In a reflec­tive tone, Chap­ter 172 of “All the Col­ors of the Dark” cap­tures a qui­et year in the life of the nar­ra­tor fol­low­ing his farewell to Grace. This year is marked by moments spent with his daugh­ter, Char­lotte, as they engage in every­day activ­i­ties, illus­trat­ing the com­fort­ing rou­tine of their lives togeth­er. The nar­ra­tive encap­su­lates key events, empha­siz­ing the chang­ing sea­sons through the clothes Char­lotte wears.

In Jan­u­ary, they enjoy a mem­o­rable day at the Mad House, watch­ing the 49ers com­pete against the Charg­ers. Inspired by the game, Char­lotte dis­cov­ers an old foot­ball in the attic and prac­tices throw­ing in the frost-cov­ered yard, envi­sion­ing her­self as a foot­ball play­er. Her inno­cent ambi­tion is met with a warn­ing from Nor­ma, who sug­gests con­tact sports could lead to bar­ren­ness, a term Char­lotte strug­gles to under­stand. This exchange intro­duces a humor­ous yet poignant twist, as Char­lotte play­ful­ly claims she might not want chil­dren, con­tem­plat­ing her own iden­ti­ty.

Every month cul­mi­nates in a vis­it to the Alamo The­atre, where they bond over shared pop­corn while watch­ing hor­ror films. Despite Charlotte’s fear­ful reac­tions dur­ing a Fred­dy Krueger film, her deter­mi­na­tion to expe­ri­ence these nar­ra­tives show­cas­es her resilience.

Spring­time brings a shift in tone with a trag­ic event in Okla­homa, leav­ing an indeli­ble impact on Char­lotte, who finds her­self unable to sleep after wit­ness­ing the destruc­tion and loss of life. The nar­ra­tor’s pro­tec­tive nature sur­faces as he stays by her door until dawn, sig­nal­ing a deep sense of respon­si­bil­i­ty and love.

Their rit­u­al of light­ing can­dles at St. Raphael’s sig­ni­fies mourn­ing but also a broad­er com­men­tary on hope. Char­lot­te’s empa­thy is illu­mi­nat­ed through her read­ing about a griev­ing moth­er, high­light­ing themes of loss and resilience. As the chap­ter clos­es, Char­lot­te’s inquiry about miss­ing girls hints at an under­ly­ing curios­i­ty regard­ing the harsh real­i­ties of life, embody­ing both inno­cence and a grow­ing aware­ness of the world around her.