In 1953, Kya rides with Pa through fog to Jumpin’s Gas and Bait, where Jumpin warmly greets them and fuels the boat. Pa then takes Kya to the Barkley Cove diner for her first restaurant meal, a moment of rare indulgence and tentative normalcy.

Outside, Kya reaches toward a friendly child, Meryl Lynn White, but the girl’s mother, Teresa White, yanks her away, calling Kya dirty and blaming “those people” for illness. The public humiliation reinforces Kya’s outsider status despite Pa’s brief efforts at care.

Back home, Kya hopes their fragile peace might bring Ma back, recalling past abuse and fleeting good days. In early September, Kya finds a letter addressed in Ma’s hand. Unable to read it, she leaves it for Pa, who secretly takes it and burns it. Kya salvages the ashes and keeps them in a bottle, her only proof of Ma’s touch.

Pa returns drunk and declares it none of Kya’s business, insisting Ma isn’t coming back. The relapse ends their fishing outings and ends the short-lived truce. Kya, devastated, tries to pray but abandons the effort, concluding no help is coming as Ma’s garden lies in weeds.