The Fountains of Silence: A Novel

Julia recalls the horrors her mother, a woman who secretly sewed Republican flags, endured:

They shaved her head in prison. They branded her bare flesh with the yoke-and-arrow symbol of the Falange. They force-fed her castor oil so she would soil herself. They paraded her mother through the streets, human dignity excreting down her legs for all to see. Their mother, a teacher, became a human billboard: This is what happens when you become a Rojilla, a little Red (170).

Because of what she’s seen, Julia stays quiet to keep the rest of her family safe. She worries about Ana and Rafa. She knows that the younger generation is full of energy and wants to make changes. Rafa thinks helping Fuga is a way out, and Ana believes that she can figure out a way to leave Spain. Julia’s boss shows her the picture of Ana from the fashion show.

Sister Hortensia asks Puri to place an envelope in one of the children’s files, giving her the keys to the locked file library. Puri is excited that she “has won Sister’s trust” (172). While in the file library, Puri glances through the child’s files and finds a document listing adoption fees; the costs are exorbitant, seemingly out of character for a Catholic charity.