The Recurring Dream
- Meridian is having a strange recurring nightmare—she's "a character in a novel" who can only solve things by dying (1.15.1).
- She starts taking chances by hanging out in all-white neighborhoods past dark and walking across roads without looking for cars. Meanwhile, a super-strong headache has begun bubbling beneath the surface…
- Then, a day before graduation, her vision takes on a blue hue. Huh? Two days later, she goes blind.
- She tries to avoid the campus doctor (who had been sexually suggestive toward her) but ends up in his care after passing out.
- She returns home, seemingly cured. Then, two days later, her legs stop moving—she's paralyzed. She stays in bed all day and is unable to eat.
- Anne-Marion has been caring for her friend. One day, she's joined by Miss Winter, an organist at Saxon who came from the same hometown as Meridian
- Once, when Meridian was a kid, Miss Winter watched her mess up a speech in front of the whole school. She had tried to comfort the young girl, but to little avail.
- Meridian's great-great-great grandmother "had been a slave whose two children were sold away from her" (1.15.33). Although she managed to keep them around, she died of malnourishment soon after.
- Her daughter (Meridian's great-great grandmother) was well-known for "painting decorations on barns" (1.15.35). Her work frequently featured a strange little face in the center as a sort of signature.
- Her grandmother married a decent man who also happened to beat his family on a regular basis. If he had had his way, Meridian's mom wouldn't have been allowed to go to school!
- Meridian finally wakes up. Anne-Marion is there waiting and tells Meridian that she "can not afford to love" Meridian anymore (1.15.46).
- Although they'll see each other again, this is the last time they will be close. Later, Anne-Marion will start tracking down Meridian and writing her letters—but, despite her good intentions at the onset, her letters always devolve into bitter insults. So much for being a good friend…