Darry is 22 with shingles, and his nightmare includes not only Ponyboy's earlier illness and the brutal death of the parents but also Soda's death in Vietnam, to be assuaged not only by the spirits of Mr. and Mrs. Darrell and Martha Curtis (see Voices Behind Camera stories, these are where their names are first listed), but also by Soda's spirit, who massages him.
Then, Darry has the afore-mentioned pleasant dreams and Ponyboy dreams of flight and of sensing the same 3 spirits too. Ponyboy dreams of riding on the back of a winged angel over the moon and to a bright golden palace in the air; Darry dreams of flying thru the sunrise, and awakens to Ponyboy serving him breakfast in bed.
Soon after, Darry gets valacyclovir to treat the shingles and to keep them out of the interior of his eye.
Darry and Ponyboy both then have subsequent dreams and even a few visits when they are awake that involve the spirits of their parents and Soda.
One is of Soda's spirit standing over them in the bedroom, (D. & P. share the room temporarily) in the early hours of the morning, wearing a flowing white robe and sky blue sash (see Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo) looking down lovingly on them both.
Another is of the father laying a washcloth on Darry's forehead when he (Darry) is laid up with bronchitis and a fever.
A third is where Ponyboy feels a soft kiss on the cheek from the mother as he is drifting off to sleep after a long hard day.
The dreams and visits help them both (Darry and Ponyboy) to heal.
Later, Darry and Ponyboy finally overcome their poverty and hardship, with Darry becoming an accountant and Ponyboy becoming an art professor at a university, both well-paying jobs-and both Monday-Friday-Darry no longer has to work 6 or 7 days a week.
Finally, thru subsequent years and decades, they also work as volunteers assisting children/youth from troubled backgrounds and help them too achieve their dreams and to come to know The Lord.