Crossing the Mangrove

The third-person omniscient narrator describes Loulou’s dream of 30 years, in which the Queen of England names him an official purveyor of the Crown. He wonders why his mother never loved him, and regrets not killing Sancher when his son Aristide failed to do so; likewise, he regrets Sancher’s death being “gentle.” Loulou is an atheist who wishes he had been born in an era when might was right. In the past, when his father dies, he quits high school to care for his family and protect their plant nursery from relatives who seek to steal their land. His spoiled brother dies in a car crash, sending their mother into perpetual mourning. He hates Aristide for being bested by Sancher and vows to act alone in future confrontations. Loulou tries to convince Sancher that as white men, they are on the same side, as is his daughter Mira. However, Sancher says they may have been, but they are no longer. When Loulou returns home, he wishes to die, and wonders which person-turned-spirit he wronged to be experiencing his hardships. When Vilma replaces the rejected Mira, he visits Vilma’s father, Sylvestre—who is unwilling to risk his sons’ imprisonment should they murder Sancher, nor public shame should they file a court case on the underage Vilma’s behalf.