Subject: Book 3 Chap 7.. Excerpts to come tomorrow... Author: Marta I (198.232.250.51) Date: 10-26-1999 13:16 Aimee's body is on her bed, dressed up and fixed up by Yanina. Only Yanina, Ana and Bautista are around her. Bautista tells Yanina that Renato is going to do something with Ana, Ana hears this and is fearful that they will kill her. She runs away. Padre Vivier is still at Campo Real. Sofia is stalling him and he wants to go notify Monica and her mother. He tells Sofia she is trying to delay the inevitable. She says why torment Renato more than he already is suffering? Padre Vivier says Renato's worse torment would be his own conscience. It was his negligence, jealousy, rage... those are capital sins, ma'am. Renato had gone down to recover the body of AImee himself. He's suffered enough, insists Sofia. Why bring the Molnar ladies, it will be terrible for him. Turns out SOfia had been promising Padre Vivier that she would send a messenger to notify Monica and Catalina but she meant to send him the next morning, if at all. Padre Vivier is enraged when he realizes he has been lied to by Sofia. Would she like to be notified of her son's death after he is buried, too late to kiss him or say goodbye?? Renato walks in on them. He hears what they have been saying and tells Padre Vivier that he is right. Bautista!! Send a messenger for them immediately!! Sofia begs Padre Vivier to stay with Renato to comfort him. Padre Vivier recognizes that Renato is not well and is suffering very much for all that has happened. Sofia rests on Bautista's loyalty. Bautista suggests that she give him 'carte blanche' to make Ana confess the truth about Aimee's ways so that Renato will see that there was a reason /justification for Aimee's death and it was not his fault alone. She likes the idea. She tells him to send the messenger to the Molnars and bring Ana to her. He tells her he thinks Ana escaped but he'll find her. He will use the old slavery era means to find her even though those means (wild search dogs) are not within the law anymore. He goes to get the three most violent dogs to track down runaway slaves. Yanina is scared. They will bite her (Ana)! They will rip her apart!! Bautista replies that dead or alive he will get her back!! Ana wound up looking for refuge and protection at Kuma's. Kuma tells Ana she needs to escape and tells her how to escape out of Campo Real grounds. Bautista arrives right after Ana leaves. He has the hunter armed with the shotgun and they tear down the door at Kuma's. Bautista roughs up Kuma, accusing her of hiding Ana. Then they realize Ana is gone already. He'll be back to settle accounts with Kuma (Bautista). He whips her, wounding her in the arm. WHen they leave, Kuma sends a series of spells to them and also includes Renato and Campo Real. Ana arrives at Pedro Noel's house and runs into him and Juan. SHe is very scared and upset. She tells them the story. Juan is enraged when he hears that Bautista released the dogs after her. She tells them that Aimee is dead, and that it was because of HIM (Renato). Juan is shocked and puzzled with the news of Aimee's death. Then Ana tells them they were after her so that she would tell Renato about Juan and Aimee and they would kill her. Ana asks Juan for help and protection. He tells her to stay with Colibri. Juan tells Noel he thinks it's destiny (that Renato finds out about Aimee and Juan and that sometime they will face each other about it) and it cannot be avoided. Renato will come looking for him and Juan will come out to face him. Juan had decided to walk away (as Pedro Noel is quick to remind him) but that's the path in front of him. They have confronted each other since childhood. Because Renato exists (Juan replies) he has had to pay for being born as if it was a felony. Juan's life has been a living hell so that Renato could enjoy the comforts of a good life. Sofia's hate has covered him like a black cloud, and when he got interested in a woman... (that was also taken away from him). Pedro Noel tells him that it was just a coincidence of life. The one that is really responsible for all that has already paid with her life. Juan says she was frivolous, unloyal, a lier, all that but she loved him. ANd Renato took her away because he was wealthy, powerful.. a D'Autremont. Pedro Noel doesn't think Juan was really a loser for that. Renato wanted to be his friend. Juan denies it. Juan says Renato's offer of friendship was out of remorse and responsibility because he promised his father to look out for Juan. Juan says Renato wanted to free himself of that responsibility and that he despised Juan. He also despised Monica because he thought Monica loved Juan (back then). A Molnar lady in love with him (Juan) deserved to belong to him as her worst punishment. REnato threw her in Juan's arms as if she was a scrap bone thrown to a dog. But there was one moment where he thought that if she would have loved him, that would have evened out all accounts with Renato. There would have been a ray of light, a star in the shadows. It was at Dominica island, where he say in her eyes a glimpse of happiness. That would have been Juan's prize, but he took that away too. Now she locks herself up for HIM, for her love for HIM (Renato). For HIM she begged Juan to walk away, to not wound or attack him. She wants Juan to live in death just as she has accepted to live in isolation and silence. And You (PN) want me (Juan) to feel something other than hate, to forgive and understand?? Pedro Noel asks Juan to turn his back on the past. Juan says he cannot. He will not. We ARE our past.I am the unfortunate kid who Bertolozzi fed with bitterness and venom and as a future punishment for his worst enemy. All the pain and suffering that a kid can endure in his body and soul, I have (endured it)!! Juan leaves to find Monica. HE wants to know what she thinks and what she feels about what happened. He needs to know if her sister's spilled blood over Renato will affect her love for HIM. Catalina arrives at Campo Real. She's desperate to see Aimee's body. Sofia's messenger never arrived. She did not find out from them. Catalina knows it was Renato and Sofia had to defend her son. Catalina thinks Renato found out about Aimee and killed her. She only wants to see the body. Catalina runs around looking for AImee and runs into Renato. Yells at him accussing him of murdering AImee. WHere is she?? (She is resting [in peace], replies REnato). Burried already?? asks Cata. Without giving me a chance to see her, to kiss her goodbye??!! You killed her!! Maybe you had your reasons, but Damn you !!! Sofia hears that people are arriving and she asks Catalina to shut up. It's Monica, calling out for her mother to support her, also Padre Vivier is back. Catalina tells Monica that Aimee is already burried. Monica is surprised and indignant at the news. Catalina accusses Renato. SOfia denies it. She demands Padre Vivier to second her. He was there!! SOfia and Renato go attend the visitors who are arriving for the funeral. Monica takes her mother to a bedroom and tells her that their pain is theirs, and theirs alone. Sofia convinces Renato that they should tell the visitors that Catalina is going nuts with the tragedy. Renato manages to say a few words of thanks and hospitality to his guests, then he leaves. Then SOfia looses her energy and rests on Bautista, her loyal servant, who is there ready to support and respect her.