Summary

In Chapter 21, the tension between Greta and Conrad dissolves (190). Then Conrad takes out a bag of Helen’s ashes. He invites Greta to help him distribute some of them. As Greta scatters her share, she silently tells Helen she loves her. When they rejoin the group, everyone is exclaiming over a Steller’s sea eagle. The guide makes a joke that the bird is a messenger “from the land of the dead” (193). Greta and Conrad momentarily feel hopeful. Later, when Greta tells Todd about the eagle, he explains that she saw “something really, really special,” because the eagle “wandered so long and far” from its home (195).

In Chapter 22, back on the ship, Greta encounters Ben. He seems uncomfortable, finally asking if Greta is engaged. Online he found a picture of her and Luke “kissing on a street corner,” the caption of which announced...