Chapter 32, Chapter 33, and Epilogue Summary
Chapter 32
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Fifteen years have passed. Leo tells of his reactions shortly after the Ocotillo Ball. He ventures to her house but finds it empty except for a For Sale sign in the yard. He goes to visit Archie, who appears to have been expecting him. Leo asks, “Where?” and Archie answers, “Midwest. Minnesota.”
Leo wonders if he will ever see her again, if she was even real. Archie tells him, “Star people are rare. You’ll be lucky to meet another.” He goes on to explain that sometimes a person comes along who is more in touch with who they really are than the rest of us are. Leo is confused and Archie just smiles. He tells Leo he is lucky because she loved him enough to try to be something she could never really be. Though Leo says he understands, Archie knows he does not but one day he will.
Leo continues to be part of the Loyal Order of the Stone Bone, and they never speak of Stargirl again until the next summer. Archie invites Leo to come over and shows him Stargirl’s office in the tool shed behind his house. It looks just like Leo thought it would, full of ribbons and calendars and phone books and file folders and bits of other interesting things. Archie shows him a scrapbook with Peter’s name on it, and Archie explains he is to wait five years before he delivers it. Leo spies a file folder labeled “Borlock” and opens it.
It contains a myriad of information about him, including his likes and dislikes. Leo is stunned into silence. He also sees files for everyone else she knew, including Hillari Kimble and Wayne Parr. He remarks that she was like a spy. Archie smiles and says, “A lovely treason, hm?” Leo is speechless.
Chapter 33
Leo still visits Archie during his college years, though he eventually moves east to pursue his career as a set designer—something he realizes now was born in him the day Stargirl first took him to her enchanted place. Archie looks more and more like the ancient Mr. Saguaro. On Leo’s last visit, Archie hands him the car keys and deposits himself, a pail, and a small paper bag in the front seat.
They discuss Stargirl, but Leo seems no closer to understanding her now than he ever had. They drive to the foothills and Archie directs Leo to stop near an outcropping of rocks not far from the road. He takes a pick from his pail and finds a good spot. After a bit of digging, Archie pulls Barney the Paleocene rodent skull out of the bag. Leo is shocked and watches as Archie places the fossil in the hole, adds a piece of paper, then proceeds to mix some cement to seal the grave. No one would be able to see the spot unless they were very close to it. When Leo asks Archie what was on the paper, all he said was “a word.” Leo knows he will get no more information.
The next time Leo stops to see Archie, someone else is living in his house, and what was once Stargirl’s enchanted place is now an...
(The entire section is 810 words.)