My Sister's Grave

The 1993 championship belt buckle is a powerful and evolving symbol of the love between the Crosswhite sisters. Initially, it embodies the competitive nature of their relationship and Tracy’s wounded pride. After Sarah deliberately loses the shooting competition, Tracy’s anger is focused on the buckle, which she feels she did not legitimately win. However, this symbol of conflict transforms into one of reconciliation and affection in their final moments together. In a gesture of forgiveness and love, Tracy presses the buckle into her sister’s hand, an act that becomes her last memory of Sarah. The narrative underscores the weight of this moment, stating, “Tracy had pressed the silver belt buckle into Sarah’s palm along with the truck keys. She would not see either again for twenty years” (12). This final exchange haunts Tracy, becoming a tangible representation of her unresolved grief and guilt over leaving her sister alone.

For two decades, the buckle exists only in Tracy’s memory, a painful reminder of her loss. Its rediscovery in Sarah’s grave is a pivotal turning point that collapses the distance between past and present. The buckle is an undeniable link to her sister’s remains: “They’d found the belt buckle.