Summary

In September, Chile celebrates a national holiday called Fiestas Patrias, similar to an American Independence Day, and families reunite from great distances. Juanito’s mother Lucia visits, the first time he has ever seen her. Maya and Juanito bond over being raised by grandparents. Spring begins to make its presence felt, as does Maya’s Popo, whom she often spots in ghostly form near La Pincoya’s cave. When the boys’ soccer team, Calueche, loses in the school championship match, Maya honors her promise to Don Lionel Schnake and shaves her head.

Maya travels with Manuel to Santiago for his neurology appointment. Her trip is financed by Don Lionel Schnake, who also gives her a letter to secretively pass to the doctor, arranging for Manuel to have a special surgery for his aneurysm. Manuel is not to...