Summary

Chapter 6, “A Valediction,” takes place about six months after the events of Chapter 5. R. recently finished his university degree in Lisbon, Portugal, and has returned to Sofia to be near the narrator. However, after returning to Sofia, R. soon realized that he did not want to live in Bulgaria long-term, as the weather is often gloomy, and there are not many social/professional opportunities for R. there. The narrator worries that R. will soon decide to end their relationship and then return to Lisbon. R. and the narrator walk through the streets of Sofia and encounter a small art shop/gallery run by a middle-aged woman. The woman is an artist, and all of the artwork in the store is by her. The woman shows them around the gallery, and then shows them a room filled with many paintings by her that have not...