In early March, Addie reflects on the month’s instability and on what birthdays mean to her now: time stopped long ago, and the only date that truly matters is the night she traded her soul for freedom.

On March 10, Addie decides her birthday still deserves a gift. She stops at a boutique and is drawn to a mannequin’s outfit, then goes inside and selects a cashmere striped sweater, glossy leggings, and knee-high boots, already knowing the sizes that never change.

In the changing stall, Addie removes her old clothes and a small wooden ring drops from her jacket pocket. The ash-gray band is familiar and hated; Addie refuses to pick it up or even face it, and instead finishes dressing in the new outfit, pleased by how it feels on her unchanged body.

Addie tears off the tags and leaves her old clothes behind on the dressing-room floor, along with the ring abandoned in the corner. She keeps only her worn black leather jacket—an item she could not bring herself to destroy in New Orleans despite the memories attached to it.

When Addie steps back into the shop, the clerk is startled and politely confused, already failing to remember letting Addie in. Addie leaves without paying, knowing the clerk will soon find the discarded clothes and not remember who they belonged to, while Addie vanishes from sight and memory once again.