The coverage of Jesus H.'s release from temporary arrest and of the subsequent funeral of his one-time famous, then infamous, then forgotten, then once-again-famous father informed a certain second-grade lieutenant in the Polish Army, no doubt after that thin, black strip was removed from over Jesus H.'s eyes, of the true identity of his onetime captor, the infamous Jesus Bishop. This was great news. It made every headline in Poland. Of course, the lieutenant didn't go to the media first. He went to the Procurator-general of Poland - with charges of treason. The headlines read: SON OF GREAT PLAINTIFF ACCUSED OF TREASON; IDENTIFIED AS CONFEDERATE LEADER MICHAL, CALLED 'BISHOP.'

– Verse 201 from the chapter called Security

YOUR MOTHER IS DEAD: STATUS ASTHMATICUS FINIVIT. PACK YOUR BAGS AND COME FOR THE FUNERAL.

That was it.

– Verses 17-18 from the chapter called Adolescence

"My grandfather," said Sapper, "for the past eighteen years of his life, has had only one car: his ancient Polish Fiat, which, when it was new, had, at most, perhaps nineteen horsepower. Now that it's come of age, as we like to say, its taste for the road has significantly dulled. About two years ago, I was given permission to drive it for the very first and last time. Its performance was tenuous but, understanding its limited capacity, quite admirable, and, combined with my youthful zeal, we took a left curve so fast, we teetered. We were not in danger of tipping over, but we teetered: on those two, decimeter-length wheels on the driver's side. We were saved, undoubtedly, by my grandfather's great weight, sitting as he was in the passenger seat. I tried to convince him that my understanding of physics and automotive safety was impeccable; my left turn was not the result of negligence, but merely my honest attempt at illustrating the great importance of a healthy diet. My grandfather was not amused. From that day forth, I've never been allowed to drive, in spite of the greatly terrifying fact that my grandfather is completely blind in one eye and almost blind in the other. When your grandmother called us and told us that your mother was dead - may she rest in peace - she told us that the funeral was the very next day, at eleven o'clock in the morning. So we left: immediately: at five o'clock in the afternoon, two hours before sunset, in the middle of heavy rain, right before your grandmother tried to reach us to inform us that your mother's funeral was actually postponed till Monday!"

"And I still missed it," said Jesus.

– Verses 210-211 from the chapter called Adolescence

My grandmother told her own story: "We were eleven years old, my sister and I. We were traveling with other children: some younger, some older. We were - all of us - very hungry. One day, we found this old woman living on her own - actually, some young boys told us about her. They said, 'This woman has a chamber with bread and cheese. Go to her house and ask for bread. Meanwhile, we'll go and steal the food.' So we went to the woman. We told her how hungry we were; we asked for bread. She was very kind: she gave us soup - very good soup - and bread. We left very grateful for the woman's kindness, and felt sorry, since we knew that the boys had robbed her. They took half a round of cheese - white cheese: it was very good. They took all of her bread; we ate everything she had. A few days later, while passing through some other village, one of the girls with us died of typhus. During the funeral, we went to confess, but all of us kept going to the back of the line - we were scared, since the girl had died. Finally, the priest took notice, and, leading us to the sacristy, said, 'Why do you children keep going to the back?' We answered, 'Forgive us, Father, for we have sinned.' He was very surprised. 'We all share the same grave sin,' we said. 'We were hungry, and we robbed a woman of her food.' The priest said: 'You have not sinned: you did not take her food out of spite or for pleasure, but because you were hungry.' And he blessed us that very same day, the whole gang, right there in the sacristy."

– Verse 75 from the chapter called Childhood

"It was flooded." Sapper turned back. "Before the funeral, they opened it. There must've been about half a meter of water in there. Three meters down, I could see that the uppermost casket was crooked: the water had pushed it over. I don't know how old it was, but at least it wasn't turned over. They wanted to pump the water out, but there wasn't enough time. They decided to pour in concrete, but they said, 'Let's wait till after the funeral.' So: I don't know. Maybe they did it; maybe they're doing it right now. Or maybe they're going to do it. If that's the case, the crypt's going to be open."

"They put her in cold water?"

– Verses 228-229 from the chapter called Adolescence