Sparkle Valley Philosophy: Abigail's Impossible Choice

The Choice that Keeps Imagination Alive

The Choice that Keeps Imagination Alive

Let's talk about what is perhaps the most important part of the whole series: when Abigail makes her impossible choice. It occurs at the end of Book 3 and involves the Powder of Life.

So what is the Powder of Life? It's this unique substance that allows you to make anything real. And it's particularly appealing to Abigail because her dream is to become Emily's real sister. And this powder would allow her to do that. She imagines this world where she is Emily's real life sister, where she doesn’t disappear when Emily looks away, And at the end of the book, she actually has a chance to use this powder. This is the choice. But why is it “impossible?”

The Break

By the end of Book 3, Sparkle Valley is literally breaking in half. One side is separating from reality altogether. Move on. Grow up. The other side is separating into chaotic imagination. No grounding. Birds are the size of elephants and it's raining upside down. Either way, Sparkle Valley is doomed.

Abigail waves goodbye to Emily

And Abigail sees this. She says as much, "We can't let Hank separate the two worlds… and we can't let Frank combine them. We have to keep both worlds and balance."

So what we’re talking about here isn’t about what Abigail wants, it's about whether this world, this fragile world that lives in Emily’s mind, can stay alive at all.

Abigail knows what the cost will be and that guides her choice. Emily belongs in the real world and that she doesn't. She knows this, but her love for Emily is so great. And now Sparkle Valley on the verge of being destroyed and she is faced with this terrible decision whether to go with her or not. And that’s what makes the choice “impossible.”

The Choice

The choice means separation. Permanent. But she does it. She sends Emily back and stays behind.

She then tells the others: “I'm here to stay.”

Then comes the real choice. The choice that really matters. This is the choice that was actually hard to even write because it means the end. Not only does she not use the Powder, she destroys it. So the story won’t end. Huh? Yes – “won’t end.”

And here is where it’s helpful to bring Rorty back in, because his perspective helps us understand exactly what she’s protecting—and how important it is.

Abigail waves goodbye to Emily

What she protects

Rorty, remember, rejects any version of a finished world. His world is always being re-shaped. Like Abigail, the point for him is to leave things open. Keep the tension.

And the Powder would take all that away. Kill it.

But Abigail refuses to do it. She makes the “impossible choice.” The greatest sacrifice. Despite being tempted by the one thing that you would think would make her crack. Because she knows that if she did, everything that matters would end. In Rorty’s language, it would stop the “conversation.”

And this is where the Blue Flower comes in. The spark, that part of Emily that still believes. But not as an escape from reality. Inside it. Abigail protects that.

Emily will grow up. But she won’t lose that connection, or the ability to imagine. Abigail’s choice to stay behind makes sure of that.