Fruit of the Drunken Tree

In drugged semi-consciousness, Petrona recalls “men between [her] legs” (250). She is gang-raped as punishment for being a traitor and sabotaging the kidnapping attempt. In flashbacks, she remembers Gorrión asking her to be his girlfriend and giving her a green stone that he claimed was an emerald. She remembers Leticia telling her that she could do more than pass envelopes; she could also give up private information about the Santiagos to the guerrillas. Returning to the present moment of her assault, she hears Gorrión begging the men to stop the sexual assault. She dissociates from her body and imagines she is grass.

Chula feels empathy for Pablo Escobar’s family, because they, too, are trying to flee the country. Mamá tells the girls she has applied for refugee status, and they must travel to Venezuela until their paperwork comes through. Chula feels anguish at the thought of leaving home without Papá. In her desperation, she runs down the street until she meets the Oligarch, who comforts her and prays the Rosary. Chula looks for the cows, mooing out the window in hopes of communicating with them as the rain pours. Searching for any connection to Papá, Chula finds his bottle of whiskey and drinks until she is deeply intoxicated. 

The next morning, newscasters report the death of Pablo Escobar. Much of the country celebrates, but the city of Medellín, where his cartel is based, mourns. In the evening, Emilio arrives to pick up Mamá and the girls in his taxi. Chula hopes until the last second that Papá will arrive, and when they leave, she fears they will never see him again. On the drive, Chula imagines she sees Pablo Escobar again and again—waiting at a streetlight, holding a newspaper, outside a church, running with a book. When they board the plane, Chula feels like she is suffocating. As they take off, Chula looks below. Petrona will be found, barely alive, in an empty lot, her panties pulled over her jeans. The guerrillas will cut off Papa’s two fingers and send them, as proof of his capture, to the Santiagos’ abandoned house.