In this chap­ter, Kel­lan con­tin­ues to play an inte­gral role in the lives of the nar­ra­tor and Lark as he under­takes var­i­ous tasks around their home, hik­ing up a mem­o­ry of hap­pi­er times when they had chick­ens. How­ev­er, Kel­lan strug­gles with severe pan­ic attacks, which cul­mi­nat­ed in a fright­en­ing episode where he fell asleep with the gas run­ning. This moment show­cas­es not only Kellan’s frag­ile state of mind but also the nar­ra­tor’s deter­mi­na­tion to sup­port him through these chal­lenges.

As spring brings new pos­si­bil­i­ties, Lark and the nar­ra­tor dis­cuss a book cache in the city, hint­ing at their shared pas­sion for unique finds. Lark reveals the trea­sure trove of books she has found to help keep her shop thriv­ing, empha­siz­ing that their shared pur­suits bring some joy amidst their per­son­al strug­gles. Although the nar­ra­tor wish­es to accom­pa­ny Lark, he becomes increas­ing­ly wor­ried about her safe­ty as she decides to go on her own.

They share a con­cern­ing anec­dote about a friend who encoun­tered dan­ger dur­ing a sim­i­lar night­time trip, height­en­ing the sense of unease and fore­shad­ow­ing the night’s unpre­dictable out­comes. Kel­lan insists on join­ing Lark for what begins as a harm­less out­ing but rais­es ques­tions over whether the risks might com­pro­mise their safe­ty fur­ther.

Lat­er in the chap­ter, the nar­ra­tive shifts to a vivid vis­it the nar­ra­tor takes to Jack Labri­no, who appears in an unex­pect­ed­ly upbeat state and reveals he’s ready to embrace change in his life. In a heart­warm­ing yet poignant exchange, he recalls mem­o­ries of his past, plac­ing empha­sis on opti­mism despite his strug­gles. The chap­ter deep­ens as Labri­no con­fides his inten­tions to pass on his home and bar to his fam­i­ly, assert­ing peace with his deci­sions.

The tone shifts dra­mat­i­cal­ly when Labri­no con­sumes a drug that brings about his pass­ing, lead­ing the nar­ra­tor to face an over­whelm­ing sense of loss. Labri­no’s death leaves the nar­ra­tor reel­ing as he process­es the grav­i­ty of the moment while simul­ta­ne­ous­ly reflect­ing on the mem­o­ries shared with him.

In the after­math, Lark returns with Kel­lan, buoy­ant from their suc­cess­ful book find. Their excite­ment con­trasts stark­ly with the nar­ra­tor’s sor­row, cul­mi­nat­ing in a yearn­ing for both clo­sure and the need to real­ize that cel­e­bra­tion may be essen­tial even in times of grief. Ulti­mate­ly, the chap­ter clos­es with a del­i­cate bal­ance of loss and hope for heal­ing with­in their bonds.