The chapter opens with a sigh from the nighowl, who has been locked in the dungeon for weeks. He refuses to eat, drink, or take medicine. He even bites anyone who approaches him. The narrator blames himself for the situation, saying, "All my fault. ding ding" . The chapter ends with the narrator's wife asking him to go for a walk outside. He tells her that he has had a brain concussion, which left him comatose for 16 years. She tells him that he needs to lift his upper body a bit higher before they can get married. He says that he wants to take a stroll outside, but that he cannot wait another 16 years before he can return to his normal self. He asks her not to be so close to him before the wedding, but she says that she doesn't like to be close to anyone before marriage. He makes them lunch, which he calls "royal fried pig brain" , and they eat it together.