-
Minerva going to School
Minerva talks about how her father accepted her going to school, and by letting Minerva do this let her have freedom, which is what she wanted a lot in life.
"I don't know who talked Papa into sending us away to school."
"I was the one hurting her, insisiting she be free. Silly bunny, I thought. You're nothing at all like me." -
Lio's Letter
Lio, Minerva's boyfriend at the time, write's a letter to Minerva asking her to flee the country with her, Dede burns it before she recevies it. Lio leave's the country, and leaves Minerva heartbrken.
"I think that, after him, Minerva was never the same."
"Yes, years after she had last seen Lio, he was still a presence in her heart and mind." -
Minerva's Question
Minerva asks her father if she can go to University, but he denies her, and tells her that her mother and father need her.
"I want to go the university, Papa, please."
"Your mother and I.... he began, but thought better of continuing. Then he added. We need you around." -
Her Father's Secret
Minera find out about her father's second family. After finding out she had to keep it a secret from her mother, and other sisters.
"It was delicious revenge to hear them murmur, No senora. Papa was not going to gt the son he wanted, after all!
"Everywhere I looked, I kept seeing those four raggedy girl with Papa's and my own deep-set eyes staring back at me." -
Minerva finds the Letters
While Minerva was in her father's second family's home she finds old letters from Lio to her. She read's the 4 letter's, each explaining the plan, and if she was going ot go with him. After reading the letter's she finds herself blaming everything on her father.
"Then, four letters, addressed to me from Lio!"
"i read through them hungrily. He hadn't heard from me about his proposal to leave the country." -
Minerva's Words
Minerva drove back to her house after finding the letters. Later on thatnight her father came home, and wanted to speak to her. H etook her outside and hit her. He reminds her that she should have some respect towards him, but Minerva fires back, and tells him that he has lost all her respect.
"There was no warning it was coming. His hand slammed into the side of my face as it never had before on any part of my body."
"That's to remind you that you owe your father some respect!" -
Minerva's Surprise
Minerva graduates from law school, she is the first one from her family to go to university. She received her law degree, but not the license to practice it.
'It was a pretty important day- Minerva was the first person in our whole extended family(minus Manolo)to have gone through university."
"What a shock, then, when Minerva got handed the law degree but not the license to practice." -
Minerva and Manolo
Manolo hadn't been coming home until later. Every time he comes home Minerva and him are always yelling, because Minerva found out he was cheating. They later worked it out.
"Manolo has been staying out til all hours."
""Manolo and Minerva are on the mend." -
Minerva in Prison
Minerva is sent to prison, and in prison she gets sent to solitary multiple times. One time was because she started singing the national anthem, and all the women and men joined in.
"Then Minerva began singing the national anthem, and everyone joined in, men and women. That time Minerva got solitary for a week."
"The rest of us women politics were locked up in a cel no bigger than mama's living and dining room combined." -
Minerva Dies
Minerva, and her other sisters, except Dede died, because of an ambush.
"They all wanted to give me something of the girls' last moments. Each visitor would break my heart all ver again." -Dede
"It was the least I could do, being the one saved."
'I cannot remember half the things I cried out when I saw them. Rufino and Minerva were on gurneys, Patria and Mate on mats on the floor."