Chapter Twenty-Three
Contains spoilersOverview
On the resumed train ride, Ted dozed, woke to Louisa’s offer of sodas bought with his money, and continued telling the origin of the artist’s inspiration. He recounted how a chain of petty school incidents—soap bubbles, a pretend injury, and crutches on a roof—led to an elderly janitor’s accident and the hiring of a young janitor whose mother taught him that children are born with wings. This young janitor later told those words to the fourteen-year-old who would become the artist, transforming his life. The chapter bridges Ted and Louisa’s growing trust with the pivotal backstory that shaped the artist’s worldview and, eventually, the painting.
Summary
As the delayed train finally moved, Ted watched the dark countryside and longed for home and for the artist’s presence. He briefly fell asleep and woke to Louisa returning with two cans of soda. When Ted cautiously asked how she paid, Louisa indignantly insisted she was not a thief before admitting she took money from his bag, declaring that friends share. Ted declined the drink and confirmed their journey had a long way to go.
Prompted by Louisa to continue the story behind the painting and “the janitor and the skulls,” Ted began recounting the artist’s origin as told to him. He described the young janitor’s mother teaching him a private mythology: that children are born with wings and that most people have them torn off, but a few keep them and find their homeland in art. The young janitor, feeling different and rejected growing up, internalized this belief and later became a janitor who would pass that revelation to a fourteen-year-old destined to be the artist known as C. Jat.
Ted then corrected himself to trace how this meeting came to be. He said it began one spring when he, Joar, Ali, and the artist were fourteen. Ali brought dish soap to school; Joar fashioned a wire ring to blow bubbles; the group slipped and played in a stairwell. An older group insulted them, prompting Ali and Joar to bicker about whether elves could fly, until a shriek revealed the perfectly groomed older girl had slipped on the soapy stairs.
The next day, the older girl exploited the incident by claiming a broken foot to skip gym. Her ruse collapsed when she ran outside to pet a cute dog, leaving her crutches unattended. Predictably, classmates put the crutches on the roof. An elderly janitor climbed up to retrieve them, slipped on lingering ice, and actually broke his foot.
Because of the injury, the school hired a temporary young janitor. That hiring—caused by a chain of trivial events—brought to the school the very person whose mother’s wing parable would inspire the fourteen-year-old artist and change his life. Ted emphasized the coincidence that linked bubbles, a dog, and crutches to the arrival of the mentor who awakened the artist’s sense of belonging in art.
Who Appears
- Ted
narrator and teacher; continues recounting the artist’s backstory; shares train moments with Louisa.
- Louisa
teen companion; buys sodas with Ted’s money, prompting banter; urges Ted to continue the story.
- The artist (C. Jat)
central figure of the backstory; as a fourteen-year-old, was inspired by the young janitor’s philosophy.
- Ali
friend in the quartet; brings dish soap to school, sparking the chain of events.
- Joar
friend in the quartet; makes a bubble ring; argues playfully with Ali about elves.
- Young janitor
new; temporary school janitor whose mother’s teachings about “wings” profoundly influence the future artist.
- Elderly janitor
new; school janitor who breaks his foot retrieving crutches from the roof, necessitating the young janitor’s hire.
- Girl with perfect hair
new; older student who fakes a broken foot, forgets her crutches, and triggers the rooftop incident.
- Young janitor’s mother
new; imparts the “children are born with wings” belief that frames the artist’s calling.