In the open­ing of the chap­ter, the pro­tag­o­nist reflects on the melan­cholic pres­ence of their friend, Labri­no, who knocks on their door one stormy spring night. Labri­no has been in a trou­bled state for some time, often appear­ing at the back step with­out knock­ing, lead­ing to uncom­fort­able sur­pris­es. This time he enters, show­cas­ing his anx­ious demeanor as he brings up the Tashi Comet, set to pass Earth in thir­teen months. Labri­no express­es skep­ti­cism, relay­ing his belief that comets are har­bin­gers of bad luck, recount­ing past dis­as­ters asso­ci­at­ed with celes­tial events, such as the Chal­lenger explo­sion and the Cher­nobyl dis­as­ter.

Despite Labri­no’s dark per­spec­tive, the pro­tag­o­nist remains excit­ed about the comet, hav­ing acquired a set of binoc­u­lars in prepa­ra­tion for the event. Labri­no, how­ev­er, seems haunt­ed by his per­son­al strug­gles, which include a frac­tured fam­i­ly and past trau­ma. He requests the pro­tag­o­nist to play music, lead­ing to a moment of con­nec­tion as the pro­tag­o­nist, Rainier, retrieves his bass gui­tar. Through music, Labri­no finds solace, show­ing how sim­ple melodies can uplift his spir­its amidst the despair he feels about the world.

As Rainier plays, Labri­no vis­i­bly relax­es, dis­ap­pear­ing into the music that evokes hap­pi­er mem­o­ries. The atmos­phere shifts when Lark, Rainier’s com­pan­ion, arrives with a burst of ener­gy. Her pres­ence invig­o­rates both men; she engages Labri­no in friend­ly ban­ter and dance, effec­tive­ly lift­ing his mood. The music trans­forms the space, allow­ing Labri­no to for­get his wor­ries, even if just for a while. The chap­ter clos­es with wis­dom shared between Rainier and Lark, high­light­ing the bonds of friend­ship and the com­fort­ing famil­iar­i­ty that some­times exists with­in shared, sim­ple moments, sug­gest­ing that friends can help each oth­er nav­i­gate life’s chal­lenges.