Beloved emerges from the water

A fully dressed young woman walks out of the water of a stream near 124 and collapses on the bank. She is exhausted, with new, lineless skin and a strange, otherworldly quality. She makes her way to the house and is found by Sethe, Denver, and Paul D when they return from the carnival. The woman, who calls herself Beloved, is desperately thirsty and seems to have no memory of her past. Sethe, Denver, and Paul D take her in, and she becomes a mysterious presence in their home.