In Chap­ter 133 of “All the Col­ors of the Dark,” Saint enjoys a frosty morn­ing, dri­ving her year-old Bron­co through a snowy land­scape to meet Patch at the James Con­nor Cor­rec­tion­al Facil­i­ty, set dis­creet­ly in soy­bean fields. Their emo­tion­al reunion is brief but sweet, marked by smiles and a warm embrace as Patch limps slight­ly from a pri­or gun­shot wound. Although ini­tial­ly care­free, Saint wres­tles with con­cern for Patch, hav­ing vis­it­ed him fre­quent­ly dur­ing his six years in prison—though he nev­er respond­ed to her let­ters.

As they trav­el along Inter­state 44, Saint reflects on how much Patch has missed. They share a sim­ple lunch at a din­er, dis­cussing their lives and touch­ing on the changes that six years and dis­tance have caused. Patch inquires about a mutu­al friend, Nor­ma, while Saint shares her pro­fes­sion­al achieve­ments, par­tial­ly side­lined by her feel­ings of detach­ment. The con­ver­sa­tion weaves from shared mem­o­ries to a men­tion of the past, hint­ing at their strug­gles and the impact of Patch’s incar­cer­a­tion.

Dis­cussing news cov­er­age around a recent homi­cide case, Patch relates details he learned while in prison, includ­ing a con­text about pris­on­ers’ per­spec­tives on free­dom and walls. He express­es nos­tal­gia for their youth, recall­ing events that shaped them while com­ment­ing on the dis­tress­ing real­i­ties they faced. The dia­logue reveals Patch’s ongo­ing pro­cess­ing of trau­ma and desire to recon­nect with mem­o­ries long buried.

As they approach Mon­ta Clare, Patch men­tions hav­ing writ­ten to the judge about their past, elic­it­ing mem­o­ries of the dra­mat­ic shifts in their lives. Their explo­ration of hope min­gles with a chill­ing recog­ni­tion of the past. View­ing the town, Patch reflects on his child­hood home, and while the present appears unchanged, deep­er scars linger. Saint express­es hopes for a brighter future for Patch, rein­forc­ing her unwa­ver­ing sup­port despite the weight of their shared his­to­ry. The chap­ter clos­es with Sain­t’s heart­felt encour­age­ment for Patch to find his “par­adise,” reveal­ing lay­ers of resilience and a bond that both endure and cher­ish.