Being Henry David

Danny gets directions to Concord from a woman in the station. He tries to relax on the trip north. He still doesn’t know what he’ll do next but feels safer than he has since waking up at Penn Station. Soon, his mind is racing again: He can’t stop thinking about Simon and worrying about Magpie, Jack, and Nessa. Reading Walden to distract himself, he makes it through “most of the book” (63) before reaching Massachusetts. When he closes his eyes, paragraphs from the book appear in his mind and Danny realizes that he has a photographic memory.

Danny gets off the train in Concord. He wonders if this is where he lives and if anyone on the street will recognize him. He wanders around, studying the scenes, but doesn’t remember being there before. On Thoreau Street, Danny catches a teen girl looking at him. He studies her, too, noticing how attractive she is. When she introduces herself as Hailey, Danny says his name is Hank. Hailey guesses that he’s in town to see Walden Pond and Thoreau’s cabin because he’s holding Walden. Danny lies and says that he’s visiting Concord because he and his dad might be moving to town.