Summary

“Lagoon” began with the description of Neftalí’s recurring nightmare of him and Laurita drowning. He felt “resentment” toward his parents and became withdrawn (180). Every morning, Neftalí walked away from the ocean alone, daydreaming and reading “on purpose” (180). An elderly man, Augusto, ran the local makeshift library, and he made suggestions for Neftalí. Augusto lent Neftalí some books to read while the library was closed. He sympathized with Neftalí about his father and offered the use of his abandoned cottage. Neftalí ventured there to hide his newly acquired books. In the lagoon, he found two swans waiting for a snack. Neftalí gathered bread for the swan the next day. Laurita asked to go with him, but Neftalí wanted his cottage to remain a secret. Neftalí confided his feelings in the swans while he fed them, reading aloud at times.

After a few weeks...