In Chap­ter 257 of *All the Col­ors of the Dark*, Saint embarks on a soli­tary jour­ney, filled with reflec­tions and a col­lec­tion of mem­o­ries encap­su­lat­ed in the trunk of her car. As she dri­ves through the expan­sive north­west plains, her nerves sim­mer, but along­side her are care­ful­ly select­ed tokens rep­re­sent­ing the years of a boy’s life — shells, feath­ers, pho­tos, and let­ters that paint a vivid pic­ture of moments shared and trea­sured. Each item, like the conch­es and a parched leaf, holds a sto­ry teth­ered to her emo­tions.

With­in this jour­ney lies the emo­tion­al weight of a final let­ter to the boy, Char­lotte, describ­ing her growth and blos­som­ing tal­ent as an artist, under­scor­ing the impor­tance of their bond. The chap­ter tran­si­tions to the nar­ra­tive of their lives inter­wo­ven with mem­o­ries of din­ners spent with Charlotte’s grand­moth­er and Sam­my, fram­ing Charlotte’s jour­ney towards an ambi­tious future in law.

Upon reach­ing Madi­son Coun­ty and the quaint ham­let of Robins Elk, Saint’s metic­u­lous prepa­ra­tions unfold fur­ther as she arrives at a pic­turesque farm­house. She gin­ger­ly extracts a leather box con­tain­ing gifts and let­ters, a tan­gi­ble rep­re­sen­ta­tion of her affec­tion and hopes for the future. Yet, the seren­i­ty of the moment is dis­rupt­ed as she catch­es sight of Can­dice Addis, a fig­ure from her past, evok­ing a pow­er­ful con­nec­tion and a mix­ture of vul­ner­a­bil­i­ty.

Their reunion is filled with a wist­ful­ness and gen­uine warmth as they nav­i­gate through the nar­ra­tives of their lives, touch­ing on past trau­mas and shared pain. Can­dice shares about her son Theodore, leav­ing Saint to grap­ple with her choic­es and the life grow­ing behind the farm­house. An under­cur­rent of long­ing envelops them as they dis­cuss the far­m’s sus­tain­abil­i­ty amid eco­nom­ic chal­lenges.

Despite her hes­i­ta­tion, Saint express­es grat­i­tude through a finan­cial ges­ture that rep­re­sents both remorse and hope, cul­mi­nat­ing in a heart­felt exchange that leaves both moth­ers tee­ter­ing on the brink of tears. As the chap­ter cul­mi­nates, Saint dri­ves away, bur­dened by remorse and nos­tal­gia, allow­ing her­self to ful­ly release her emo­tions as she reflects on the past and the promis­ing future that lies ahead for her son.