Summary

In Part 3, "Sheela," Sheela got a call from the school. She thought September had done something to July. Driving to the school through the storm, she thought of Peter, of September's likeness to him. Once there, she saw September on the stretcher, convinced she was playing a prank.

She remembers the pain of losing her mother, having to sort through all her belongings. "But daughters leave so little behind" (175). She found what little she could of September's, laid it on the bed and laid on top of it, hoping September would return. She only survived her grief for July's sake. Yet July did not seem to understand. September's presence filled the Oxford house. She had to go to the Settle House to escape her dread. However, the house seemed changed, more alive than before. The house echoed her sorrow.

She used to...