It's still a mystery why Momma never called or returned to Bybanks, but Sal still learns through this failed visualization exercise that Momma wasn’t always right. Although Sal idolized her mother, Momma was a complex, flawed person who made mistakes and held beliefs that didn’t always help. Nevertheless, the fact that Sal thinks about Momma’s advice now suggests that some problems
can be solved through positivity and perseverance—perhaps even the problem of Mrs. Winterbottom’s disappearance.