Turning her thoughts to the present, Sethe, accompanied by Denver and Beloved, reaches the clearing and ponders her doubts that Halle will ever return. As she muses about the possibility of life with Paul D, Sethe feels fingers closing around her neck and strangling her. Denver rushes to her aid. When Sethe can breathe again, Beloved massages Sethe's bruised flesh and kisses her. Denver halts the girl's assistance, but not before Sethe momentarily recognizes the touch, which is identical to the touch she once felt from the two-year-old ghost of her daughter. Reflecting further on Paul D's love, Sethe understands Denver's need for a sister.
Sethe plans a tasty dinner for Paul D, who soaks in the tub and gestures to Sethe to join him. Beloved arrives unseen and, filled with jealousy, goes back outside. Denver accuses Beloved of choking Sethe, and Beloved runs to the stream.
Denver thinks about the time she spent when she was seven attending Lady Jones's school, where she made progress in reading and writing until Nelson Lord revealed the reason why neighbors shunned her house: "Didn't your mother get locked away for murder? Wasn't you in there with her when she went?" Two years after Nelson Lord drove her out of school, Denver first heard the sounds of the crawling baby ghost. The spirit's spiteful intrusion unnerved Denver's brothers; to escape the oppressive atmosphere of 124, they left home after Denver's grandmother died.
Back in the present, Denver assesses how she can relieve her agonizing solitude. She turns to her sister, who crouches in the stream and watches two turtles mate.
