When the scene opens, we are introduced to the young woman who has just returned from the north. She is the mother of the young man, and she tells him that he is welcome to stay with her. The young man tells his mother that he has returned to the north because he wants to earn some money to support himself and his family. His mother tells him to wait for her, because she will not receive a response from him. He tells her that he will be back soon, but that she should not wait for him, because he will never receive a reply from his mother. He then tells her to help him arrange a funeral for her so that he can bury her in the city of the north