In Chap­ter 157 of “All the Col­ors of the Dark,” the nar­ra­tive unfolds as Patch opens the doors to his vast house for a gath­er­ing, orga­nized by Nor­ma. Near­ly three hun­dred guests attend, includ­ing Daisy Crea­son from *The Tri­bune*, who fea­tures the event in a front-page arti­cle, much to Patch’s mixed feel­ings. Sam­my, a self-appoint­ed dig­ni­tary, humor­ous­ly and some­what inco­her­ent­ly deliv­ers a speech filled with com­plaints about bureau­cra­cy and town plan­ning, draw­ing a mix of laugh­ter and dis­ap­proval from the atten­dees.

Amid the fes­tiv­i­ties, Misty han­dles the cater­ing, pre­sent­ing a unique menu that bemus­es the locals, while a few sin­gle ladies express inter­est in the artist whose paint­ings adorn the walls. In a reflec­tive moment, Misty and Patch find them­selves in the gar­den, sur­round­ed by fairy lights and enjoy­ing a serene evening on a bench made from oak. They share a con­ver­sa­tion about the house’s aes­thet­ic, with Misty liken­ing it to a beau­ti­ful paint­ing, prompt­ing a dis­cus­sion about mem­o­ries and life choic­es.

As they watch Chief Nix con­vers­ing with oth­ers, Misty reveals her motives for return­ing: to pro­vide Char­lotte with expe­ri­ences from her own past and to recon­nect her moth­er with famil­iar roots. Patch, too, explains his return is influ­enced by the dif­fi­cul­ty of los­ing loved ones in a vast world and the hope of reunit­ing with them in famil­iar places.

The atmos­phere shifts when Misty dis­clos­es her seri­ous ill­ness, one that does not spare hope for recov­ery. Patch’s heart sinks as he absorbs the weight of her words. He rec­og­nizes her vital­i­ty in her vivid descrip­tions; her essence is seen through the lens of art that res­onates deeply with him. Despite his emo­tion­al tur­moil, he cra­dles her close, aware that no col­ors can tru­ly express the depth of his feel­ings for her, empha­siz­ing the painful jux­ta­po­si­tion of beau­ty and suf­fer­ing in their lives.