Joar tells Louisa that, contrary to what many expected, his father did not die after the accident. Doctors informed Joar and his mother that the man sustained severe brain damage and would wake as someone profoundly changed—unable to walk, barely able to speak, and in need of complete care. Joar reflects on the irony that the doctors thought "He’ll never be himself again" would sadden them, when the violent self was precisely what they feared.

Joar knew immediately that his mother would stay with his father, not because he deserved it, but because he needed her. He recognizes how others misread her kindness as weakness and realizes he had underestimated her as well. Seeing his incapacitated father, Joar tries to accept that the man would never be able to harm her again, and that this might have to be enough.

In the hospital waiting room, harbor workers stand to meet Joar. Bearing fresh bruises, Joar faces them as many look away, aware that his mother also had a black eye and that their long silence enabled the abuse. Kimkim’s father, openly tearful, apologizes for being a coward. Joar tells him to apologize to Kimkim too, warning that Kimkim will likely leave and never return, and then walks away.

Back at Joar’s tidy house, Joar continues the story. Passing the hospital chapel, he found Ali, Ted, and Kimkim asleep inside, waiting for him because none of them would go home until all went home together. Ali leaned on Joar’s shoulder; Ted snored; Kimkim had drawn the chapel, adding a beam of light that did not exist in reality.

They discussed belief. Ali asked if God exists. Kimkim said yes and suggested that the need for community might itself be what God is. They left the chapel close together. Joar jostled a vending machine to get a free soda, and the four shared it, celebrating a small victory.

Realizing Kimkim’s drawing was missing, Joar panicked, joking it was worth millions. They ran back, but the drawing was gone. Kimkim promised to make another, and Joar quipped he should just draw money. All four laughed together—perhaps for the last time with such freedom.

Unseen by them, a man stood around a corner, holding Kimkim’s drawing with eight trembling fingers.