Miracle Creek

At home, Young is feeling an emotion she hasn’t felt in a long time—joy. She was terrified that somehow the truth would come out, but Matt’s testimony indicates that no one knows. Additionally, Pak tells her that the insurance company will finally send the money the following week, and they can move forward. Young tells Mary, but Mary is still traumatized from the explosion, experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and she yells at Young. However, even this pleases Young because it reminds her of the way her daughter used to be, “the real, pre-explosion Mary” (57).

Indeed, prior to the explosion, Young and Mary did not have a good relationship. Mary blamed Young for all the hardship she experienced when Pak decided Young and Mary should move to America. Young remembers how she even envied Teresa’s relationship with Rosa, even knowing that it “was ridiculous to feel jealous of a woman with a daughter who couldn’t walk or talk, with no college, husband, or children in her future” (61). However, now Mary allows Young to comfort her, even to touch her, “letting Young rake her fingers through her hair while she cried, being comforted by this intimate act” (58).

This simple act brings Young pure joy, and explains her happiness despite what should be “the lowest point of her […] entire […] life: her husband paralyzed; her daughter a catatonic mess, her face scarred and psyche shattered; their finances nonexistent” (59).