The Keeper of Stars

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death and child death.

One afternoon, Jack goes to the cemetery to visit his brother Lewis’s grave. Ellie surprises him by joining him there. Having not heard about Jack’s brother before, she is saddened to learn that Lewis drowned in the creek when he was nine and Jack was 12. Jack blames himself for his younger brother’s death since Lewis drowned while Jack was out fishing without him, despite Lewis having asked whether he could come along on the fishing trip. Ellie comforts him, assuring him that this was all a part of God’s plan. She lays some wildflowers on Lewis’s grave.

The next evening, it is Jack who surprises Ellie with a visit. He presents her with a bouquet of wild irises and invites her to go for a walk. He takes her to a pond in the woods that is one of his favorite places, and they feed a family of ducks. Jack tells Ellie that he found the spot after Lewis died, when he was searching for somewhere to be alone. She is pleased to learn that he has not shared the spot with anyone else—even Sara. When they return to Clara’s, Ellie invites Jack in for cobbler and ice cream.