Summary

The morning continues and they suffer from dehydration. The sand continues to slide down in increments as the sun heats the air and they both continue to wait. To ease his throat he drinks some of the sake and it gives him a headache instantly because his stomach is empty. He goes outside, wincing in the light, and takes the shovel back to the house and begins to hack at the wood. It breaks, however, as the dampness of the sand has rotted most of it, and he can’t use any to make a ladder. Then he tries to cut one of the crossbeams to see if the thicker planks could be used, but the woman runs forward and stops him, although they both fall down and he becomes aroused. This encounter leads to a memory about his wife who ridiculed him...