The chapter opens with a flashback to the events of the previous chapter. We learn that the curse has been broken and that the narrator is now 17 years old. He is writing a dissertation on the "most legendary Pharaoh of Egypt" . The snake's "eyes look alive" , and the words "set me on fire" have returned to the forefront of his mind. He tells his brother that he wants to go to Egypt to visit his beloved. He promises to take him there, even if it means that he will die. He says that he still wants to see his beloved even if all he sees is a statue of him and a nefertari. He wants to drink water from the Nile River that he used to drink when he was a boy. He also says that even if he dies, at least he can be closer to him. The chapter ends with the narrator returning to his seat.