Keeper

El Gato pauses his story and asks Faustino if he has ever heard of El Ladron. Faustino racks his memory and mentions a Swedish player he remembers from years ago named Larsson. He severely injured a goalie in a World Cup game, then never played professionally again. Gato tells him that, after quitting soccer, he went and worked at the Salty River logging camp. He then returns to his story.

Throughout the first half, the Camp team is hesitant. They are convinced that Ladron is there to injure Gato. Gato has his toughest game yet in the camp, spending much of the time on the ground and being forced to reflexively save several shots. He, too, expects Ladron to try to take him out of the game but realizes that Ladron does not play dirty even once. Gato manages to save every shot, then is shocked when Ladron winks at him at the half-time mark before running off the field.

In the second half, Gato starts to respect Ladron for how cleanly he plays. Gato makes a strong save when he stops a deflected ball, and Ladron helps him up from the ground. However, Gato realizes that Ladron was just trying to make him relax. After that, he starts jostling Gato and shoving him. At one point, he even steps on Gato’s foot, stopping him from going for the ball. When Hellman does not call a foul, Gato becomes enraged and starts yelling at him. He then turns on Ladron, feeling overcome with rage. However, before he can act, he feels the Keeper’s “presence” and immediately calms down. He feels as though he has “won” and is “back in control” (129).

Gato manages to stop every ball into the final few minutes. He thinks that Ladron is worn out, and Gato relaxes. However, on a cross, Gato moves too slowly, and Ladron comes out of nowhere, scoring a goal.

After the game, the team praises Gato’s play, but all he can think about is how horrible it feels to lose for the first time.

That evening, Gato’s family eats dinner. He replays the game repeatedly in his head, still annoyed that he lost. Their dinner is interrupted by headlights out front. Their father goes to see who is there, then comes back with the well-dressed man and woman from the field, Hellman, and Ladron. After several awkward moments, during which Gato’s father tends to the guests and they all sit in silence, Hellman finally speaks.

Hellman introduces the others. The woman is Flora da Silva, whose husband is the head of Deportivo San Juan (DSJ), the closest sports complex that is 300 miles away. The man is Milton Acuna, DSJ’s director of soccer. Gato is awestruck by Acuna, one of the best forwards to ever play for their country.

Acuna tells Gato that they were the ones who asked Ladron to play in the game. His plan was to see how good Gato was and see if he could make Gato angry. Ladron comments that Gato is “perhaps the best goalie [he has] played against” (135). Señora da Silva then speaks. She tells Gato’s father that they want him to sign a contract for Gato to play with them for two years. They will give him $10,000 as well as a $300 weekly salary, with bonuses for games. They also reserve the right to sell him to another team. When she finishes, everyone sits silently for several moments.

Gato’s mother then speaks. She tells them that Gato desires to go to college, perhaps to be a biologist. Gato’s father then says that he was hoping Gato could continue to work as a mechanic. Señora da Silva grows impatient, insisting that the money is generous, but Acuna calms her. He then tells Gato’s parents that they should discuss it. As his parents turn to go inside, Acuna tells them that they will only have Gato for two years. If he does not go on to play professional soccer, they will still have the $10,000 and Gato can still go to college. Gato can see that the comment placates his mother.

With his parents gone, Señora da Silva asks Gato how he feels. He hesitates and struggles with what to say. With Ladron’s support, he finally tells them that he is “a keeper.”

Gato’s parents come back outside. His father tells the group that he has decided to sign the paperwork because of the money. He hesitates, telling them that he will miss his son. Gato feels sympathy for him, realizing how “brave” his father is being to stand up to everyone. It is also one of the only times he has heard his father express his love for him.

Uncle Feliciano comes over. He talks directly to Acuna, telling him that he made the best goal Feliciano has ever seen back in 1968. He asks Acuna if he thinks that Gato would have saved the shot. Acuna confirms that he thinks he would have. Uncle Feliciano then turns to Gato’s father, telling him to sign the contract because the boy is “ready” to live his life.

Gato runs to the clearing in the forest. He has never been there at night before, so he is shocked when he finds the Keeper waiting for him. He admits to the Keeper that he is excited but afraid.

The Keeper asks Gato what happened on the field. Gato explains that between Ladron and the noise of the crowd, he lost focus. The Keeper then tells Gato to come to him and watch. The Keeper holds up his hand, then makes three more moons appear in the sky. They light up the clearing. He then moves his hand and creates a storm on the edge of the clearing. It makes Gato feel as though he is in the eye of a storm—the noise from outside the clearing is deafening.

The Keeper sends Gato into the goal. He takes several shots at him, making Gato yell out where the ball is going. Gato can barely hear or see from the storm, but he does his best to focus on the Keeper. On the last shot, the Keeper dribbles toward the net. Gato struggles to know where he is going, but dives, managing to stop the shot with his chest. He then scrambles and covers the ball. The Keeper tells him that he made a good save, then stops the storm.

Gato asks the Keeper if he is going to San Juan with him. The Keeper tells him that it is “difficult” for him to leave the forest. Gato expresses his fear at not having the Keeper to teach him, but the Keeper insists that there are things Gato needs to learn that can only be taught in the world. The Keeper tells Gato that he “called [Gato] here […] to help [him] leave. To end the waiting” but that it is “not yet over” (154). The Keeper tells him he does not know how long the forest will last, with men working so hard to destroy it. Gato promises to come back someday, and the Keeper replies, “we are depending on it” (155).

Back in the present, Faustino is shocked that, throughout Gato’s story, he never saw even a hint that he was lying. Now, he even sees tears starting to form in Gato’s eyes. He considers, for the first time, the “outrageous possibility” that Gato is telling the truth.

Faustino asks Gato if he ever saw the Keeper again. Gato admits that he thinks he saw him once, in San Juan, but he isn’t sure. He never spoke to the Keeper again. Faustino then asks if Gato ever went back to the forest, and he tells him that he did, once. After his father died, he went back to the clearing after the funeral. However, the clearing was not there, and the path to it led “nowhere.” Gato then resumes his narrative, telling Faustino about San Juan.

Gato lives with a couple in San Juan. He is shocked by the size of the city. It is divided into two parts, the Old City and New City. In between is a stretch of forest that the builders left to separate the cities. Gato goes there often to remind himself of home, even though it is a poor replica of the actual forest. He also goes to school, where he realizes that he is better- educated than most of the other players; however, he learns to watch, seeing the other ways that people can be smart.

Gato replaces a boy named Ramos as the backup to Pablo, the DSJ goalie. Although Pablo was fine when Gato took his place as he was already ready for retirement, Ramos still feels some resentment toward Gato. One day, in the forest, Gato sees the Keeper appearing very faintly. He tries to speak and get Gato’s attention, and Gato realizes that he is trying to warn him. He turns and finds two young boys coming after him with knives. He runs deeper into the forest, eventually losing them.

Back in the present, Gato tells Faustino that he can’t publish this part of the story. Gato knows that Pablo was the one who sent the boys after him, based on Pablo’s reaction when Gato showed up for training on Monday. However, Pablo was transferred before the end of the season.

Faustino goes to a closet and pulls out several boxes, all labeled “El Gato.” He talks about Gato’s career at DSJ, where he led them to the championship in their second year and was named National Player of the Year. He then received a two-year extension on his contract. After that, he went to Italy to play, winning the European Cup.

Faustino pulls out a picture of Gato celebrating with the European Cup. He tells Gato that he is going to use the photo for the article. However, Gato suddenly grows dark. He asks Faustino to use a different picture, then tells him about the night after they won. The entire team celebrated into the night, then Gato went back to his hotel, unplugged his phone, and went to sleep. He woke up late the next morning to someone frantically knocking on his door, telling him to plug in his phone. He got a phone call from Hellman, telling him that his father had died in an accident.

Gato resumes his narrative. Gato goes home for his father’s funeral. He learns from Hellman what happened. For the game, Hellman gave all the workers the day off, so they went to a café to watch the game. Hellman tells Gato that his father was nervous throughout the entire game, so several workers bought him beer each time Gato made a save. After they won the game and Gato celebrated with the trophy, his father stood on top of the tables and celebrated with the crowd. He started drinking rum, then eventually had to be carried home by his friends.

Gato tells Faustino that the moment Gato made a save on a penalty kick in the last two minutes was likely the moment his father drank the most. However, Faustino insists that Gato can never know that for sure and should not blame himself. Gato then continues his story.

The next morning, Gato’s father is extremely hungover and sick, but he goes to work anyway. Hellman considers giving them the day off again, but his father insists on working. They go to take down a tree, as the rain falls around them. The men struggle to control the tree as it falls, eventually choosing to cut it loose so they don’t destroy their equipment. After, one of the men spots Gato’s father’s jacket in the gully where the tree came to a stop. He realizes that Gato’s father is still inside it. The workers guessed that his father went to the gully to vomit and didn’t see the tree coming at him.