He accepts the messages and later, reads the message to Seer. Matty suggests that maybe it seems like there are fewer fish now because he's growing up and the world seems smaller now. Leader tries to ask Matty whether there are fewer fish in the river than there used to be, as people are complaining that food supplies are running low.

Leader's homeplace is filled with books from his old settlement, and he sees them as proof that his old settlement is changing for the better. One morning, Matty goes to Leader's homeplace so he can deliver messages. He tries to impress upon Matty that Ramon's parents probably sacrificed something important or valuable for the Gaming Machine, but he refuses to allow Matty to attend a Trade Mart so he can figure out how trading works. Later that evening, Matty tries to convince Seer that they should trade for a Gaming Machine, but Seer insists that it'd be a mistake to trade away reading or music in the evenings for a mechanical thing that dispenses candy. As the boys go fishing, Leader, the leader of the village, watches over Village and sees something troubling in Forest. Ramon brags about his family's new Gaming Machine, and Matty thinks that he’d like a Gaming Machine of his own. On his way home, Matty hears keening-crying and singing about a death-and the next day, Ramon tells Matty that Forest entangled and killed Gatherer. He finds what he's looking for: a small frog.

Because of this, he hopes to one day receive the true name Messenger, as he can carry messages through Forest to other settlements. For most this is a dangerous proposition, but Matty can pass through Forest unharmed. Lying isn't allowed in Village, but Matty needs to get into Forest alone. Ramon invites Matty to his homeplace for supper, but Matty lies that he has a message to deliver. After supper, Seer tells Matty to light a lamp, and Matty remembers Seer saying once that Forest-which is dangerous for most people-is 'just an illusion.' Matty goes past the kind schoolteacher Mentor's house in the hopes of seeing Jean, Mentor's daughter, but he runs into his friend Ramon instead. His guardian, a blind man named Seer, teases Matty good-naturedly about whatever it is that Matty needs to see in Forest. A teenaged boy named Matty tries to hurry through supper preparations so he can go check on something in Forest.

Messenger by Lois Lowry