Summary

In Chapter 4 the mother recalls dropping her son off at an intersection in the morning, and it was the last time she saw Nikolai alive. She thought about those missing eight hours before her son’s death, and realized they would always be unknown to her. She equates this not knowing to a wound. The mother recounts a story her son wrote about a five-year old boy Nikolai who was fleeing the 1917 Russian Revolution. The Russian Nikolai kept fingering a brass button on his new coat until it came undone. After reading the story, the mother had complimented her son on his use of powerful imagery. She recalls most of the stories he wrote had young boys who died. When Nikolai asks, she responds that the corner where she last saw him has many autumn leaves that have fallen. She realizes that Nikolai...