Upon Tara's visit back home, the rose walk is where she first greets her sister, and it is where she initially begins to see the decay that has set in around the house that seems otherwise unchanged. Although the roses are still there, after all these years, they are not quite the same as they were when the children were growing up. The roses are thinner and weaker now, as if they have decayed over the years. Although, upon first inspection, everything at the house seems unchanged, further inspection reveals that much of it also seems to have slowly decayed over the years, along with the roses. The rose walk is described multiple times throughout the book, seeming to symbolize the passage of time. The first time it is described is when Tara first.....
