The Dew Breaker

This first story introduces the dew breaker, his wife, and his daughter Ka. The part is narrated in the first person, through Ka’s perspective. Ka has traveled to Miami, Florida, with her father. Ka is a sculptor and has been invited to Miami to sell a sculpture to Gabrielle Fonteneau, a Haitian American television star who collects art. Ka is well aware that while her sculpture might be quite good, Fonteneau was persuaded to buy the sculpture by a mutual Haitian American friend. Nonetheless, Fonteneau remarks that the sculpture, titled Father, reminds her of her own father.

Unfortunately for Ka, she wakes up on the morning of her visit to Fonteneau to find that her father is missing from their hotel, along with the sculpture. Panicked, she calls the police. While waiting for her father, Ka briefly describes the sculpture: It is made of a piece of mahogany with many superficial cracks, which Ka left in the final product because they represent scars.

Eventually Ka’s father returns, but without the sculpture. He takes her to a lake where he threw the sculpture into the water. Once there, he begins a discussion about her name.