phone—the one that can only make emergency calls—Subhi suddenly remembers what he learned when he read the Emergency Folder. He rolls her into the recovery position and dials 000. A woman asks if he wants police, fire, or ambulance, and after transferring Subhi’s call, a man asks for Subhi’s location. Subhi describes Jimmie’s house and where it is in relation to the detention center, and he explains that Jimmie is “sick and hot and isn’t breathing right.”

The man tells Subhi it’ll be okay—an ambulance is on its way and Subhi just needs to keep Jimmie calm. Subhi hears Jimmie calling for him and notices red dots on her face. Dropping the phone, Subhi goes to her and talks to her. She whispers that she wants a story. Though Subhi wants to tell her stories don’t matter right now, he decides that maybe hearing about the Bone Sparrow will keep her calm and will make her better. This time when he reads from the book, the words aren’t magic. When the story is over, Subhi continues reading the email addresses and a reminder to buy ribbons for some bike handlebars. This makes Jimmie smile. Subhi helps her drink again, and she manages to get some down.

When Subhi hears the ambulance, he hides—he needs to make sure nobody finds the weak spot so that Eli can escape later. He leaves the book on Jimmie’s chest and hides in the shadows. The first responders take the book off Jimmie’s chest, but they put it in her hand before they load her into their van. Just before they leave, a car drives up and a boy leaps out. The boy says he's Jonah. Subhi can see chocolate in Jonah’s hand and a bike in his car. Finally, the ambulance disappears, though Subhi can still hear the siren ringing in his ears. He races back to the gum tree at the top of the hill, where he sits and sobs. Without thinking, Subhi climbs the tree, just like Queeny taught him. The air at the top is sweet and light, and from here, Subhi can see the camp.

In his ear, Subhi hears that he’s free and Outside. But this makes his chest tighten, and Subhi feels scared. He tries to breathe deeply, but he realizes he can smell smoke. Looking back to the camp, Subhi sees flames and smoke. He can’t stay Outside.