This chapter reveals the text of the last letter Sále wrote for Bekija. No longer believing that Bekija will ever respond to him, he confesses that 16 years ago, he secretly witnessed Bekija’s intimate encounter with Dhana in the dairy. He understood that this meant she was no longer “pure” and would be killed by her fiancé, Nemanja, after their wedding. 

Sále recounts that Bekija chose to become a sworn virgin and placed the black band on his arm. That same day, Dhana gave him a letter to urgently pass on to Bekija. As an act of revenge against Bekija, Sále fled, taking Dhana’s letter with him. He encloses the long-hidden letter and reveals he recently saw Dhana in Sofia. He urges Bekija to come to Sofia immediately, as Dhana is leaving for London in a few weeks.

While already on the bus to Sofia, Bekija thinks back to the letter Dhana wrote for her, which the journalist read back in her house. 

In the letter, Dhana writes that she had encountered Murash, who claimed Bekija was happily in love with Nemanja. Confused by this, Dhana asks Bekija to meet her at the dairy that same night so they can run away to Bulgaria together. The letter ends with an ultimatum: If Bekija does not come, Dhana will leave and never return. 

Mentally responding to the letter, Bekija thinks, “I’m coming, my love” (118).

At a bus station in Sofia, Sále waits anxiously for his sister, holding a sign with her name. Bekija arrives, appearing as an “effeminate man” with short hair wearing a dress and heeled shoes. As she walks through the station’s revolving door, she stumbles and falls to the ground. Sále rushes to her side, and the two siblings kneel on the floor, embracing tightly and sobbing after 16 years of separation. A white dove flies into the bus station.

At Sále’s apartment, Bekija showers and chooses to wear her brother’s clothes, instead of the women’s garments he has offered her. Sále isn’t surprised and reveals he knew she had adopted the male name “Matija” after becoming a sworn virgin. 

As they talk, Bekija expresses fear and uncertainty about her future. Sále acknowledges that Bekija came to Sofia for Dhana, but just as he offers to call her, Bekija collapses while experiencing severe abdominal pain. Sále immediately calls for an ambulance and also phones Dhana.

Bekija awakens in a hospital to find Dhana at her bedside. Dhana reads her a newspaper article explaining that surgeons removed a partially formed parasitic twin from a 33-year-old woman’s abdomen. The article describes the rare condition, known as fetus in fetu, but does not name the patient; Bekija herself draws the personal connection, realizing she had carried her twin brother inside her body for 33 years. 

Devastated and believing she is a murderer, Bekija experiences a mental health crisis. Dhana comforts her, insisting she is not to blame for how she was born, and holds her as they fall asleep together.

During Dhana’s daily hospital visits, Bekija finally reveals the full truth of the past 16 years. She explains that after their night in the dairy, she was no longer a virgin and would have been killed by Nemanja. To survive, she became a sworn virgin, which triggered a blood feud that required the death of a man from her family. Forced to choose, she designated Sále, who then fled after taking Dhana’s letter as revenge. Consequently, their father, Murash, had to take Sále’s place and was killed. Bekija explains that she is illiterate and could not read Sále’s letters herself; the journalist’s visit prompted her to retrieve them, and Dhana’s letter was enclosed in the last one, which Bekija only learned when the journalist opened it. 

Overcome by the revelations, Dhana and Bekija reaffirm their lasting love and spend the night together.

Bekija wakes up alone in her hospital bed with a farewell letter from Dhana. Unable to read, she has Sále, who has just arrived, read it aloud. 

In the letter, Dhana explains she left for a writer’s residency in England that morning. She writes that she feels overwhelmed with guilt for the tragedies that befell Bekija’s family and believes she doesn’t deserve happiness. Convinced they are fated to be apart, she chose to leave without a painful goodbye, reaffirming her eternal love for Bekija but accepting their separation.

Devastated by Dhana’s departure, Bekija boards a bus and returns to her home village. She feels she has no place in the world and has given up on a new life. 

After getting off at her stop, she takes off the patent leather shoes from her trip and throws them into a field. She walks the rest of the way home barefoot, saying “I’m coming, daddy” (142).

Back at her empty house, Bekija changes into her old men’s trousers and boots. Believing her life is ruined, she takes a rope and stool to the stable, intending to die by suicide. 

At the same time, a woman implied to be Dhana arrives at the house. She calls out Bekija’s name, hears the cow bellowing, and follows the sound to the stable. Inside, she is shocked by what she sees, but quickly realizes Bekija is instead helping deliver a newborn calf. She cries out Bekija’s name, and the two women weep and laugh together before embracing. The story ends as they watch the calf nurse, sharing a moment of peace, love, and new life.