Shortly after giving birth, Freeda's family reveals to her that her beloved husband, John, has died. Though she is not surprised, being well aware of the age gap between the two, Freeda is distraught, holding her baby and wondering how she will get along. Soon, the neighborhood has begun to crowd Freeda's house, where John's body is kept, for an informal wake. In the crowd, Freeda notices something strange: someone with a yellow complexion that she makes out to be a "chinaman." He smiles at her, then begins to laugh, though no one else seems to notice. She begins to panic, recognizing him from a dream she had long ago. In the dream, she foresaw her husband's death and the chinaman's laugh. Beginning to laugh maniacally herself, Freeda could only watch in horror as the chinaman's head inflated to the size of a watermelon, dripping with juices and threatening to explode all over her. Once she reached her old age, Freeda was taken into the care of her children. Since John's death, it appears that she's become quite disturbed, practically catatonic in her bed as her children ensure that she go on surviving. Hospital treatment eventually became necessary, so her family would take rounds keeping her company in her room and in the waiting room. Freeda was inconsolable, constantly talking about this chinaman, but her family believed it was just a misguided memory, so they simply played along. Matters were only worsened when an Asian man took the bed next to hers, and though their families were friendly, Freeda only panicked at the sight of him. The day when he poked his head in and gave her a smile is the day she died; finally, Freeda's granddaughter assumes that her grandma must have known she would die that day because of the omen of the chinaman. Revealing this story to her daughter, she can only guess how her grandma knew this chinaman and what he meant to her.