Summary

In Chapter 18, Simón and Inés prepare for Davíd’s birthday party. Before the party, Davíd speaks to Simón about life and death. Davíd asks why people cannot remember their previous lives, and Simón says that it is because they are “immersed in the waters of forgetting” (206). Davíd’s party goes well, apartment from the magician who did not arrive until very late. Later, Simón goes to see Señor Arroyo again. They speak of Davíd, and Arroyo assures Simón that Davíd actually admires Simón. Arroyo says that Davíd’s true struggle is that Davíd wishes to hold on to his previous life, before he arrived in the country where he now lives.

In Chapter 19, Simón comes home to once again find Dmitri there. Dmitri says that he has...