Virgil texts Kaori asking for help connecting with a girl he secretly likes at school.

Kaori tells Virgil he will face darkness and instructs him to gather five ritual stones before their next meeting.

Virgil places his guinea pig Gulliver into his backpack before heading into the woods to collect the ritual stones.

Chet finds Virgil alone in the woods and throws his backpack — with Gulliver still inside — down an abandoned well.

Virgil spots a built-in ladder and climbs down into the dark well to rescue his trapped guinea pig.

Virgil realizes he cannot reach the ladder from the well's bottom and is completely trapped.

Valencia finds the well's cover removed, worries an animal might fall in, and replaces it — unknowingly sealing Virgil inside.

Kaori grows alarmed when Virgil misses his noon appointment and fails to respond to any calls or texts.

Valencia arrives at Kaori's house for a psychic appointment about her recurring nightmare.

Valencia, Kaori, and Gen visit the Salinas home looking for Virgil and speak with his grandmother Lola.

Chet grabs a snake by its tail in the woods and is bitten on the arm.

A text from Lola prompts Valencia to connect the day's events and realize Virgil is trapped in the well.

Valencia ties Gen's jump rope to the lowest ladder rung so Virgil can pull himself up to safety.

Virgil returns home and refuses to back down when Chet tries to bully him in the driveway.

Virgil musters the courage to text Valencia the single word 'hello.'

Virgil, a painfully shy boy, reaches out to neighborhood psychic Kaori for help connecting with a girl he likes, setting off a chain of events that neither of them could have predicted. On Saturday morning, Virgil takes his guinea pig Gulliver into the woods to collect ritual stones, where the school bully Chet throws his backpack — Gulliver still inside — down an abandoned well. Trying to save his pet, Virgil descends into the dark well and becomes trapped when Valencia unknowingly replaces the missing cover above him. While Virgil is missing, Kaori and Valencia team up and visit his family looking for clues. Valencia ultimately pieces together the day's events and leads the group back to the well, where Gen's jump rope allows Virgil to climb to safety. Freed from the well, Virgil confronts Chet, demands his family respect his real name, and finally reaches out to Valencia with a single courageous text.

The core story of Virgil's crisis and rescue.

Lola shares her recurring dream with Virgil about a lonely boy who walks into the forest and is eaten by a stone.

Valencia wakes from a nightmare in which a solar eclipse ends and she finds herself completely alone.

Kaori wakes her younger sister Gen to help prepare the spirit chamber before Virgil's psychic appointment.

Chet spots Virgil on the street, follows him, and taunts him at length before finally letting him walk away.

Kaori asks Virgil to post her business card at the grocery store since her parents forbid her from advertising publicly.

Virgil spots Valencia in the grocery store freezer aisle but ducks behind his grandmother without saying a word.

Chet's father mocks Valencia, an overweight customer, and the cashier while standing in the grocery store checkout line.

Lola warns Virgil to beware the color red after dreaming of a boy who is devoured by a red tree.

Valencia writes in her zoological journal in the woods and feeds the stray dog she has named Sacred.

Virgil shouts for help from inside the well for the first time and is startled by the raw power of his own voice.

A voice identifying itself as Ruby San Salvador speaks to Virgil in the well and declares that nothing is ever hopeless.

Valencia learns that she and Virgil attend the same school and that both of them have had guinea pigs as pets.

Gen accidentally sets a pile of dry leaves on fire while trying to light the ceremonial candle in the woods.

When his mother calls him Turtle, Virgil firmly insists she use his proper name for the first time.

Valencia and Kaori exchange dozens of texts late into the evening mapping out plans for a business partnership.

Before the main crisis unfolds, a web of smaller moments shapes each character's path in ways that only become clear later. Lola's prophetic dreams and Valencia's haunting nightmare about isolation introduce the novel's themes of fear and connection from the very first pages. The characters are nudged together by seemingly trivial acts — a business card posted in a grocery store, a shy boy glimpsing a girl he admires, and all four children finding separate reasons to enter the same woods. Inside the well, Virgil discovers his own voice for the first time, while above ground Valencia and Kaori begin forming a genuine friendship over sandwiches and shared discoveries. By the story's end, the ripple effects of these quieter moments prove just as important as the dramatic rescue itself, as Virgil claims his own name and Valencia looks forward to a future no longer spent alone.

The overlooked moments that quietly set everything in motion.

Valencia spots Kaori's business card on the grocery store bulletin board and texts to book a psychic appointment.

Chet heads into the woods carrying a pillowcase, planning to catch a live snake to impress his friends.

Gen suggests that Virgil and his mystery girl might both love guinea pigs, but Kaori dismisses the idea as absurd.

Virgil notices Chet is wearing a red Bulls T-shirt in the woods, immediately recalling Lola's warning about the color red.

Virgil discovers the well ladder ends before reaching the bottom and must jump down, crushing his phone on impact.

Chet watches Valencia moving alone through the woods and, believing she may be a witch, flees in the opposite direction.

Virgil suffers a full panic attack when the well cover blocks all light and he imagines Pah descending to devour him.

Kaori consults her special crystals and concludes that something has detained Virgil from keeping his appointment.

During her psychic reading, Valencia tells Kaori her name is 'Just Renee' rather than revealing her true identity.

Valencia sees a photo of Virgil in the Salinas house and recognizes him as her classmate from the resource room.

Ruby urges Virgil to yell for help a second time, warning him that fear is the only thing that makes Pah grow stronger.

Valencia examines Chet's snakebite, assures him it is not poisonous, and states firmly that her name is Valencia, not 'deafo.'

Kaori learns Valencia's true initials are V.S. and realizes she is the very girl Virgil has been trying to meet.

Trapped in the well, Virgil resolves that if rescued he will stand up to Chet, drop the Turtle nickname, and speak to Valencia.

Kaori berates Virgil after his rescue, listing every chance the universe arranged for him to finally speak to Valencia.

This pool traces the pivotal turning points woven throughout the novel — the moments where choices are made, identities are revealed, and the invisible hand of fate becomes impossible to ignore. Valencia's decision to follow up on Kaori's business card sets off a chain of connections she never could have anticipated, while Chet's impulsive trip into the woods inadvertently triggers the novel's central crisis. Virgil's time in the darkness forces him inward, where he confronts his fears through imaginary voices and ultimately decides who he wants to become. Above ground, Kaori and Valencia gradually lower their guards, share their real names, and discover that the universe has been steering them toward Virgil all along. The pool closes with Kaori confronting Virgil about his continued silence around Valencia — the final push he needs to act on every resolution he made at the bottom of the well.