It is the day of the winter solstice, and Dillard awakens dry and hot. She thinks of a quote by Ruysbroeck, "'For the Heavenly Father desires that we should see, and that is why He is ever saying to our inmost spirit one deep unfathomable word and nothing else."' Dillard wonders what that word might be. Dillard goes outside and spies a honeybee, which makes her wonder if an echo really can kill a bee. She walks to the quarry to experiment with the sounds.
Dillard exults in the day, as she tromps through the woods to the quarry. She passes an old, broken aquarium that stands like a landmark on the trail. She wonders if she should plant something inside the remaining, unbroken walls. At the quarry, she waits and finally a bee.....
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