A Snake Falls to Earth

Content Warning: This section contains references to colonialism and the genocide of Indigenous Americans.

Cottonmouth society in the Reflecting World kicks children out of their family homes at a relatively young age. These children rarely stick together when leaving home (111), but this doesn’t mean that cottonmouths like Oli are completely individualistic; Oli thrives when he finds a home and friends. Consequently, cottonmouths like Oli rely on found family to fill their need for belonging and companionship. Oli stumbles across the bottomless lake by taking the path to anywhere-you-please—a magical path that finds people when they are in need. When Oli walks the path, he is dreaming of a place to call home, and the path takes Oli to the place where he will meet his friends. These friendships are just as vital to Oli’s sense of home as his tent (and later his house) is.

Found family is also vital for Ami, the Dallas toad person. Ami doesn’t have any biological family around. The only people to help him when he becomes sick are Oli and Brightest. If it weren’t for his friends, Ami and the Dallas toads would die. Oli’s “fork in the road” in Chapter 11 is a decision between finding his biological siblings and dropping everything to help Ami.