In Chap­ter 164 of “All the Col­ors of the Dark,” a somber atmos­phere envelops a ceme­tery in Cedar Val­ley as a bur­ial takes place beside St. Raphael. Patch, attend­ing the ser­vice, notices the misty hills and drea­ry skies that con­trast with the per­sis­tent smoke from the John Deere fac­to­ry in Pecaut. Char­lotte, his daugh­ter, is dressed in a navy dress and exhibits remark­able com­po­sure, a stark con­trast to the griev­ing atten­dees who weep for Misty. Patch reflects on the poten­tial activ­i­ties he could share with Char­lotte, like fish­ing at Clear Spring Lake, as they both nav­i­gate their grief.

As Patch encoun­ters emo­tions from those around him, he feels the weight of Char­lot­te’s inquis­i­tive nature, prompt­ing mem­o­ries of his own tur­bu­lent past. The gath­er­ing is marked by sor­row, cul­mi­nat­ing in Misty’s mother’s out­cry as the pol­ished cas­ket is low­ered. Char­lotte, in her inno­cence, express­es a poignant sen­ti­ment: “You don’t cry because it’s over, you smile that it hap­pened.” Yet, Patch strug­gles to find solace in her words.

Post-ser­vice, Patch approach­es Chief Nix, who is grap­pling with his own loss and a recent stroke. Their con­ver­sa­tion reveals the depth of their shared his­to­ry, with Nix express­ing con­cern over Patch’s well-being and ongo­ing search for answers about his past. Togeth­er, they pon­der the impli­ca­tions of life-chang­ing events and their effects on self-iden­ti­ty. Patch reflects on the day of Misty’s tragedy—the cat­a­lyst that altered his life for­ev­er.

Nix’s obser­va­tions reveal a deep­er philo­soph­i­cal dis­course about human­i­ty’s dual­i­ty and the pres­ence of good and evil. Their dia­logue flows into anec­dotes about places like Cody, Wyoming, high­light­ing a yearn­ing for sim­plic­i­ty and beau­ty in life against the back­drop of chaos. As they nav­i­gate the com­plex­i­ties of their shared expe­ri­ences, Nix encour­ages Patch to take time for Char­lotte before return­ing to his quest, offer­ing sup­port for the dif­fi­cult road ahead.

In a time laden with grief and reflec­tion, con­nec­tions are forged and deep­er truths are uncov­ered, sug­gest­ing that while the past shapes them, there remains a path toward heal­ing and hope .