Summary

At the outset of Part I, in Elsewhere, Vera describes the secluded mountain town where she has lived her entire life. When she was young, the first-person narrator was close with Ana and the two girls spent their days taking care of their dolls, eating dirt, and watching the mothers “split one of the black fruits open and […] suck out the red membrane and crack the white teardrop seeds with [their] teeth” (6). Occasionally they would play stranger and pretend to be a newcomer in town. They imagined the stranger as wild and unkept, a danger to their safety and peace.

When a stranger did arrive in town, Vera was surprised that the woman did not look threatening. Ruth entered the Rapid Ready Photo, where Vera worked for her father, and bought a roll of film. In the following days, the protagonist was gleeful...