The Poppy Fields

Sky entertains Ava, Sasha, and Ray with stories of her family and her desire to travel. They are all struck by how young she seems. When she asks where they are headed, they explain about the Poppy Fields. Sky is surprised but takes it in stride, asserting that if someone wants to pursue that kind of experimental treatment, it is their business.

Sky is shocked that Ava cannot drive. She herself learned to drive as soon as possible, excited for the sense of freedom it gave her. They arrive in a small, dusty town, and Sky suggests teaching Ava. To Ava’s horror, everyone else agrees that it is a good idea. Grudgingly, she agrees.

In the car, the two talk, and Ava remembers her sister. She sees herself in this young girl and wonders what it must have been like to be the elder rather than the younger sister. She drives cautiously at first but then faster at Sky’s urging. She drives so fast that she blows one of the rental car’s old tires.

Ellis recalls the first days of the project. The first 10 sleepers had woken up refreshed and strong, although one reported a troubling lack of emotion for people he’d loved his entire life. No one else worried as much as Ellis; they had secured a large grant, and the project would continue. Ellis allowed the happiness from the funding to cloud her judgment: She slept with Flynn. That very night, her grandmother died.

The narrative shifts to the interview transcript of an applicant to the Poppy Fields. The applicant wants to erase the grief she feels over her mother’s death but is worried that to do so would be disrespectful. She posits that grief is an important manifestation of the love we feel toward our friends and family after we lose them.

It will be some time before someone can come to patch the tire, so Ava, Sasha, Ray, and Sky find a nearby inn. Ava offers to pay for everyone’s rooms, feeling responsible for the delay. She thinks that she never should have agreed to something so risky. She is pleased by how clean and respectable the inn is, and she falls asleep thinking of Granny Mae.

Mae’s death shook Ava. Ava’s parents, both civil engineers, had died in an accident abroad when she and her sister were both under six years old. Mae became Ava’s only real parent. Losing Mae made her realize how well her grandmother had prepared her for life. Ava had a successful career as an illustrator, volunteered at the library part-time, and soon adopted PJ. The only missing piece was her sister, who had not returned from California and with whom she was only sporadically in touch.

The narrative shifts to a social media post by a woman named Sarah. She wants to explain the lack of recent videos and social-media engagement: Losing her sister left her grief-stricken and without direction, so she chose an experimental, month-long treatment at the Poppy Fields, meant to help her manage her grief.

Sasha showers at the inn, lost in thought about Dean and about how important romantic love has always been to her, even as a teenager. She was thrilled by her first kiss and equally thrilled in college to have her first real boyfriend. His name was Peter Lee, and as a fellow Asian American, he understood her in a way that Dean never could. He just “got” what it was like to be seen through the lens of stereotypes, even when those stereotypes were positive.

They broke up when he left for graduate school, and he later married. She was happy to see his wedding pictures online, but at that point, she had also been engaged. Now, it feels like she has been robbed of her future, and she does not know what to do.

Ellis prepares for a visit to Los Angeles, California, for a meeting at the Harper Foundation, the Poppy Fields’ largest donor. She plans to ask for additional funding for their proposed expansion. She has also lined up all her yearly medical appointments. She typically works seven days per week, 52 weeks per year. This trip will be the first time she has left the Poppy Fields in quite some time.

Sky suggests that Ava, Sasha, and Ray accompany her to Sedona. She explains that it is the site of important energy vortices and has been sacred both to Indigenous and new-age communities for many years. Sasha is intrigued, and Ray is skeptical. He does not want to delay their journey anymore.

Ava casts the deciding vote. She wants to tell them that her sister is the brains behind the Poppy Fields but is scared to do so. Sedona might buy her some time. She sweetly tells Ray that because Sky is so young, it would be safer to drop her off right in Sedona than somewhere nearby, which would necessitate more hitchhiking. Grumbling, Ray agrees.

Ellis is in Los Angeles. Outside of the Harper Foundation, there is a skinny man yelling, “Stop the sleep” (192). She does her best to sneak inside the building, and the meeting goes well. As she is leaving, however, she realizes that she recognizes this man. It is evident that he also recognizes her.

As they drive, Ray is preoccupied by thoughts of his brother. Life as a first responder had taught him to weather tragedy and not ask too many questions, but since Johnny died, he cannot ignore his questions anymore. This death is personal.

Ava admits to Sasha and Ray that her sister is Ellis Jones, the Poppy Fields’ creator. They are shocked, and both voice how betrayed they feel—Ray because he holds Ellis responsible for Johnny’s death and Sasha because she opened up to Ava and would have liked to ask her to put in a good word with Ellis about her application.

The narrative shifts to the interview transcript of an applicant to the Poppy Fields. A distraught woman explains that she needs a break from her life and that she is tired of explaining her choice to leave her husband.

The man whom Ellis sees is not one of the Poppy Fields’ former patients, but his wife was. She underwent treatment to deal with the loss of their young son. She was one of the 25% of patients who experienced emotional moderation as a side effect and had emerged from sleep with neutral feelings toward her loved ones. The man is angry and asks Ellis to shut down the Poppy Fields. When she gently refuses, he shoves her to the ground and then begins crying. Security guards tackle him, but Ellis is rattled.

Ray asks Ava if the Poppy Fields was what came between her and her sister. She explains that they began to drift apart as children, but the Poppy Fields was instrumental in their adult estrangement. Their grandmother fell ill right around the time of Ellis’s first sleep trial. She didn’t come home, even when it was evident that Mae was dying. Ava couldn’t forgive her for that.

Ray tells her that he understands and asks why she has decided now, two years later, to confront Ellis. She isn’t entirely sure and asks Ray what he hopes to find at the Poppy Fields. He struggles to articulate it, but Ava intuits that he is looking for some kind of closure.

Audrey lost her husband of nearly 15 years and found the treatment at the Poppy Fields incredibly helpful. She doesn’t argue that it’s a panacea, but she urges people to be open-minded about it.

Sasha understands why Ava chose not to disclose that Ellis is her sister. She hadn’t wanted to cause Ray more distress, and she was worried that Ray and Sasha would judge her for her sister’s work. After some time alone, Sasha returns to the group for their last night together before Ava, Sasha, and Ray continue on to the Poppy Fields and Sky remains in Sedona. The four enjoy a night out at a local bar and grill.