The City and Its Uncertain Walls

In the walled-in town, the protagonist walks to the library. He stops when he notices a strange boy standing on the other side of the river, wearing a parka with the Yellow Submarine on it. The boy watches the protagonist, and the protagonist finds it odd that no one walking by takes notice of the boy. When the protagonist passes the clock with no hands, he reflects on how unimportant time is in the town, each day the same as the next. At the library, he tells the girl about the boy and asks if he is new. The girl tells him that the protagonist is the last person to enter the town, and that there are no new people. She points out that it looks like something bit the protagonist’s earlobe, and when the protagonist reaches to touch it, pain rushes in. He wonders what bit him as she applies a salve.

The next day, the protagonist sees Yellow Submarine Boy in the same place, watching him like he did the day before. That night, after closing the library,