This chapter is told from the point of view of Markos narrates this chapter. He is arriving home from the clinic to hear a phone message from Thalia. He debates whether to call his mother (Thalia's orders).

He met Thalia in 1967. Her mother, Madaline, was dear friends with his mother. He was twelve 12 years old when they came to visit them in Tinos. His mother warned him that Thalia had a scar from being bitten by a dog. When they arrived at the house, Thalia had on a mask to cover her face. They went up to a guest room to unpack, and Markos was to take up a tray of drinks and a snack. When he did, he saw Thalia without her mask on; - the scar was so horrible and disfiguring - that he shook, dropped the tray, “retching all over shards of broken porcelain” (286).

The narration moves back to the present, and Markos is speaking with his mother on the phone. She asks him about how the visit with the French woman (Pari) was. He begins to tell of her visit.

Pari stayed with Markoshim a week in Kabul. When he gave her a tour of her former home, he was amazed at how much she remembered.