Drown

In this story, the character Ysrael returns—as the protagonist. Although he is never out rightly named, we recognize his description from the story “Ysrael”. The story is told in third-person point of view. It takes place in the Dominican Republic.

In the morning, Ysrael pulls on his mask and grinds his fist into a palm. He goes to the guanábana tree and does nearly fifty pull-ups. He then picks up a coffee dehuller and holds it to his chest for forty counts. The narrator remarks: “His arms, chest and neck bulge and the skin around his temple draws tight, about to split, But no! He’s unbeatable and drops the dehuller with a fat Yes” (153).

Ysrael knows that he should go but the morning fog is thick, so he listens to the roosters for a while. When he hears his family stirring he hurries himself along. He runs past his uncle’s land. With a glance, he can count how many beans are growing there. He continues running, says “FLIGHT,” and jumps up. His shadow cuts across the top of the trees and he can see his mother washing his four-year-old brother’s face and feet.