The journey continues, showing Wilbur celebrating a bank loan for new shops and later opening a “Budd Books” in Manchester in 1975. The Ghost explains to the Dreamer that this ambition will lead to an empire of 203 stores at its peak, but at the cost of Wilbur’s passion for books and people. The train then stops outside their future house in a Sheffield suburb and vanishes. The Ghost walks through the front wall, and when a newspaper boy passes directly through the Dreamer, Wilbur realizes he is not physically present. He cautiously follows the Ghost inside.

A scene unfolds from the Dreamer’s future: a Sunday dinner with Maggie and Wilbur’s mother, Edith. Wilbur announces that he and Maggie are moving to London for the business. Edith is upset by the news, especially for Maggie, who will have to leave her beloved job at the Crucible theatre. Maggie confirms she has already told them and they understand. Wilbur grows defensive, and the conversation escalates into a heated argument. When Edith laments that he is running away from his family, she brings up Wilbur’s late brother, Dougie, which triggers Wilbur’s anger. As the argument intensifies, Edith reveals she has news of her own.

Edith announces that she has accepted a marriage proposal from Cecil Parkin, their former landlord whom Wilbur and Dougie despised. Wilbur is enraged, suggesting the landlord has taken advantage of Edith. However, Edith defends Parkin, revealing his past kindnesses, including paying for Dougie’s funeral. Maggie attempts to mediate, but Wilbur storms out of the room. As Edith expresses her regrets to Maggie, the sound of the approaching train signals the end of the scene.

Back on the train, the Ghost reflects on the common regrets of the dying, particularly working too hard and lacking the courage to express feelings. He concludes that he lived a life in “perpetual motion” and failed to understand that not every pause in life leads to disaster. The Ghost and Dreamer share a moment of grief, silently acknowledging their shared sorrow over Dougie.

Agnes appears in the carriage and notes the train ride has become unstable since the Ghost broke the rules. The Dreamer anxiously asks if he will wake up at the journey’s end. The Ghost can only say he hopes so. Agnes criticizes the Ghost for risking eternity, but he counters that he spent his entire life not truly “awake” and wants to give the Dreamer that opportunity.

The train speeds through flashes of Wilbur’s future, showing him constantly working alone in offices and hotels. Years pass in an instant, showing the slow erosion of his relationships. The journey only slows to show Wilbur on the phone, crying upon learning that his mother has been rushed to the hospital.

The train stops at Edith’s funeral. The Ghost explains that she died of an aneurysm three years after the move to London. The Ghost and Dreamer watch their 34-year-old self deliver a stiff, impersonal eulogy. Among the few mourners are Maggie, her father Alfred, Charlie, Claudette, and Edith’s husband, Cecil Parkin, who sits alone. The Ghost reflects with regret on his difficult relationship with his mother and his poor speech. He notes Maggie’s sadness and the supportive presence of Charlie and Claudette, who traveled from London for the funeral.

At the wake, Wilbur makes small talk with Maggie, Charlie, and Claudette. Charlie mentions a book by Kenyan philosopher John Mbiti, explaining its concept that time is made of events and an abstract future does not exist, gently advising Wilbur to focus on the present. Wilbur ignores the advice, distracted by Mr. Parkin’s presence. Maggie urges Wilbur to speak with him, but he refuses. Maggie approaches Mr. Parkin herself and kindly invites him to stay, but he politely leaves. The Ghost and Dreamer follow him outside, where they watch him cry. The Ghost tells the Dreamer they were wrong to perpetuate Dougie’s hatred of the man and silently apologizes for his cruelty.

The train offers a brief glimpse of Wilbur and Maggie sharing a loving kiss in their London bedroom. The view quickly shifts to a later time, showing Wilbur in a phone box by the river in Newcastle, overjoyed to learn from Maggie that she is pregnant. The Ghost observes, however, that in the weeks that followed this news, Wilbur found constant excuses to travel for work and be away from home.

In a New York hotel room in 1980, Wilbur, now 35 and looking weary, prepares for a business speech. He sees a CBS Evening News report with Walter Cronkite that John Lennon was murdered the previous night just as Maggie calls from London. She is distraught, crying so hard he can barely understand her. She tells him she is bleeding and has lost their baby. Wilbur is crushed but tells her he cannot fly home until Thursday, as he is committed to giving his speech the next day. The Ghost explains that the trip was pointless and he went only because he was flattered, choosing work over being with Maggie when she needed him.

Three years later, the Ghost and Dreamer observe Wilbur having lunch with Charlie in London. Charlie has aged, and Wilbur is wholly consumed by his work, declining an invitation to David Bowie’s Serious Moonlight tour at Wembley Arena because he has no time. Charlie observes that it is a shame that Wilbur no longer pursues his interests in music and reading. Then, Wilbur informs a stunned Charlie that he is being fired from his role as the company’s financial advisor and replaced by a more “serious” finance expert. Devastated, Charlie reminds Wilbur of his years of loyalty and sacrifice. Wilbur remains detached, insisting the decision is not personal. As Charlie leaves, he tells Wilbur that his inability to be personal is his entire problem.

Immediately after firing Charlie, Wilbur leaves the restaurant and tries to hail a taxi. He rudely shrugs off an unhoused man who asks for change. The Ghost recalls the words of an unhoused man from their youth, who said the world is full of people who look but do not see. As Wilbur’s taxi drives through the two specters, the Dreamer finally says, “I see it now” (237).

Wilbur’s ghost reflects on the frustrating irony of realizing one’s life priorities only when it is too late.

The Dreamer asks if Wilbur slowed down after losing so much, but the Ghost replies that he only sped up, mistaking adrenaline for purpose and greed for ambition. He became obsessed with takeovers and crushing smaller competitors. The train’s window shows a scene from the Excellence in Business Awards at the Metropolitan Hotel on Park Lane in London where Wilbur gives an acceptance speech and forgets to mention Maggie. She sits alone at their table, privately worrying about a lump she has recently discovered.

The Ghost tells the Dreamer that while it took him a lifetime to learn how to live, it is not too late for the Dreamer, who is merely asleep. He explains that to get a second chance, the Dreamer must witness what ultimately happened to his relationship with Maggie.

The train stops at a large, opulent house in South Kensington that a 49-year-old Wilbur and Maggie now own. Wilbur arrives home and walks past Maggie without truly seeing her, his mind still on work. The Ghost reflects on how he neglected Maggie for decades, allowing her career, friendships, and sense of self to wither. Wilbur finally notices Maggie is upset but is now so emotionally detached that he cannot understand why.

Maggie reveals that the lump she found was benign, but the month-long cancer scare forced her to re-evaluate their life. She also tells Wilbur her father has Parkinson’s and that she wants to move back to Sheffield to care for him. Wilbur immediately resists, citing an upcoming work commitment. Maggie confronts him about their empty, isolated life, stating that his ambition has destroyed their connection. Although Wilbur tries to make her stay, he fails to provide an actual reason. Two days later, she leaves him a letter and moves back to Sheffield alone.

The Ghost tells the Dreamer he must learn to live life “like it can’t be measured” (256). The scene shifts to a street where a drunk Wilbur shows up at Charlie and Claudette’s home late at night. He tells them Maggie has left him and he had no one else to talk to. Sobered by their shock, he quickly leaves. Charlie follows him out and, after a brief, sad exchange, watches his old friend disappear into the night.