One morning in April 1940, my brother Beibei sent 16-year-old Manolo and under-8-year-old Jesus to a children's lung nursing home on the Portuguese border. When he came to the nursing home, Manolo was very proud because he found that he was the only man and the eldest child besides Emillo, who managed the vegetable garden, and he thought he stood out from the crowd. Manolo became acquainted with Irene, the head of the sanatorium and a member of the long Gun Party. I also met the eccentric old maid, the female teacher Donna Trancito. Nurse Vicenta, who was in charge of taking care of Manolo, was later fired and replaced by Maria Jesus, a 14-year-old rural girl. Maria's father is the priest of the village. Manolo fell in love with Maria unwillingly. In the nursing home, Manolo struggled with an authoritarian environment and communicated with others in a different way of life. In the process, he seems to have found new freedom, sexual pleasure and love pain.
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