SIX

Two weeks have passed since Adam became Juliette’s cellmate. Their days have settled into a rigid routine: Adam adapts without complaint, continues asking questions, and treats Juliette kindly, while Juliette keeps her distance and writes in her notebook.

Juliette sits by the window watching rain, leaves, snow, and soldiers outside. The sight deepens her longing for ordinary sensations she cannot safely enjoy, and she thinks about the white-and-gold bird she has dreamed of for ten years, a rare image that brings her peace.

Adam asks what Juliette is writing, gives her a blanket, and sits close beside her. As Juliette looks at him, she realizes with certainty that she knows him from the past: Adam is a boy she went to school with for seven years, though he does not seem to remember her.

Adam tells Juliette that The Reestablishment intends to destroy the English language and eventually every language in history, replacing them with a single universal language. Juliette is horrified because this means the regime is not only controlling people but erasing culture, memory, and individuality.

When Juliette begins shaking, Adam puts a hand on her back and then pulls her close through the blanket to comfort her. Juliette longs for the contact but forces herself away because she believes touching her is dangerous. Adam is hurt and confused by her refusal, and Juliette tells him he cannot touch her, though she cannot explain the truth.

The argument exposes the gulf between them: Adam wants Juliette to look at him and trust him, while Juliette is tormented by the fact that she remembers him and he apparently does not remember her. The chapter ends with Juliette acknowledging that she could never forget Adam, even though he has forgotten her.