The Bird Man and Ava encounter difficult, choppy waters on their journey, and both Ava and the red alligator are nervous. The Bird Man decides that they will take cover for the night in Stiltsville, a grouping of houses on stilts that had been abandoned when the Parks department had taken over this portion of the Ten Thousand Islands. Although many of the houses have fallen into a state of disrepair and are not safe to enter, he finds one that still has a solid floor and the two make camp for the night. After dinner, Ava finds herself unable to stop talking, and she blurts out the entire story of Osceola’s mental decline, burgeoning interest in contacting the dead, and relationship with the ghost of Louis. The Bird Man listens kindly and attentively to her wild story. He asks her what she believes, and Ava has to admit that she is not sure. Later that night, she prays to a God who in some way resembles her mother and then drifts off to sleep. When she wakes in the morning, the Bird Man tells her that he encountered a fisherman who had seen a strange boat, and he thinks that it is time to resume their search for Osceola.