Mrs. Cormaci helps. She helps a lot, and some might have said that she helps too much. Well, they can go mind their own business, thank you very much! What else has an old woman like her got to do? And lord knows that family needs the help.

She had known for a long time that something was up. Really, most people had. She had just been a tad more involved given that this was her neighbors. The father coming back, white-haired, weary-faced, all trembling hands. The kids being sick with "the flu" for weeks on end. The mother not showing her face for weeks. The wary eldest son who always seemed to carry such a weight on his shoulders.

The truth had not exactly been what she had expected. An Underland? Big rats? "Well, that takes the cake," she had said. And it does. But it's the truth. And it is all too real. That white-haired father was a prisoner of war. Those flu-ridden kids go dangerous journeys for the sake of a city, nevermind them being children. That mother is in an underground hospital recovering from a lethal plague. That wary eldest son — he's a soldier. He's a prophesied savior, and he's sent who-knows-where as per those prophecies, racking up scars and traumas aplenty. It's all on his shoulders.

So Mrs. Cormaci does her very best to help. She finds an antique dealer and gets the "family business" up and running to keep the family afloat in the absence of Grace. She does the girls' hair and gets medicine for the father. She does her utmost to make Gregor know that he's not alone in this. It's not all his weight. Yes, Mrs. Cormaci likes to help because everybody needs a little kindness. And some need a lot. Even that lot in the Underland. Gregor shouldn't be surprise that she'll even let that rat teacher of his have some leftovers. Everybody needs a little help sometimes.