One year later, Iris tends the garden outside the small town house she shares with Roman. Roman, writing upstairs, tosses her a folded note instead of calling her in. The note invites Iris to the kitchen table, where he has left fresh manuscript pages and tea for her to read.

In the kitchen, Iris reads Roman’s latest chapter of a story about a boy sailing a ship in the clouds. She is moved by the honesty and hope in the work, but she also marks two typos and notes questions about a side character’s motives. Her response shows the rhythm they have built together: Roman writes, and Iris reads him closely and honestly.

Iris brings the pages upstairs and tells Roman that the new chapter may be her favorite yet. The scene also makes clear that Roman still lives with lasting damage from the gas exposure; medicine bottles, salves, and inhaled oils help ease his breathing, but they cannot heal him. Before leaving him to read her notes in private, Iris reminds him of their family plans for the evening and tells him to check his left pocket.

After reviewing Iris’s edits, Roman finds another typed message hidden in his pocket. Iris has turned the exchange into a playful scavenger hunt, sending him to the wardrobe for the real note. As Roman watches Iris working in the garden, he reflects on how deeply her presence steadies him and how life with her has become the source of his best writing.

In Iris’s final letter, she encourages Roman to keep writing and echoes advice he once gave her: the words he needs are already within him. She says she looks forward not only to the next chapter of his book, but also to the next chapter they will write together in their shared life. The chapter closes on their marriage as a partnership built on affection, creative trust, ordinary routines, and hope despite Roman’s permanent injury.