The Hedgehog
- Only when Oskar gets his own apartment does he understand that being alone with his drum is a way of helping his mind jump into the past. The guy's spent so much of his life drumming instead of talking, it's easier to remember the past if he plays the drumbeats he associates with certain events.
- Oskar continues with his story about how he found a new apartment just for himself. He rents out a room in a house owned by a guy named Zeidler, who's kind of crazy and loves to smash drinking glasses when he's mad (so that's something he and Oskar sort of have in common).
- After Oskar moves into the house, he finds out that one of his fellow housemates is a nurse named Sister Dorothea. Oskar never sees her, since she works odd hours and never seems to be home when Oskar's awake.
- In order to pay for his new apartment, Oskar gets his old job back with Korneff the stonecutter, and things start looking up.
- The longer Oskar goes without meeting Sister Dorothea, the more he begins to fantasize about her as his lover. One day, he even looks through her mail and finds a letter addressed to her from a man named Dr. Erich Werner.
- He's overcome by jealousy, thinking that Werner might be Dorothea's boyfriend.
- But Oskar's made up Sister Dorothea's entire life in his head. He knows absolutely nothing about her, and seems downright delusional when it comes to thinking about her.