Then the door was opened wide.

“Is that you, Dona Eduviges?” I asked. “I have been hearing shouts; what’s going on. I was

really frightened.”

“No, my name is not Eduviges. I am Damiana. I knew you were here, so I came to see you. I

wanted to invite you to come and sleep in my house. You would be able to rest better there.”

“Damiana Cisneros? Aren’t you one of those who lived in Media Luna?”

“Yes, that’s where I live. And that’s why it took me a while to get here.”

“My mother told me about someone called Damiana who took care of me when I was born.

So then you…?”

“Yes, that was me. I have known you since you opened your eyes.”

“I’ll go with you. The shouts here have been frightening me. Didn’t you hear what was

happening? It sounded like someone was being murdered. Weren’t you able to hear it?”

“Perhaps it’s an echo that is locked in there. That room is where they hung Toribio Aldrete a

long time ago. After that they locked the door until he rotted away, so that his body would never

find rest. I can’t imagine how you were able to get in here, since there is no key to open the

door.”

“It was Dona Eduviges who opened it. She told me it was the only room she had that was

available.”

“Eduviges Dyada?”

“Yes, her.”

“Poor Eduviges. She must still be grieving.”

“I Fulgor Sedano, a fifty four year old man, a bachelor who works as an administrator, who is

certified to bring and continue to press charges, for myself and for my own rights, do claim and

allege the following…”

That is what he said when he brought charges against the actions of Toribio Alderete. And he

finished: “And let my accusation be recorded as justifiable.”

“Nobody can deny that you are quite capable, Don Fulgor. I know that you can do things.

And not because of those who are behind you, but because of you, yourself.”

He remembered. That was the first thing Alderete said after they had gotten drunk together,

apparently to celebrate what they had done:

“This matter is going to allow us to cleanse ourselves, because that’s all it can do. And you

know that. In fact, as far as you’re concerned you have done what they ordered you and relieved

me of having to waste my time, because you had me worried about whatever it was. Now that I

know what it is, it makes me laugh. You said “justifiable.” Your master ought to be ashamed

for being so ignorant.”

He remembered. They were in the boarding house of Eduviges, and he had asked her:

“Say Eduviges, do you think you could let me have the corner room?”

“Whatever you want, Don Fulgor. If you want, you can have them all. Are your men going to

be staying here?”

“No, not more than one. Don’t worry about us, and go have a good sleep. Just give us the

key.”“I have to tell you, Don Fulgor,” Toribio Aldrete said. “No one would deny how capable you

are. But that son of a bitch who is your boss really gives me a pain.”

“He remembered. That was the last thing he heard him say in his five senses. After that he

acted like a desperate scoundrel who was shouting. “Apparently, that’s the type of power that’s

behind me. Well I’ll be damned!”

He knocked on he door of the house of Pedro Paramo. He thought about the first time he had

done that two weeks ago. He waited for a long time, just like he had done this time. And like he

had done before he looked at the black monkey that was hanging from the lintel of the door. He

thought to himself: “What the heck! They’ve added a new one; the first one was already faded;

this last one shines like silk, though it is no more than a stained rag.”

The first time he had waited so long that he thought the house was uninhabited. This time he

was about to leave, but then the figure of Pedro Paramo appeared.

“Come in, Fulgor.”

It was the second time they saw each other. The first time he only saw him, because little

Pedro had just been born. And now you could almost say it was still the first time. And here he

was, talking to him like an equal. Look at him! He was following him with long strides,

waggling his legs. “You will soon learn that I’m the one who knows. You will realize that, and

and what I have in mind.”

“Sit down, Fulgor. Here we can talk more comfortably.”

They were in the corral. Pedro Paramo leaned again the manger and waited.

“Why don’t you sit down?”

“I prefer to stand up, Pedro.”

“Okay, whatever you like. But don’t forget the ‘Don.’”

Who was this boy to talk to him like this? Not even his father, Don Lucas Paramo, had ever

done that. And suddenly this boy, who had just come to Media Luna and didn’t know what was

going on, was speaking to him as though he were some farmhand. The heck with it, then!

“How are things going?”

He felt like now was his chance. “Now it’s my turn,” he thought.

“Very bad. There is nothing left. We have sold every last cow.”

He began to take out the papers to tell him how high the debt had risen. He was about to tell

him how much they owed, when he heard him say:

“To whom are we in debt? I don’t care about how much it is, only who we owe.”

He gave him a list of names and then said:

“There is no way we can find the money to pay them. That is the problem.”

“And why is that?”

“Because your family used up everything. They borrowed and borrowed, without paying back

anything. That is going to make it difficult for you. I already said, ‘Eventually they will use up

everything.’ Well, now it’s gone. However, there is someone here who is interested in buying

the land. And they would pay well. You would be able to cover the outstanding debts, and still

have something left over; although it won’t be very much.”

“Are you the one who wants to buy?”

“Why would you believe it was me?”

“I even believe fools. Tomorrow we will start to settle our affairs. We’ll begin with the

Preciados. You say it’s them we owe the most?”“Yes. And also the ones we have paid less. Your father always intended to pay them last. I

understand that one of them, Matilde, went to live in the city. I don’t know if it was Guadalajara,

or to Colima. And Lola, I mean, Dona Dolores, is now the owner of all the land. You know, the

ranch, in the middle of your land. And it’s her whom we’re going to have to pay.”

“Tomorrow you are going to go and ask for Lola’s hand.”

“But what makes you think she would want to marry me, since I am an old man?”

“You will ask her for me. After all, she does have some charm. Tell her I am deeply in love

with her. And ask her if she is willing. While you’re at it, tell Father Renteria to make the

arrangements. How much money will you need?”

“Not any, Don Pedro.”

“Well, promise her. Tell her by doing that, she will be paid. I am pretty sure you won’t have

any problems. Do it right away, tomorrow.”

“And what about Aldrete?

“What does Aldrete have to do with it? You mentioned the Preciados, the Fregosos, and the

Guzmans. Why are you bringing up Aldrete now?”

“It’s about the boundaries. He already tried to set them up, and now he is asking us to give

him the fence pieces he needs to divide the land.”

“Leave that until later, and don’t worry about fences. There won’t be any. The land is not

going to be divided. Think about it, Fulgor, even if you don’t understand it. Go and arrange

things with Dolores right away. Now, don’t you want to sit down?”

“Yes, I’ll sit down, Don Pedro. I say, I’m starting to enjoy dealing with you.”

“You will tell Lola all these things, and that I love her. That is important. I definitely love

her, Sedano. For her eyes, you know? You will do this first thing tomorrow. And I will reduce

your duties as manager. Forget about Media Luna.”

“How in the hell had that boy learned to contrive like that?”, thought Fulgor Sedano, as he was

returning to Media Luna. “I never expected anything from him. He is useless,’ my former boss,

Don Lucas, told me. A week good-for-nothing. And I thought he was correct. ‘When I die,

Fulgor, go look for another job.’ ‘Yes, Don Lucas.’ ‘I tried to send him to school, Fulgor, to see

if that would help him earn enough to eat and take care of his mother when I’m gone. But he has

never decided to do that.’ ‘You don’t deserve this, Don Lucas.’ ‘I’m not counting on anything

from him, not even that he might take care of me when I get older. He turned out wrong, believe

me, Fulgor.’ ‘That’s really too bad, Don Lucas.’”

And now this. If he hadn’t been so attached to Media Luna he wouldn’t have come to see

him. He would have left without telling him. But he really cared about that place; all of those

bare fields, so overworked, and still full of furrows, each time giving us more of themselves…

The beloved Media Luna… And its attachments. “Come here, little land in Enmedio.” He saw

it coming. Since it was already there. What else can a woman be used for, after all. “Of course

she can!” he said. And he rocked his legs as he walked out of the gate of Media Luna.

It was very easy to be attracted to Dolores. Even if her eyes dazzled and broke up the rest of

her face a bit.

“Forgive me for blushing, Don Fulgor. But I never thought Don Pedro would ever notice me.”

“He can’t sleep, thinking of you.”“But there are so many others he could choose from. There are lots of beautiful women there

in Comala. What will they say, when they find out?”

“He only thinks about you, Dolores. And as for the others, there is no one he cares about.”

“It gives me the shivers, Don Fulgor. I would never have imagined it.”

“It’s just that he is very reserved. Don Lucas, may he rest in peace, once told him you were

not worthy of him. And he hid his feelings out of obedience to his father. Now that he is no

longer here, there is nothing to stop him. It was the first thing he thought about, although I have

taken a long time to come and tell you, because of my duties. Let’s say we schedule the wedding

for the day after tomorrow. What do you think?”

“Isn’t that awfully soon? I don’t have anything ready. I need to order the trousseau. I’ll write

to my sister. No, it would be better to send someone to tell her, but anyway I wouldn’t be ready

before the April eighth. It’s now the first, so it’s too soon. Tell him to wait just a few days.”

“He would like to have it right away. As for the trousseau, we can take care of that. Before

she died, Pedro’s mother wanted you to have her clothes. That is a custom in the family.”

“But there’s a reason I have to wait. It’s a woman’s thing, you know. Oh, how embarrassed I

am to have to say this, Don Fulgor. You’re making me blush again. It’s the time for my… Oh,

I am ashamed to say it.”

“What? Marriage is not something to be ashamed of. It’s a matter of love. And with that,

everything else is taken care of.”

“But, Don Fulgor, you don’t understand.”

“I understand. The wedding will be the day after tomorrow.”

And he left her standing there with her arms extended, begging for eight days, nothing more

than eight days.

“I must not forget to tell Don Pedro—what a clever boy this Pedro is!—that he must inform

the judge that the property is jointly held. ‘Don’t forget, Fulgor, tell him that tomorrow.’”

Meanwhile, Dolores hurried to the kitchen with a pitcher, to fill it with hot water. “I am going

to try and make it come sooner. I hope it will be tonight. But anyway, it will still last three days.

There’s no other choice. Oh, what happiness! What happiness! “Thank you, dear God, for

giving me Pedro Paramo.” And she added: “Although afterward, he may hate me.”

“It is now requested, and agreed to. The priest wants sixty pesos for leaving out the marriage

banns. I told him we would give it to him in due time. He said he needs to set up the altar, and

that the paint is peeling off the dinning table. I promised him we would order a new table. He

said you never go to Mass. I promised you would go. He said that since your grandmother died

the tithes haven’t been given either. I told him not to worry about that. So he agreed.”

“Didn’t you ask Dolores for something in advance?”

“No, Boss. I didn’t dare. That’s the truth. She was so happy that I didn’t want to risk taking

away her enthusiasm.”

“Fulgor, you’re a baby.

(“Oh, come on! Me a baby?” he thought. “After living for 55 years? He has hardly been

born, and I am just a few steps away from death.”)

“I didn’t want to destroy her happiness.”

“In spite of that, you’re still a baby.”

“Okay, Boss.”“And next week you will go see Aldrete and tell him he must tear down the fence. He has

encroached on the land of Media Luna.”

“But he measured the boundaries carefully. That is my impression.”

“Well, tell him he was mistaken. That he made the wrong calculations. Tear down the fences,

if necessary.”

“But what about the law?”

“What laws, Fulgor? From now on we are going to make the laws. Is there anyone working

in Media Luna that you don’t approve of?”

“Yes, a few.”

“Well, send them to work with Aldrete. Then raise a charge against him, accusing him of

“usufruct,” or whatever occurs to you. And remind him that now Lucas Paramo is dead, he has

to make new arrangements with me.”

The sky was still blue. There were a few clouds. The wind was blowing up above, but down

here it was hot.

He knocked on the door again with the wooden handle of his whip just to be stubborn, even

though he knew that Pedro Paramo wouldn’t open the door until he felt like it. Looking at the

lintel of the door, he said to himself, “These black monkeys look nice, whatever it is they are

doing here.”

Just then the door opened, so he went inside.

“Come in, Fulgor. Has the matter with Toribio Aldrete been settled?”

“Yes, boss, it has been taken care of.”

“We still have the matter of the Fregosos, but we can let that go for the moment. Right now I

am very engaged with my honeymoon.”

“This town is full of echoes. It seems like they are caught in the cracks of the walls, or under

the stones. When you are walking, it seems like they follow your steps. You hear crackling,

and laughter. Some laughs are quite old, as though they are tired of laughing. And voices that

are worn out from being used so long. You hear all this. Some day the time will come when

these sounds fade away.”

Damiana Cisneros was telling me that, as we were crossing through the town.

“There was a time when, during the night there was a moment when I could hear the noise of a

fiesta. Those sounds came all the way to Media Luna. I went there to see what was causing the

racket, and all that I saw is what we are seeing now. Nothing. Nobody. The streets were as

empty as they are now.”

“Then I didn’t hear it any more. It’s because celebrating is tiring. That’s the reason why I

wasn’t surprised when it stopped.”

“Yes,” Damiana Cisneros said once more, “this town is full of echoes. They don’t frighten me

any more. I hear the sound of dogs howling and let them howl. And, on days when the wind is

blowing, you can see it tearing leaves from the trees, when here, like you see, there aren’t any

trees. There must have been sometime, or if not, where did those leaves come from?”

“And worst of all is when you hear people chatting, as if their voices were coming out of the

cracks and, in spite of that, they are so clear you recognize them. Once I happened to pass by a

funeral. So I stopped to say the Lords Prayer, and a woman came over to tell me: