In her hospital room, Claudia wakes, confused; she cannot remember the word “curtain.” The episode scares her. She worries what she will become without language. The episode also leads her to consider how words define our world and how our modern language preserves bits of ancient cultures.

Claudia remembers taking a six-year-old Lisa for a walk in the woods. Claudia is mildly frustrated and stymied by her young daughter, struggling to relate to the child. Claudia wishes her daughter were brighter or more engaging. Then, from Lisa’s perspective, Claudia is described as “Mummy.” Lisa has a vivid imagination and plays games with herself to fend off her fear of the dark woods, the bug she picked up, and even Claudia.

From thinking about Lisa as a child, Claudia moves on to thinking about Lisa as she is today, a 40-year-old married woman with two sons. Claudia doesn’t like Lisa’s husband. Her mind drifts from Lisa’s husband to Lisa’s wedding day.

Claudia recalls that Jasper attended Lisa’s wedding and that he looked handsome, if rumpled. The narrative includes a short bit of conversation from both Claudia’s and Jasper’s perspectives.