The train stops in Bedford, where an elderly Wilbur stands outside a music shop called String Theory. There, he sees a flyer advertising piano lessons with Nora Seed. The Ghost explains to the Dreamer that he was deeply lonely and his doctor had suggested learning an instrument to help ward off dementia. Neil speaks highly of Nora, and Wilbur, deciding to give lessons a try, buys a baby grand electric piano from him.

As they continue watching the last two years of Wilbur’s life, the Ghost explains his deep sense of loneliness and how he missed people from his past, including Maggie, Dougie, and Charlie. In these final years, Wilbur’s dog dies, and his health deteriorates. The Ghost clarifies, however, that Wilbur’s existence was not one of total misery. He had rediscovered a kindness he had lost during his career, donating to charities and finding companionship in conversations with his gardener and piano teacher. As the train slows again, the Ghost recognizes where—and when—they are arriving and expresses a sense of dread.

At age 81, Wilbur has a piano lesson with Nora Seed. As he struggles to play “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” a favorite song of Maggie’s, he is overcome by a memory of her singing it on their honeymoon and begins to cry. Nora comforts him, and they share a glass of wine. She confides that seven years earlier, she survived an attempt to die by suicide, an experience that taught her the importance of living authentically. Her words resonate deeply with both the Dreamer and the Ghost. As the lesson ends, Wilbur feels a twinge of pain in his chest.

Wilbur walks Nora outside to her brother Joe Seed’s car, where his partner Ewan is also waiting. The Dreamer is stunned by the immense size of Wilbur’s property, which includes a tennis court. The Ghost explains that he left London for this isolated home to escape the painful memories of the city after Maggie left him. As Nora drives away, she advises Wilbur to be patient with his piano practice. The Ghost recalls that at this exact moment, he was beginning to feel very ill.

Inside the house, Wilbur tries to play the piano again, but he is interrupted by a phone call from Maggie. They have not spoken in nearly 30 years. The Ghost explains to the Dreamer that Maggie had a dream about them and felt a sudden, inexplicable urge to call, as if she sensed he was dying. After the call, Wilbur rereads Maggie’s old letter, collapses in pain, and stumbles outside to get help from his gardener, Josh. Josh finds him and calls an ambulance. At the hospital, the Dreamer watches as the signals on Wilbur’s ECG machine go still at one minute after midnight.

Back on the train, Agnes informs the Ghost that he must step through a door into a void of total nothingness. This is necessary for the Dreamer to wake up and change his future. The Ghost accepts his fate, urging his younger self to live bravely and make Maggie happy. After a warm goodbye with Agnes, the Ghost sees his own portrait on the train wall turn blank. He then steps through the door into the void, and the train immediately begins to shake apart.

As the train violently disintegrates, the Dreamer and Agnes cling to a brass rail. The rail breaks, and Agnes begins to fall. The Dreamer catches her, but she insists he must let her go, explaining that the train is trying to save only him and that she will be safe in eternity. She urges him to live and not let it all be for nothing. He reluctantly releases her, and she rolls herself out of the door. The Dreamer holds on as the train hurtles forward, the surrounding void filling with a blinding light before everything becomes still and quiet.

Wilbur wakes up in his hotel room in Venice during his honeymoon with Maggie. He checks his watch and realizes only five minutes have passed since he dozed off. He hears Maggie in the bath and calls out that he loves her and will appreciate her forever. He begins to understand that his experience may not have been a dream, but a literal journey through time. When Maggie emerges from the bathroom, she is wearing the exact blue dress he saw in his vision on the train.

Inside a restaurant, La Zucca, every detail from Wilbur’s vision proves true. Maggie chooses a pasta called “bigoli,” and Wilbur spots a bald man with a birthmark at a nearby table. Overwhelmed by evidence that defies logic, Wilbur decides to accept his experience as real and embrace the knowledge it has given him. He chooses to believe in what he has learned.

During dinner, Wilbur stuns Maggie by announcing he will not take the bank loan to expand the bookshop. He wants to honor the legacy of the original owner, Mrs. Bagdale, by keeping it a single, well-run shop. He also explains that he now knows the path of expansion will make them miserable and ultimately destroy their marriage. He insists that all he wants is their life together. For the first time, he speaks openly about his ongoing grief for his brother, Dougie. Looking at Maggie, he realizes that the present moment is what truly matters, telling her that they are living in “the good old days” (290), and he intends to appreciate them as such.

As they walk through Venice, Wilbur asks Maggie to ensure he never loses sight of what is important, promising to stay close to his friend Charlie and be gentler with his mother. In the Piazza San Marco, they stop to listen to a busker playing Verdi on a violin outside the Caffè Florian. When Maggie asks if he worries he will regret turning down the business opportunity, he says he won’t. He explains that “The only way to learn is to live,” a lesson he learned from “someone who isn’t even born yet” (293). At peace, Wilbur feels ready to build a new, unknown future with Maggie.