Summary

Futh stands on a ferry deck, remembering the summer when he first traveled abroad as a child with his father. He remembers his father takes him to the movie theater at the ferry, and talks to him about his mother who had passed away a year earlier. His father says that his mother used to sell popcorn at the movie theater. Futh feels discomforted, hearing about his mother. He wants to hear about his mother, so that "his heart would lift," but whenever his father speaks about her, "she would invariably be spoiled in some way and he would wish that nothing had been said after all" (2). The scents and stuffiness of ferries make Futh feel sick. He goes to the outer deck to get some fresh air and notices a man wearing a life preserver, raincoat, and a hat on the far side...