Summary

Out of politeness, the Colonel accepted Belisa Crepusculario’s offer. After Belisa Crepusculario told the Colonel the words, El Mulato escorted her out. He reached out to touch her, but she stopped him “with an avalanche of words” that seemed like an “irrevocable curse” (10), which extinguished his desire.

As the months passed, the Colonel delivered his speech across the country. His popularity grew rapidly, and soon he had established quite a following. However, El Mulato noticed that the Colonel was distracted. the Colonel was internally struggling with the thought of Belisa Crepusculario and the two words that she had given him. El Mulato offered to hear the words in the hope of breaking the curse, but the Colonel stated that the words were for himself alone.

In order to try to save the Colonel, El Mulato tracked Belisa Crepusculario down. When he found...