Across A Hundred Mountains

As Adelina travels by bus from Mexico City to her hometown, she remembers how she first met Dr. Luna. Adelina works as a therapist at a shelter for battered women in Los Angeles. One of the women from the shelter, Laura, had recently returned to her husband, only to end up in the hospital. Adelina visited Laura at the hospital, where she met Dr. Luna. Later, she saw Dr. Luna again, when he came to check on Laura at the shelter. As she left Dr. Luna alone with Laura, “she walked out of the room, her heart pounding” (88).

With no money, Juana is forced to rummage through garbage to find food for herself and Amá. One day, Don Elías shows up again with two “judiciales” (67) in black uniforms. The “judiciales” have come to take Amá to prison for not paying back her debt. Don Elías again says to Amá, “‘We can make other arrangements […] Can’t we?’” (68). Amá reluctantly accepts Don Elías’s offer. The next day, Don Elías returns “to collect his first payment” (69). Amá orders Juana to leave the shack, but Juana peeks through the cracks in the wall and “saw something that made her eyes widen with disgust” (73).