Star Boy is hiding among the rocks by the shore, refusing to go home after realizing he made a mistake: he played in his father’s canoe but forgot to pull it far enough up the beach, and the tide carried it away. Morning Girl has been calling for him to come for lunch, but he stays hidden, pretending to be one of the rocks. As the afternoon goes by, Star Boy thinks “about everything a rock could think: wind, rain, the things that could crawl out of the night and run across my face” (24). He tries to communicate with the rocks, but they do not answer. Eventually, he opens his eyes and sees his mother sitting by the shore, looking out to sea and wondering aloud where her son could be. She suggests he might have sailed to another island or flown into the sky, “but Star Boy would not leave without saying good-bye […] even if he had made a mistake” (25). Star Boy remains silent, focusing on becoming one with the rocks. He tells himself he will only return home if he hears his mother cry at night.

After his mother leaves, Star Boy spends a long time alone, noticing details he never paid attention to before, like the movement of shadows on his body and the smell of his skin.