A Short Walk Through a Wide World

Aubry and Marta continue hiking. Marta asks if Aubry has ever fallen in love. Aubry says that she has experienced many kinds of love, but they are all doomed. Later, Aubry sees a door in a cliff wall. Excited to show Marta the library, she drags her through the doorway. However, when they stumble through the darkness, they find a cave with rotten shelves and a skeleton sitting in a chair. Aubry fears that Marta will say she is “mad,” but Marta says that she has done enough research to know otherwise. She has even visited France to speak with Aubry’s family. Aubry has not had news from home in a long time. She knew that her mother is dead but is sad to learn that her father has died as well.

Marta asks how Aubry would like her story to be written. As they walk out of the cave, Aubry decides to tell her everything.

Marta listens to Aubry’s story, particularly fascinated by the infinite library. Aubry says that she has found the library many times, in many different places: in the North American prairies, in an iceberg near Greenland, and in the middle of a giant tree in Madagascar.