Summary

“Bishop Berkeley or Mariana of the Universe” is told by a third-person narrator in the present tense. Mariana is a young girl home alone with her sister Lucia. She asks Lucia when their mother will be home, but Lucia does not give her an answer. She asks Lucia again when their mother will be home, and Lucia stops reading and gives Mariana a dirty look, then says their mother will be home soon.

Lucia tells herself she should relax and feel comfortable with her big sister, who will always look after her. However, she has a reoccurring violent image of Lucia going mad and shooting her or strangling her. She asks Lucia a fourth time when their mother is going home, and Lucia asks why she is so intent on always being with their mother, then...