Comfort & Joy

Joy is unable to stop herself from screaming as the plane touches down in Washington. She is still shaking as she walks through the airport. She rents a car, buys a map, and heads toward the coast. She finds the road that cuts between the rainforest and the coast, knowing that if her town exists, she’ll find it there. She is both excited and terrified, wondering whether she will find what she seeks or if her experience was only a metaphor for what might come. She calls Stacey to let her know she arrived, and Stacey explains that she believes she will find her town because Joy herself believes. She drives through several towns without recognizing them. On the beach in a town called Queets, she recognizes the driftwood and the trees, but not the sand. She sees a sign for a town called Rain Valley and feels a flutter in her stomach. Rain Valley looks like her town, but it is also distinctly different. It’s a “funhouse mirror” version—the diner has a similar name, but not identical. It makes her question the reliability of her mind. When Joy describes the lodge to a woman at the diner, she says it doesn’t exist, but when she mentions Daniel and Bobby, she recognizes the names.