Chap­ter XII unfolds with a poignant and emo­tion­al­ly charged evening between Addie and Hen­ry, cap­tur­ing the com­plex emo­tions tied to fleet­ing moments of con­nec­tion, paired with the anx­i­ety and antic­i­pa­tion that nat­u­ral­ly accom­pa­ny the begin­ning of some­thing new and the inevitable end­ings that fol­low. As the night pro­gress­es, their bond strength­ens, and an unspo­ken under­stand­ing between them grows. Both share a reluc­tance to part ways, their time togeth­er filled with a sense of urgency, as if they both instinc­tive­ly know that this rare con­nec­tion is some­thing worth hold­ing onto. At the heart of this, Addie is con­front­ed with the impos­si­bil­i­ty of her curse, which has left her for­ev­er for­got­ten by every­one she meets, yet Hen­ry remains the excep­tion, offer­ing a rare hope that defies her decades-long iso­la­tion.

As they make their way through New York City, the vibrant nightlife con­trasts with the inti­mate bond they share. Their jour­ney takes them from bar to bar, each stop offer­ing a new lay­er of inter­ac­tion, until they find them­selves seat­ed in a qui­et cor­ner shar­ing a late-night slice of piz­za. Under­neath the flick­er­ing city lights, Hen­ry con­fess­es his long­ing for the stars, a sim­ple yet pro­found wish that res­onates deeply with Addie. She finds her­self drawn to his open­ness and vul­ner­a­bil­i­ty, and their shared sense of long­ing cre­ates a con­nec­tion that tran­scends the moment. For the first time in a long time, Addie feels that she’s found some­one who under­stands her, some­one who tru­ly sees her, and not just the fleet­ing shad­ow that the curse has turned her into.

As the night slow­ly comes to an end, there’s a pal­pa­ble reluc­tance between them to let go of what they’ve dis­cov­ered togeth­er. Addie’s acknowl­edg­ment of her inabil­i­ty to leave a last­ing impres­sion on the world, high­light­ed by her inabil­i­ty to make a mark in the form of a phone num­ber or a mem­o­ry, expos­es the deep bur­den she car­ries. Despite this, Henry’s request to meet again sparks a com­bi­na­tion of hope and dread in Addie. It’s a request that brings with it the poten­tial for gen­uine human con­nec­tion, yet it also car­ries the weight of all the pos­si­ble heart­breaks that may fol­low, espe­cial­ly con­sid­er­ing the chal­lenges that Addie faces in main­tain­ing any kind of con­nec­tion with some­one.

In a deeply vul­ner­a­ble moment, Addie, dri­ven by an over­whelm­ing need for authen­tic­i­ty and recog­ni­tion, dares to reveal her true name to Henry—a name she’s had to keep hid­den for so long. The act, though seem­ing­ly small, is momen­tous for her. It rep­re­sents a desire to final­ly be acknowl­edged for who she tru­ly is, to break free from the suf­fo­cat­ing anonymi­ty that the curse has imposed on her. Hen­ry, unaware of the full depth of the risks involved, accepts her truth with grace, show­ing no signs of hes­i­ta­tion or dis­be­lief. In this qui­et accep­tance, Addie finds some­thing pre­cious, a rare moment where she feels seen, heard, and remem­bered.

Their part­ing words, though tinged with uncer­tain­ty, offer a sense of hope that lingers as they say good­bye. For Addie, this moment rep­re­sents a shift in her exis­tence, a change in her inter­nal nar­ra­tive that sug­gests that con­nec­tion, while fleet­ing, is still pos­si­ble for her, despite the curse that has haunt­ed her for so long. As she walks away, she is left to won­der if this encounter will alter the course of her life, or if it will remain yet anoth­er mem­o­ry fad­ing into the shad­ows of time. The chap­ter leaves read­ers con­tem­plat­ing the nature of con­nec­tion, mem­o­ry, and the human need to be seen, remind­ing us that even in the most chal­leng­ing cir­cum­stances, moments of real con­nec­tion and recog­ni­tion can pro­vide a glimpse of some­thing more mean­ing­ful. The pos­si­bil­i­ty that recog­ni­tion can be a pow­er­ful force in the face of despair and lone­li­ness under­scores the pro­found human desire for belong­ing and under­stand­ing.