If Mrs. Lewis had been watching from the sidelines, she would have cried a great deal. Despite the passage of time, she continued to live with self-blame, believing she was responsible for the car accident involving her youngest son. She thought that if she hadn’t stopped Duncan from pursuing Liberty and forced him away, he wouldn’t have died. If she hadn’t chased after him in a car, trying to prevent him from searching for Liberty, he wouldn’t have driven so fast and wouldn’t have rear-ended someone because he couldn’t brake in time. It was all her fault. Whenever Duncan gave up on himself, Mrs. Lewis cried. She cried when she saw him during rehabilitation. Consequently, while Duncan was in therapy, he chose to distance himself from his family to spare his mother from tears. He had accepted his reality and found it irritating when she cried. Duncan said, “Well, I’ll sit for a while, and then I’ll be able to stand up. Liberty, is there any water? I’m a bit thirsty.” Liberty replied, “You rest here. I’ll go back to the house and bring you a pot of water. Do you want some food too?” Duncan was prone to hunger, and he smiled as he said, “I’m not actually hungry. We just finished breakfast. Mrs. Lane’s cooking is good. Whenever I eat at your place, I feel like I have to eat every time. Just bring me a pot of water.” Liberty cautioned, “Don’t be brave. If your leg hurts, don’t hold on. I’ll bring you water.” Duncan reassured her, saying, “Liberty, I know my situation; don’t worry, I won’t be brave.” With Duncan’s words of comfort, Liberty hurried back to the house, cleaned a kettle, and filled it with warm water for him. Duncan was indeed thirsty, but he also wanted to keep Liberty away, so she wouldn’t see him in distress and feel sorry for him. When she returned with the water, Duncan got up again and continued walking, managing to take two extra steps this time. He felt very happy.

When he wanted to reach out to Liberty, he turned and remembered that he had pushed her away. As he turned back, he stumbled and fell again. Duncan couldn’t help but hit his legs a few times in frustration. “I’m so useless! I can’t manage to walk even a few steps after all this time. What good am I?” He slapped his legs again. Looking up, he saw the sky was gray, mirroring his mood. It appeared as if rain was imminent, and despite a cool breeze, he was still sweating profusely. Wiping the sweat from his brow, Duncan declared, “I want to stand up again—for Liberty, for Sonny, I will stand up!” He quickly shook off his depression; he couldn’t be defeated. As Liberty had said, others like him had trouble standing on their own, but he was different. Not only could he stand by himself, but he could walk a few steps too. His recovery was going well; he hadn’t even needed a cane yet. After sitting for a moment, Duncan stood up again, determined to walk.

Even though he repeatedly fell and sat on the grass, he kept getting back up. With his persistence, he discovered that he could take ten steps, the most he had managed since starting rehabilitation. Duncan felt a surge of happiness; he realized that with hard work, he could make significant progress. If he continued to push himself, he would eventually walk like a normal person and truly recover.