Felipe concludes that Consuelo keeps Aura to perpetuate the illusion of youth. He goes searching for the young woman and finds her in the kitchen beheading a kid. She does not seem to notice him. He then goes to the widow’s bedroom to confront her. When he pushes the door open, he sees her performing some kind of ritual that looks like she is skinning an animal. The young man runs back to the kitchen, where Aura is still skinning the kid. Felipe returns to his room in shock, feeling scared and disoriented. He blocks the door and falls into a stupor, dreaming about a woman who is crawling toward him on fleshless hands. He recognizes the old woman, but then her image becomes superimposed over Aura’s face.

Felipe is awoken by the dinner bell. His head is aching, but he gets up and starts getting ready for dinner. The narrator notes that the order in which he washes, brushes his teeth, and combs his hair is all wrong.

In the dining room there is only one place setting, and there is a strange little rag doll under the napkin. Felipe starts eating with his right hand while holding the doll with his left.