In this chap­ter, Mr. Hal­loway receives an alarm­ing phone call from his son, Willy, which sets a tense and urgent tone. The con­ver­sa­tion begins with Willy explain­ing they can­not go to the police sta­tion and might not be home. He urges Mr. Hal­loway to inform his moth­er and Jim’s moth­er of their sit­u­a­tion. Willy’s dis­tress is pal­pa­ble, as he reveals they need to hide because “they’re look­ing for us.” Mr. Hal­loway, con­fused and wor­ried, des­per­ate­ly asks who is search­ing for them.

Willy, in a tone that mix­es fear and deter­mi­na­tion, insists that his father must not get involved. He is res­olute that their imme­di­ate safe­ty lies in hid­ing until the threat passes—a few days at most. Willy’s pro­tec­tive instinct is evi­dent as he express­es con­cern that by return­ing home, Mr. Hal­loway or the oth­ers could get hurt. Time seems scat­tered and heavy around them, marked by Willy’s hasty farewell—“I got to go”—and a poignant wish for luck.

After Willy hangs up, Mr. Hal­loway finds him­self star­ing out at the famil­iar land­scape of trees, hous­es, and streets, a nor­mal scene sud­den­ly infused with dread. He hears dis­tant music, which only height­ens the sur­re­al qual­i­ty of the moment. Address­ing the silence of the dead phone, he echoes Willy’s sen­ti­ment, “Luck,” a sim­ple yet pro­found expres­sion of his wor­ry for his son.

Feel­ing a mix­ture of con­cern and deter­mi­na­tion, Mr. Hal­loway gets dressed in his coat and hat. The chap­ter clos­es with his ven­ture into the unusu­al bright­ness of the rainy sun­shine, sym­bol­iz­ing his entry into a world tinged with anx­i­ety and uncer­tain­ty. This moment illus­trates a father’s anguish and a son’s brav­ery, high­light­ing the themes of famil­ial love, the instinct to pro­tect, and the shad­ow of dan­ger loom­ing over their lives.

Wait­ing ai

Wait­ing ai