At dawn, the narrator stands on a rooftop in New York City and sings “to the cityscape beyond” until someone tells him to be quiet (14). At this point, he exits the roof, though hesitantly, because he suddenly hears a “dissonant, gathering growl” (15).

He joins Paulo, a smoker with “permanent puppy eyes,” who takes him to breakfast and tries to convey his worry about a “breathing” he keeps hearing (15). The narrator has trouble paying attention to Paulo’s worry though, because he is so excited to be eating breakfast in a café like “normal” people do (16). He was disowned by his mother and has no home or steady income, so dining with Paulo in public is a treat. Despite a moment of fear when a cop walks in, he feels comforted by the fresh food and patter of quiet conversation. After leaving the café, he finds some paint and starts to “paint the city” (17). While he is painting, he hears the breathing Paulo was referring to, so he starts painting “breathing-holes” across the city (18).

The next time he meets Paulo, the narrator is starving and exhausted. Paulo tells him the “city will die” if the narrator does not intervene on its behalf, that “he is the catalyst, whether of strength or destruction,” a statement which leaves the narrator bewildered since he has never been important to anyone so far in his life (19).