After eating, they wash off the statue and take it back to the parlor. Lily goes back to the honey house to think. August comes to see her with a hatbox filled with a few of Deborah's belongings, and Lily is so stunned that she asks August to tell her what is in the box, rather than looking at the contents herself.
Lily's heart starts thudding. There's an oval pocket mirror, and Lily gets off her bed to sit closer and see it. August tells Lily that if she looks in the mirror she will see her mother's face. There is also a hairbrush, worn down from holding. In the brush is a long, black, wavy hair. Lily is astonished. She then realizes that no matter how hard she tries, she can't leave her mother behind. Deborah stays in the "tender places in you." August then drops a gold pin shaped like a whale into Lily's hand. Next, August brings out a black book of English poetry she'd given Deborah. Lily's mother had underlined eight lines by William Blake about the destructive nature of love. Finally, August gives Lily a photo of mother and daughter, set in an oval frame. In it, Deborah is feeding Lily with a tiny spoon; suddenly Lily knows this photo is the sign she wanted.
