Three months after the war, Iris returns to her flat with Roman to sort through her belongings before selling the place. Their matching wedding rings show that their relationship has moved into a new stage, and Roman offers to postpone the task if she is not ready. Iris decides to continue because she no longer wants to delay facing the remains of her old life.

As Iris packs her room, she is surprised to find the process freeing rather than purely painful. She keeps a few meaningful possessions and leaves behind many objects tied to hardship, grief, and childhood. When she enters Forest’s room, Roman goes to find another box, and Iris opens Forest’s messenger bag. Inside she finds a letter addressed to her, written before his death.

Forest’s letter reveals that Sarah had been visiting him and sharing dinners with him while Iris was away, because both of them were lonely and missed her. He also confesses that he finally went to the doctor about his scars and admits his lingering shame, while telling Iris how proud he is of her and how eager he was for her return. Reading the letter makes Iris understand why she had not yet scattered his ashes: she had been waiting for his final words to reach her.

Iris chooses a green hill north of Oath as Forest’s resting place, feeling that the eastern landscape suits him. Tobias drives Iris, Attie, and Roman there, and Iris climbs the hill alone with the urn. The view reminds her of the place Enva once showed her in a dream, and she scatters Forest’s ashes into the wind just as rain begins to fall.

Afterward, Iris returns to the road, where Tobias, Attie, and Roman are waiting in the motorcar. When Tobias asks where to go next, Iris answers, “To home.” As they drive away from the storm and toward sunlight, Roman takes her hand, and Iris feels the weight of grief easing into a sense of peace and forward movement.