In the past, an unnamed woman (later revealed to be Susana) imagines laying in “the same bed where [her] mother died” (83. She grieves for her dead mother. In reality, Susana is lying in a coffin and she is about to be lowered into a grave. She imagines a picturesque rural scene on a windy winter day; her mother died in February when Susana was only a teenage girl. After her mother’s death, she felt happy rather than sad. The funeral for Susana’s mother was arranged by Justina. The only person in attendance was an unknown man who asked for money for a mass to be said at the church. Susana and Justina had already given all their money to the “cold, indifferent” (85) gravediggers. Susana had to encourage Justina not to lie down on the grave any longer, as there is “nothing here but a dead body” (86).

In the present, Juan overhears Susana’s story, so wonders whether he heard it from Dorotea. He asks her whether she has been talking while asleep. Dorotea tells him that Susana is buried very close to them. She was Pedro’s final wife and, though she is dead, she still talks often to herself, just as she did while alive.