At dawn, the Antidote packs a suitcase, record books, and money box, determined to flee Uz before Sheriff Iscoe returns to demand more counterfeiting work. She commandeers a drunken customer Amos's truck under the pretext of driving him home, parks near Harp Oletsky's farm, and walks the rest of the way, intending to find Asphodel and beg the girl to help her escape by hiding in Harp's truck.

She marvels at Oletsky's improbably healthy wheat as she approaches. Exhausted and afraid, she collapses on the porch swing, knocking intermittently. She has brought hair dye, scissors, and men's trousers, planning to disguise herself, but recognizes that fleeing means abandoning the hope of reuniting with her son, the one tether that has kept her in Uz.

While she waits, the ground in the front yard splits open and Cleo Allfrey emerges from the hidden root-cellar darkroom, camera in hand. The two women startle each other, then laugh. Cleo photographs the sky, and the Antidote notices that since reaching Oletsky land she has not coughed once. Cleo asks what she is waiting for.

The Antidote almost confesses her plan to flee, but the sight of Cleo emerging from the earth shifts something within her. Pointing to the cellar door, she says she is waiting for someone to open the door. A wind moves through her, and she feels a vision of a hand opening, hearing a beautiful chord. She is no longer waiting or running; a new purpose begins to form.