wishbone

• • 'Reaching the top of the hill I traced the inscriptions on the war memorial, leaned against it like a wishbone."

  1. She’s looking through the names of the dead and wishing that her son’s name wasn’t there. Wishbones are supposed to bring good luck; this is ironic, as she knows that her wish for his life to be spared wasn’t granted. She leans against it as she is weak with grief. 
  2. Another possible interpretation is that the wishbone is located over the heart. Traditionally, wishbones are broken, showing that the physical and metaphorical protection of her heart is gone and she is vulnerable.
• 'Reaching the top of the hill I traced the inscriptions on the war memorial, leaned against it like a wishbone.'

  It can also suggest that the mother and son are like two halves of a wishbone; without each other they are incomplete, even though they are destined to be ripped apart.