The Weight of All Things

Nicolás has a dream in which La Virgen is in the pantry showing him the way out. She marks the doorway in the pantry with “Enter Here.” Nicolás awakes and realizes he must find what is on the other side of that door. There is no time during the day to explore. There are guards everywhere and he is kept occupied at all times. Nicolás is tasked with hosing off the sidewalks. From this job he can see Vidal, a senior official, standing post at the corner nearest the small market. Nicolás lays down the hose and offers to help a soldier move barrels to make a roadblock. After they place one empty oil drum the soldier moves on to the next. Nicolás realizes that for one moment, there are no eyes on him. He has an opportunity to run away. He is just about to do so when he realizes he is barefoot and decides he cannot escape without his boots. 

At lunch Nicolás thinks of the lock of hair he cut from Gerardo, and how he would like to retrieve it from his cave and present it to La Niña Tencha.