Lonely after Tate misses lessons, Kya ventures toward Colored Town with homemade jam to visit Jumpin’ and Mabel. She hides when two white boys appear and watches them harass Jumpin’. Enraged, Kya ambushes them, striking one with her sack of jam jars, then slips away and returns home.

The next day Tate arrives with materials to teach her reading and writing. Patiently coaching her through the alphabet, he starts her on A Sand County Almanac. Kya sounds out her first sentence and realizes the power of words, deepening trust and a quiet bond with Tate.

Over days, they meet regularly, mixing lessons with shared moments on the beach and by the lagoon. Kya studies at night, learns numbers and basic arithmetic, and begins labeling her specimens. She wonders why Tate helps her but avoids asking, fearing it might drive him away.

Reading the family Bible, Kya discovers her real name, birthday, and her siblings’ and parents’ full names. This anchors lost memories of her family and restores their identities to her.

A flashback recounts her parents’ history: Jake “Pa” Clark, from a once-prosperous family ruined by the Depression, wooed Maria Jacques in New Orleans with pawned heirlooms and promises. After drinking and failures at work, Jake served in WWII, was injured and mistakenly hailed a hero. Rejecting factory life, he moved the family to the North Carolina marsh shack, resumed drinking, dismissed schooling, and the family’s decline set the stage for eventual abandonment.