Chap­ter 56 of If These Wings Could Fly opens with the pro­tag­o­nist expe­ri­enc­ing an intense moment of emo­tion­al dis­tress as they find the park­ing lot unex­pect­ed­ly emp­ty. Real­iz­ing that some­one sig­nif­i­cant has left, the weight of the sit­u­a­tion becomes over­whelm­ing, and they are left sit­ting on the cold ground, strug­gling to breathe through the heav­i­ness in their chest. As they sit in the chill of the moment, Sofia, a devot­ed friend, finds them and sits by their side in the freez­ing mud. Despite the ongo­ing fes­tiv­i­ties of the half­time show at the game, Sofia choos­es to pri­or­i­tize her friend’s emo­tion­al state over her cheer­lead­ing duties. This act of com­pas­sion under­scores the strength of their friend­ship, as Sofia pro­vides the sup­port need­ed to help the pro­tag­o­nist regain com­po­sure in the midst of their emo­tion­al storm. Her will­ing­ness to pause her own life for a moment to help a friend in dis­tress high­lights the depth of their con­nec­tion, empha­siz­ing that emo­tion­al sup­port can offer solace dur­ing times of over­whelm­ing grief.

As the two friends sit togeth­er, Sofia’s com­fort­ing pres­ence allows the pro­tag­o­nist to slow­ly regain con­trol over their emo­tions. The con­ver­sa­tion nat­u­ral­ly shifts toward the issues the pro­tag­o­nist has been fac­ing at home, which Sofia has long sus­pect­ed but nev­er pressed due to her friend’s desire to keep such mat­ters pri­vate. Their bond is high­light­ed by Sofia’s under­stand­ing and respect for her friend’s bound­aries, as well as her unwa­ver­ing sup­port in dif­fi­cult times. Sofia offers refuge by sug­gest­ing a sleep­over at her house, which light­ens the mood, pro­vid­ing a moment of light-heart­ed relief amid the pro­tag­o­nist’s inter­nal strug­gles. The idea of spend­ing time with friends and pets allows for a brief respite from the weight of the prob­lems they are deal­ing with at home. It becomes clear that their con­nec­tion is a source of strength, with Sofia’s abil­i­ty to cre­ate space for com­fort and sup­port becom­ing essen­tial in help­ing the pro­tag­o­nist nav­i­gate through their emo­tion­al tur­moil. This moment of con­nec­tion serves as a reminder of the impor­tance of friend­ships dur­ing times of hard­ship.

Once the pro­tag­o­nist feels ready, they return to the sta­di­um, where they share a moment of warmth with their moth­er, who stayed despite the tur­bu­lence at home. The pro­tag­o­nist express­es grat­i­tude for their mother’s pres­ence, appre­ci­at­ing her sup­port in such a dif­fi­cult time. As they dis­cuss how to get home, the pro­tag­o­nist sug­gests a bus route that pass­es by their grandmother’s house, which sig­nals a desire to return to a famil­iar and safe envi­ron­ment. The idea of home lingers in their thoughts, prompt­ing a deep­er inter­nal reflec­tion on what home means to them. This reflec­tion reveals a fear of being for­got­ten or left behind, much like snowflakes that dis­ap­pear upon con­tact with the ground, leav­ing no trace behind. The metaphor of fleet­ing­ness and imper­ma­nence res­onates deeply, evok­ing a sense of long­ing for some­thing last­ing and sta­ble amidst the chaos of their cur­rent life. The pro­tag­o­nist’s inter­nal strug­gle cen­ters around the desire for con­nec­tion and the fear of dis­ap­pear­ing into the back­ground, unsure of where they tru­ly belong.

As the chap­ter pro­gress­es, a metaphor of sea­sons emerges, with the pro­tag­o­nist reflect­ing on their own emo­tion­al state. Instead of see­ing them­selves as del­i­cate spring blooms or the gen­tle warmth of sum­mer, they begin to liken them­selves to a fierce win­ter storm—cold, harsh, and full of mourn­ing. This metaphor reflects their inner tur­moil, as they acknowl­edge the dark­er parts of their per­son­al­i­ty and emo­tions, yet it also sym­bol­izes a long­ing for trans­for­ma­tion. There is a glim­mer of hope with­in this self-real­iza­tion, as the pro­tag­o­nist yearns for a per­son­al mir­a­cle, some­thing that will help them emerge from the storm stronger and more resilient. This desire for change and per­son­al growth amidst chaos becomes a dri­ving force as the pro­tag­o­nist con­tem­plates their future. The chap­ter ends with the real­iza­tion that Auburn, once seen as home, no longer feels like a place of belong­ing. How­ev­er, there is a hint of opti­mism that despite the chal­lenges, a per­son­al mir­a­cle may still be pos­si­ble, offer­ing the pos­si­bil­i­ty of find­ing a new sense of home, or at least a place of inner peace.