Abigail Kirk
Her birth name is Lynette, but her mother doesn't like the name. She is the tenacious teenage protagonist. When Lynette's father leaves the family, he leaves a deep rift in Lynette's identity which she consummates by changing her name to Abigail. She spends her adolescence searching for the family ties which she lost thanks to her parents' divorce when she was young. After a chance, fantastic encounter with the original Beatie Bow and her family, Abigail spends the equivalent of several years with the family in 1879, until she saves them from an arson fire started by their traumatized father, Samuel.
Back in her own time, Abigail carries the memories of the Bow family with her. She reads some history books to learn what happened to each of them. This family fills the void which her birth father had left and becomes Abigail's deeply personal secret. Eventually she entrusts the secret to her younger friend, Nathaly's, Uncle Robert Bow -- a descendant of Beatie's family. Robert not only believes Abigail, but the two bond by sharing this secret.
Katherine Kirk
Abigail's mom, Katherine, is an anxious woman. She did not anticipate her husband abandoning the family and spends years trying to repair that relationship before agreeing to move back in with him in Norway. Although she is disillusioned with her husband now, Katherine believes the bond of family is strong and must be protected. She tries to explain these things to Abigail, but she asks instead that her daughter trust her.
Weyland Kirk
He is the absentee father. Weyland leaves his wife and daughter to pursue a younger woman, moving to Norway. He eventually repents and asks his family to give him another chance by moving out to Norway with him, which they do. Meeting his now adult daughter, Weyland is woefully unprepared to make amends. He does little in the way of trying to know Abigail, which is fine because she has already found people to fulfill that paternal role in her life.
Vincent & Natalie
These are Abigail's neighbors, a few years younger than her. She babysits for them often, watching their games. They are the ones who play Beatie Bow at length. While Vincent loves the spook factor, he has to persuade the girls to play because they are legitimately afraid. As grown-ups, these kids remain close to Abigail. Nathalie introduces Abigail to their Uncle Robert -- a distant relative of the Bow family.
Beatie Bow
She is a real child from a century before Abigail's time, after which the game is named. Legend holds that she haunts the play-yard. In fact she is the one who lures Abigail back in time. Introducing Abigail to her family, Beatie silently appeals for the older girl to save her family's "gift," the gift of sight which Abigail supposedly possesses because she can see Beatie in her own time. Although Beatie takes Abigail to 1879 essentially by trickery, she and her family make the girl comfortable and welcome her into their family. Abigail remembers Beatie and the others fondly for the rest of her life, counting them as her own family.
Uncle Robert Bow
He is, as his name indicates, a descendant of the Bow family. He is also Nathalie and Vincent's uncle. He meets Abigail as an adult, resembling Judah so much that Abigail almost immediately trust him enough to share her secret about living with the Bow family in the past. They seem like old friends at their first meeting. After Abigail shares her secret, Robert reacts with tenderness. The two seem to form a romantic bond from that moment onward.
