Red spends much of the next morning distracted, thinking about why he agreed to help Chloe in completing the other items on her list. He makes his way to Vikram’s house with plans to paint in his attic. Admiring the light outside the attic window, Red reflects on how his art style has changed and what the implications are. He wonders if he is “ruined, or just changed” (123) and hopes to find out. Vik is surprised that Red is painting again, and Red informs him that he has been painting all along, just not showing anyone his work.

Red decides to draw the cityscape outside the window and decides to not make any adjustments to it—he decides that he should not need to “create a more palatable version of reality” (125) and decides to paint for only himself. The painting he produces is, again, nothing like his old work, and he finds that knowing his style has changed feels “a little like lifting a weight” (126).

When Red pulls out his phone to photograph his newest piece, he sees an email from Chloe. In an overly formal tone, Chloe informs Red that their consultation was a failure due to “lack of focus” (126), and from now on they should communicate solely through email.