In the Midst of Winter

Lucia tells the others about her marriage with Carlos Urzua. When she had returned to Chile in 1990 for the first time since her departure from the country, she found that the place she had known since birth had transformed greatly after its period of political repression. She found a job as a TV producer and was looking to write a book about the disappearance of those under political suspicion during Chile’s dictatorship, which included her brother, Enrique. She sought the help of Carlos, a lawyer who had collaborated with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights on the issue of the “disappeared” (169). When she met Carlos, she was immediately attracted to him even though he was fifteen years older. She explained that her connection to the issue of the disappeared was a “personal one” (170). When she became emotional thinking about Enrique, Carlos talked with her at length and promised her access to his archive materials. He accompanied her home where they proceeded to drink and sleep together.

While Carlos never contacted Lucia again, she returned to his office three months later to announce that she was pregnant with his child. He demanded a paternity test, which she provided and confirmed that the child she bore was his. He agreed to marry her. They moved in together during Lucia’s pregnancy. At the advice of her mother and Carlos, Lucia halted work on her book since the subject matter might cause stress to the unborn child.

Lucia finally gave birth to her daughter, Daniela, who arrived prematurely. Carlos was a devoted father to Daniela who was “the only one [Carlos] would submit to” (174). While they all lived together for twenty years, Lucia and Carlos kept separate bedrooms and were only intimate at night, mostly through Lucia’s initiation. She learned later that he kept casual lovers throughout their marriage despite her devotion to him.

While Evelyn sleeps, Richard and Lucia find themselves awake at night. Richard starts to experience feelings of love towards Lucia and does not want their journey to end despite the dire circumstances. During the night, Richard suddenly becomes very sick, wondering if he has poisoning from the Chinese food they ate for dinner, despite Lucia and Evelyn seeming to be in good health. Lucia insists on taking care of him, sharing his bed until he falls asleep. He wakes up holding her, surprised by his feelings of intimacy towards her. He feels a “mixture of happiness and terror, of anticipation and the wish to run away, the urgency of desire” (183). He considers his renewed feelings towards another woman and towards living his life as a “miracle” (184).

Evelyn recalls waiting with the other migrants at the Mexican side of the U.S. and Mexico border for the opportune moment to cross. Cabrera’s associate named “the Expert” finally arrived to take the group across the Rio Grande River to the U.S.. The Expert instructed everyone to leave behind all their belongings except for their identification documents. He showed them how to swim using the inner tube, ordering them to take off their clothes and put them in garbage bags, which he placed inside the tube. When it was Evelyn’s turn to hang onto the tube, she was too weak to hold on with both arms, as one of her arms was still in a sling. She was knocked off the tube and nearly drowned before one of the migrants rescued her.

When she finally arrived on the U.S. side with the other migrants, she encountered the man who would take them the rest of the way, nicknamed “the Mexican.” While the Mexican instructed all the men to walk in a single file after him, he told Evelyn to walk in the opposite direction to be picked up by border patrol. He informed her, “They won’t deport you, because you’re a minor” (191-2). Evelyn was too shocked to protest and did what she was told. She walked for two days, hallucinating the same vision that she saw when she drank the medicinal tea from Felicita. Finally, on the second day, she saw the Rio Grande River and ran into it. When she went into the water, she was found by the border patrolmen.

While she was detained, she was questioned by immigration officials who struggled to figure out whether Evelyn was mute or mentally ill as she would not speak. When a female immigration official finally gave Evelyn pen and paper to ask her to write down her information, Evelyn was able to give her name, place of birth, and her mother’s contact information. With this information, the immigration officials were able to contact Evelyn’s mother.

Instead of Evelyn’s mother, a man named Galileo Leon came instead, introducing himself as Evelyn’s stepfather. When Evelyn refused to go with him, thinking he was a possible sex trafficker who targeted young migrant girls, Evelyn’s mother was contacted. Evelyn’s mother explained that she could not retrieve Evelyn herself since her job would not let her take off work for the journey. It was confirmed that Galileo was Evelyn’s stepfather, that Evelyn’s mother had remarried and had two children with him. Galileo took Evelyn to get new clothes and food. He spent the night with her at a motel, which terrified Evelyn at first. Once she realized that Galileo would not harm her, she fell asleep soundly.