124 WAS LIVELY once again. Sethe had taken her daughter's place in the garden. Gaining the strength to love and feed her people, the house boasted with friends of old. Sethe saw the vibrant vegetables and the solid earth beneath her. Looking up from her work, she saw Denver approaching, walking steadily down Bluestone Road. Just as she had left, she had returned. Her daughter. Her child. One half of what made her whole. Denver had become something greater than she could have imagined. She had given Sethe the will to let her heart begin again. Denver and Paul D's words would forever echo in her.

On this day, the wind swept down and breathed new life on 124. Denver, smiled and strolled towards her. Back, those here would wait with open arms and ears. Long years had passed while Denver was away but her return from college brought back a memory of when she would stride down the path, exhausted yet determined. Her hands would make meals, make life in 124. Sethe would lay in bed, singing, enjoying the colors she could. But she could never get rid of the quiet, taunting reminder of her Dearly Beloved. Of her loss. It was so great she could feel her tree ache, her feet swell, her eyes glaze. But through the glaze Paul D let her remember her tree, brought life to her feet, and let tears finally, finally release from her eyes. His hands on her face let her see through the window and see not one, but all the colors. He was there. Even after it all, he was still there. Bringing food, bringing touch, bringing words, words that one by one unhung her from her past.

Sethe stared at two lonely orange squares, ashamed Baby Suggs didn't have more. The sun matched the squares with its own light. Rising, reaching, stretching, longing for her. She could feel the untethered spirit fill the room. The sunlight danced across the room. In the stillness, she heard a soft and lilting song.

Barefoot she took soft steps down the stairs. Sheets being hung to dry had the shine of stars. Paul D stood among them.

"How you been, girl?" Paul D spoke, meeting her again.

His bright smile, reassuring of the future, let her walk off the stairs. She walked towards tomorrow.

"Me. Me."

She made her way onto the porch, following the sun. Though the sunlight came Denver. Mr. Bodwin gave her a job, work so that she could sustain the house and her inside it. Now she could return to herself. The sunlight gave Sethe work, leading her, sustaining her. Towards the Clearing. The heat with soft arms, struck her rememory. Trees once hollow were now full of life. She wanted to see the Clearing, not empty or trodden on. Not painful or forgotten. She wanted to return to what the world had broke. To make it whole.

Sethe picked up her feet and set them on the earth, sharing the ground her daughter walked. Her throat itched, halting for a sliver of a second before she asked Denver for one more thing.

The trees enveloped her but she could still feel the warmth of the sun. Steady, reborn. Across from Sethe stood the old preaching rock. She had come here once before, before she knew or realized. When she was lost, longing for Baby Suggs but found too much instead. Beloved. The daughter she failed but no longer made her a failure. She reached out but no fingers latched on to her. The Clearing empty except sun. Her feet ached, no shoes to hide them from the Clearing. It was still, nothing moved except his heart.

Behind her, leaves crunched and simmered. Paul D stepped into the sun. Sethe turned away from the rock and heard Denver calling. Her one voice became several, and the sunlight got as loud as their voices. Sethe was wary until she heard them. Denver. Paul D. The community. Their prayers growing. Denver bringing them together.

It wasn't enough to love a little or love only oneself. Their love had to spread out. Had to drown out anything else. They could all feel the warm sun on their faces. They filled the empty clearing with new grace.

Sethe watched, eager. She caught glimpses of the sun dazzling, working its way through the people. Whispering to dance, cry, laugh with her. Sethe moved to thread her arms through Denver's and Paul D's. To connect them, ground them, bound them to her. Moving through the past into the present. Allowing every errant tear a place to settle. Feather light footprints layering onto each other. They became the forest, growing out of the earth. A wordless sermon floating in the sunlight.

After they had exhausted their minds and bodies they stood strong, laughing in joy. Laughing as they made their way back to 124, filling it with new strong joy.