Pro­logue opens with the nar­ra­tor, iso­lat­ed and in phys­i­cal dis­com­fort, sit­ting with their back against a wall. The flat pil­lows they lean on remind them of the absence of the com­fort they once found in their sis­ter, Mae. Mae’s absence brings with it a sense of lone­li­ness, and the nar­ra­tor feels a grow­ing dis­tance between them­selves and the warmth of fam­i­ly. Hold­ing a pho­to­graph of Leah, a fig­ure who exist­ed before the nar­ra­tor even knew her, they reflect on the deep and pro­found impact women, espe­cial­ly Mae and Leah, have had on their life. Despite the long peri­ods of absence and sep­a­ra­tion, their influ­ence con­tin­ues to shape the narrator’s sense of self, even as their phys­i­cal con­di­tion wors­ens. As the sun begins to set out­side, the nar­ra­tor’s soli­tude deep­ens, mak­ing the space around them feel more oppres­sive. The pain in their legs leaves them unable to move, pre­vent­ing them from reach­ing the fire that has always been a qui­et com­pan­ion in times of sor­row. These moments of still­ness, in com­bi­na­tion with their phys­i­cal lim­i­ta­tions, rein­force the heavy weight of iso­la­tion, as the nar­ra­tor con­tem­plates a life filled with con­nec­tions lost over time.

Strug­gling with the real­i­ty of their ill­ness, the nar­ra­tor becomes increas­ing­ly aware of their pro­found lone­li­ness. They real­ize that, despite the lov­ing care offered by their fam­i­ly, no one can tru­ly bridge the emo­tion­al gap they feel. Leah’s vis­its offer some relief, as do the efforts of sib­lings Mae and Ben, but the nar­ra­tor remains dis­tant, believ­ing that their pain and emo­tion­al strug­gles are beyond any­one’s under­stand­ing. Their mother’s attempts to com­fort them through prayers and words of hope bring lit­tle solace, as the nar­ra­tor feels dis­con­nect­ed from these ges­tures of love. The pres­ence of fam­i­ly can­not soft­en the sting of soli­tude, and the nar­ra­tor grap­ples with the fear that they will face the end of their life in iso­la­tion. Their moth­er, while offer­ing com­fort, can only pray for their peace, yet the nar­ra­tor feels that no amount of love will be enough to ease the pro­found sad­ness of impend­ing loss. This inter­nal conflict—wanting com­pan­ion­ship yet feel­ing unreachable—creates a pow­er­ful sense of iso­la­tion, adding weight to the already heavy real­i­ty of their ill­ness.

Just as the chap­ter seems to spi­ral deep­er into despair, Mae sud­den­ly appears at the door with a look of gen­uine joy, an emo­tion that has been rare in the narrator’s recent life. Mae’s bright­ness offers a stark con­trast to the dark, oppres­sive mood that has dom­i­nat­ed the narrator’s exis­tence, bring­ing a tem­po­rary but sig­nif­i­cant shift in atmos­phere. Intrigued by her pos­i­tive ener­gy, the nar­ra­tor tries to sit up, eager to share in the hap­pi­ness that Mae brings, even if only for a brief moment. Mae, car­ry­ing news of a vis­i­tor, hints at a poten­tial recon­nec­tion that could revive the narrator’s sense of pur­pose and alle­vi­ate the emo­tion­al weight of ill­ness. The vis­i­tor’s arrival could pro­vide a rare oppor­tu­ni­ty for con­ver­sa­tion, offer­ing the pos­si­bil­i­ty of recon­nect­ing with life out­side the con­fines of ill­ness and iso­la­tion. Though the moment is fleet­ing, it serves as a reminder that, even in times of deep sor­row and phys­i­cal pain, human con­nec­tion still holds the pow­er to uplift and offer tem­po­rary respite from despair.

The pro­logue sets the tone for an emo­tion­al explo­ration of love, ill­ness, and the com­plex­i­ties of human con­nec­tion. Themes of famil­ial bonds, the impact of loss, and the fleet­ing nature of joy are estab­lished as the nar­ra­tor faces their own mor­tal­i­ty. The emo­tion­al tur­moil of con­fronting the end of life alone is inter­twined with the qui­et, yet pow­er­ful, pres­ence of fam­i­ly, who offers what lit­tle sup­port they can. Despite their attempts, the nar­ra­tor’s emo­tion­al iso­la­tion remains pal­pa­ble, with brief moments of hap­pi­ness offer­ing only tem­po­rary relief. This open­ing sets the stage for a deep and reflec­tive jour­ney, filled with moments of light and dark­ness, where the narrator’s quest for under­stand­ing, accep­tance, and peace will unfold. The chap­ter hints at the pro­found strug­gle between hold­ing on to fleet­ing moments of joy and accept­ing the inevitable nature of loss, allow­ing read­ers to con­nect deeply with the nar­ra­tor’s emo­tion­al land­scape.