On October 30, 1902, Bailey struggles to move stubborn sheep between fields when Poppet suddenly appears on the stone wall, looking out of place in bright daylight and ordinary farmland. She tells Bailey she came because she needs to ask him something important and wanted to give him time to think.

Poppet reveals that tonight is the circus’s last night in Concord and asks Bailey to come with them when they leave. When Bailey protests that he does not belong in the circus and cannot simply abandon his family, Poppet insists she is certain he is “supposed” to come, even if she cannot explain why.

Poppet raises the stakes by saying that if Bailey does not come, the circus will not return anywhere at all: there will be no more circus. She explains she can feel the circus “crumbling” from the inside, like a sickness that outsiders would not notice, and she gives an example—how the Labyrinth has become unfamiliar to her, including a night when she could not sense doors or find a way out as she normally can.

Trying to persuade Bailey, Poppet points out that Bailey was the one who found the key in the Labyrinth when she could not, and says the only clear answer she has been able to find is Bailey himself. She admits the request is unfair but frames it as an attempt to save her home and family: the circus and the people in it.

Poppet then gives Bailey a small glass bottle from Widget, containing the vivid sensation of Bailey’s favorite tree so he can “keep your tree with you” if he chooses to leave. Poppet tells Bailey they will depart when the circus closes and the train will be ready before dawn, and asks one more thing: if Bailey is not leaving with them, he should not come to the circus tonight and let this be goodbye.

Bailey promises he will not come unless he is going with them. As Poppet leaves, she kisses Bailey on the lips, and Bailey realizes in that instant that he will follow her anywhere, even as he remains with only hours to decide.