Summary

Chapter III follows a character named Yesenia, who is swimming in the local river when her unnamed male cousin approaches her. As she is angry with him, she quickly turns away from him and leaves. Mostly, Yesenia is upset because her cousin will not visit their dying grandmother. However, the narrator also mentions that Yesenia recently caught her cousin doing something repulsive.

Flashing back in time, it is revealed that Yesenia’s cousin’s mother is a prostitute and his father is a travelling musician. His father, Maurilio, goes to prison for murdering a man. A year after Maurilio gets out of prison, he dies of some disease. Doña Tina, Yesenia’s grandmother, pays a huge amount of money to hold a grand funeral for him, as he was her only son. Now that Maurilio is gone, Doña Tina clings to...