“As anyone worth his salt knows, it’s best to get a look at a place before it gets a look at you.”

As Abilene prepares to jump from the train prior to arrival at the Manifest depot, she wants to approach the town on her own terms so she can draw her own conclusions. Her statement illustrates her mentality when arriving at Manifest and her traveling lifestyle.

“Funny how people who know exactly where they are can talk so much about directions. I guess those who don’t, just keep moving straight ahead. You don’t need much direction for that.”

Abilene listens to Shady tell her where his house is. Abilene has experienced most of her life on the move, without a clear destination—or concept of home—in mind. She realizes that movement does not imply that someone is actually making progress, they just don’t yet have a place to settle.

“Kids are universals too, in a way. Every school has the ones who think they’re a little better than everybody else and the ones who are a little poorer than everybody else. And somewhere in the mix there’s usually ones who are pretty decent. Those were the ones who made it hard to leave when the time came. And sooner or later, it always came.”

On her first day of school, Abilene sees familiar sights, even though the kids are all new to her. There are things that are always predictable. People are one of them, as is the inevitable time to move on. Her reflection about children her own age demonstrates her lived experience and signals her nontraditional upbringing with Gideon.