In this chapter, we learn that the protagonist is in a dream in which a butterfly appears in the middle of the night. The protagonist tells us that the butterfly represents his father's death and the protagonist's desire to reconcile with someone before he leaves on a long trip. The butterfly also reminds the protagonist of a time when he was fifteen years old and his friend Fay came to live with his family. Fay's father drowned in a well, and the boy's mother blamed Fay for the death of the protagonist. Fay was also blamed for a plague that struck a nearby town. The townspeople locked Fay up in a mansion until her death.