Four years later, the narrator, Orhan Pamuk, continues searching for the 19 poems Ka wrote in Kars. All he finds are copious personal notes, love letters to İpek, and the snowflake diagram. Ka’s green poetry notebook remains lost, and Orhan concludes that Ka’s murderer stole it. He travels to Kars to find a recording of Ka’s poetry reading at the theater on the night of the coup. Orhan meets with İpek to speak about the events of Ka’s last day in Kars and her relationship with Ka.

Back in the primary timeline, İpek and Turgut Bey go to the theater to try to convince Kadife not to uncover her head. Kadife and İpek realize that no one knows where Ka went after he left the theater, and they begin to worry about Blue. Kadife encourages İpek to go to Germany with Ka.

İpek and Turgut Bey return to the hotel to watch the play on television. İpek receives a message from Ka saying that he will be waiting for her at the train station and that an army vehicle will come by the hotel to pick her up soon. İpek packs her bags.