When the Cranes Fly South

At 8:15 AM, Ingrid writes that Bo seems “a little low” and that he does not want to visit Fredrika (70).

Bo searches the workshop for old photos, sweating as he drags out tightly packed boxes. He finds the snapshots of Ellinor “as a bee” in her fifth-grade school play (71), including one where she holds his hand outside the school in Bölviken. He thinks that the pictures might put Hans in a better mood and help with the dispute over Sixten. Unable to slide the box back, Bo rests on a chair with the back sawn off, the one he once used while painting Hans’s room. He holds the photos and thinks about visiting Fredrika at Brunkullagården later. He imagines Hans’s future and pushes away thoughts of illness. 

Deciding to make things right, he stands, takes the pictures, and goes inside. In the kitchen, Sixten waits in the summer light. Bo buries his hand in the dog’s neck, but his temper suddenly flares; the clawing in his chest returns, and he stops stroking. He throws the photos onto the table, thinking that if Ellinor were the one in charge instead of Hans, everything would be easier, as she “would never take Sixten away” (72).