The Dreamer

Neftalí is now eight years old, eagerly awaiting his first train ride with his father into the forest. Father’s purpose in taking Neftalí on this trip, as he has taken Rodolfo many times already, is not to explore the forest, despite that being Neftalí’s main objective. He wants his son to watch the railroad crew at work making repairs to the track.

Rodolfo warns Neftalí not to expect a nicer version of Father to appear on the trip. He advises his younger brother of all the things he must do to avoid provoking Father’s anger, having learned the hard way himself. The last time Rodolfo went on the trip, he missed Father’s whistle indicating it was time to return to the train. Father had to go looking for him and found him singing. Rodolfo tells Neftalí, “I was disobeying him […] I…I still have the bruises” (90). He makes it apparent verbal abuse is not all he has experienced from their father.

Neftalí avoids getting in trouble until the scheduled trip and goes with his father as planned. He watches the crew work, fascinated, as Father explains their activities. He spends the rest of the morning wandering the forest on his own, examining unfamiliar plants and animals and collecting specimens.