In this short scene, we are introduced to a young man named jemisin, who has just lost his friend, a butterfly, to a terrible accident. The narrator tells us that the jay is crying for his friend's body, and that many hands are working furiously to make sure that he is buried together with his friends. We are also introduced to the uncle of the young man, george , who is now living in Los Angeles with his niece, anita , and his son-in-law , the painter , . The uncle tells the audience that his niece has been living in the city for two years and that he has visited her only once, when she was a young girl. He tells the story of how his niece was consumed by a fever and how she was visited by the "reservoir of thirst" and "the rechercher of obsession" on three separate nights.