At the conclusion of the book When You Reach Me,
Marcus chases Sal with the intention of apologizing for hitting him, but Sal
is afraid and runs away into the street without looking. A truck bears down on him, but
the laughing man pushes him away in the nick of time, sacrificing his own life in the
process. The police, having been told that Marcus had purposefully caused Sal to run
into the street, come after him at school, but Miranda's mother, using her expertise as
an employee of a law firm, skillfully navigates the system and clears the young boy's
name.
Miranda's mother appears on The $20,000
Pyramid, and wins $10,000. On his birthday, Richard finally receives a key to
the house, indicating that Miranda's mother is ready to commit to a permanent
relationship with him. Richard and Miranda then give Miranda's mother applications to
law school, expressing their desire that she use her winnings for her own further
education.
After her mother's amazing victory, Miranda
experiences a moment of clarity during which she realizes that the mysterious notes she
had been receiving are from the laughing man. She sees that the laughing man is really
Marcus, inexplicably come back from the future to save Sal's life. The laughing man has
asked Miranda to write a letter recounting what has happened, and she knows now that she
must give it to Marcus, so that he will not bear the burden of responsibility of having
caused the laughing man's death, which is actually his own death, and so that he will
have a hint of what is to come. Even though she knows that Marcus will not be lonely
when he grows up because he will marry Julia, and that he will be ready when his time
comes to die, she still thinks his end is sad. She does not tell Marcus
everything she has figured out, however, because he is "a smart
kid," and will understand.
Miranda and Sal are friends
again, and their relationship is comfortable and natural, not forced. Both of them have
a wider circle of friends, which is as it should be.
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