Chapter 18 Summary

Aureliano works at decoding the ancient manuscripts left by Melquiades and makes some headway, discovering that they are written in encoded Sanskrit, and eventually translates a few pages that remain ciphered. He rarely leaves the room and relies upon Santa Sofia de la Piedad to sustain him with food. She continues to serve as the house cook and factotum until one day she decides the whole process is meaningless as the house is nearly empty. She simply walks out into the street and is never seen or heard from again. Upon the disappearance of Santa Sofia de la Piedad, Fernanda del Carpio, besides writing long letters to her children, begins to care for her own necessities - food is still provided through the financial means of Petra Cotes.

The house remains nearly vacant and continues to disintegrate. Finally Fernanda del Carpio dies and...