Desolate on the plane leaving Antarctica, Esther thinks back about her second most difficult departure: from Mexico City. She had attempted to find the bookstore Isabel’s parents had owned, which is where Isabel and Abe met. After visiting 200 bookstores without success, Esther remembers Skyping with Abe, but him telling her, “it’s better to drop it” (222). He had wished she could come home, but there was no loophole.

The day after Cecily’s departure, Joanna reflects on the fact that while the insularity of her life makes her feel expert, she is actually inexpert in the sense that she didn’t know about the mirror. She wonders about what she wants, given her understanding “that if the boundaries of the wards were dropped, the boundaries of her life would drop along with them” (225). She attempts to tempt the cat inside again, but he refuses.

In Auckland, Esther is preparing to board her flight to Los Angeles when she’s pulled aside for “additional security checks” (227). A guard escorts her past the security area and into a small room with a man who looks exactly like the guard and who is wearing only socks and boxers. The guard asks if Esther recognizes him, then removes a glamour spell on the man in the corner to reveal himself as the blonde man who once tried to kill her in Spokane when she didn’t leave quickly enough on November 2.