Synopsis: The narrator meets a woman walking aimlessly on the beach. Attracted by her, he suggests she comes to his house near the sea. Indifferent to most things, she doesn't say much, and her contribution to the conversation is limited to vague or trite remarks. She reminds him of an animal, like a bird of prey or a cat. After asking to visit the house by herself, she leaves, saying that she always comes back. The narrator notices that the stains on a bread-knife she had cut herself with are not blood, but mud. Setting out to look for her, he takes his boat out, but stops when he realizes the hull is completely rotten. Choosing his car instead, he eventually crashes into a truck, because of rotten brakes.

• Note : this story is to be associated with "Le reste est silence", which precedes it in the Univers zéro collection, and where a different relationship develops between the narrator and Death.