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en she sat down to write。 The inkwell that she had placed at her right would be on the left； the blotter would be lost and she would find it two days later under her pillow； and the pages written to Jos？Arcadio would get mixed up with those written to Amaranta ？rsula； and she always had the feeling of mortification that she had put the letters in opposite envelopes； as in fact happened several times。 On one occasion she lost her fountain pen。 Two weeks later the mailman； who had found it in his bag； returned it。 He had been going from house to house looking for its owner。 At first she thought it was some business of the invisible doctors； like the disappearance of the pessaries； and she even started a letter to them begging them to leave her alone； but she had to interrupt it to do something and when she went back to her room she not only did not find the letter she had started but she had fotten the reason for writing it。 For a time she thought it was Aureliano。 She began to spy on him； to put things in his path trying to catch him when he changed their location； but she was soon convinced that Aureliano never left Melquíades？room except to go to the kitchen or the toilet； and that he was not a man to play tricks。 So in the end she believed that it was the mischief of elves and she decided to secure everything in the place where she would use it。 She tied the shears to the head of her bed with a long string。 She tied the pen and the blotter to the leg of the table； and the glued the inkwell to the top of it to the right of the place where she normally wrote。 The problems were not solved overnight； because a few hours after she had tied the string to the shears it was not long enough for her to cut with； as if the elves had shortened it。 The same thing happened to her with the string to the pen and even with her own arm which after a short time of writing could not reach the inkwell。 Neither Amaranta ？rsula in Brussels nor Jos？Arcadio in Rome ever heard about those insignificant misfortunes。 Fernanda told them that she was happy and in reality she was； precisely because she felt free from any promise； as if life were pulling her once more toward the world of her parents； where one did not suffer with daytoday problems because they were solved beforehand in one’s imagination。 That endless correspondence made her lose her sense of time； especially after Santa Sofía de la Piedad had left。 She had been accustomed to keep track of the days； months； and years； using as points of reference the dates set for the return of her children。 But when they changed their plans time and time again； the dates became confused； the periods were mislaid； and one day seemed so much like another that one could not feel them pass。 Instead of being impatient； she felt a deep pleasure in the delay。 It did not worry her that many years after announcing the eve of his final vows； Jos？Arcadio was still saying that he was waiting to finish his studies in advanced theology in order to undertake those in diplomacy； because she understood how steep and paved with obstacles was the spiral stairway that led to the throne of Saint Peter。 On the other hand； her spirits rose with news that would have been insignificant for other people； such as the fact that her son had seen the Pope。 She felt a similar pleasure when Amaranta ？rsula wrote to tell her that her studies would last longer than the time foreseen because her excellent grades had earned her privileges that her father had not taken into account in his calculations。
More than three years had passed since Santa Sofía de la Piedad had brought him the grammar when Aureliano succeeded in translating the first sheet。 It was not a useless chore。 but it was only a first step along a road whose length it was impossible to predict； because the text in Spanish did not mean anything： the lines were in code。 Aureliano lacked the means to establish the keys that would permit him to dig them out； but since Melquíades had told him that the books he needed to get to the bottom of the parchments were in the wise Catalonian’s store； he decided to speak to Fernanda so that she would let him get them。 In the room devoured by rubble； whose unchecked proliferation had finally defeated it； he thought about the best way to frame the request； but when he found Fernanda taking her meal from the embers； which was his only chance to speak to her； the laboriously formulated request stuck in his throat and he lost his voice。 That was the only time that he watched her。 He listened to her steps in the bedroom。 He heard her on her way to the door to await the letters from her children and to give hers to the mailman； and he listened until late at night to the harsh； impassioned scratching of her pen on the paper before hearing the sound of the light switch and the murmur of her prayers in the darkness。 Only then did he go to sleep； trusting that on the following day the awaited opportunity would e。 He became so inspired with the idea that permission would be granted that one morning he cut his hair； which at that time reached down to his shoulders； shaved off his tangled beard； put on some tightfitting pants and a shirt with an artificial collar that he had inherited from he did not know whom； and waited in the kitchen for Fernanda to get her breakfast。 The woman of every day； the one with her head held high and with a stony gait； did not arrive； but an old woman of supernatural beauty with a yellowed ermine cape； a crown of gilded cardboard； and the languid look of a person who wept in secret。 Actually； ever since she had found it in Aureliano Segundo’s trunks； Fernanda had put on the motheaten queen’s dress many times。 Anyone who could have seen her in front of the mirror； in ecstasy over her own regal gestures； would have had reason to think that she was mad。 But she was not。 She had simply turned the royal regalia into a device for her memory。 The first time that she put it on she could not help a knot from forming in her heart and her eyes filling with tears because at that moment she smelled once more the odor of shoe polish on the boots of the officer who came to get her at her house to make her a queen； and her soul brightened with the nostalgia of her lost dreams。 She felt so old； so worn out； so far away from the best moments of her life that she even yearned for those that she remembered as the worst； and only then did she discover how much she missed the whiff of oregano on the porch and the smell of the roses at dusk； and even the bestial nature of the parvenus。 Her heart of pressed ash； which had resisted the most telling blows of daily reality without strain； fell apart with the first waves of nostalgia。 The need to feel sad was being a vice as the years eroded her。 She became human in her solitude。 Nevertheless； the morning on which she entered the kitchen and found a cup of coffee offered her by a pale and bony adolescent with a hallucinated glow in his eyes； the claws of ridicule tore at her。 Not only did she refuse him permission； but from then on she carried the keys to the house in the pocket where she kept the unused pessaries。 It was a useless precaution because if he had wanted to； Aureliano could have escaped and even returned to the house without being seen。 But the prolonged captivity； the uncertainty of the world； the habit of obedience had dried up the seeds of rebellion in his heart。 So that he went back to his enclosure； reading and rereading the parchments and listening until very late at night to Fernanda sobbing in her bedroom。 One morning he went to light the fire as usual and on the extinguished ashes he found the food that he had left for her the day before。 Then he looked into her bedroom and saw her lying on the bed covered with the ermine cape； more beautiful than ever and with her skin turned into an ivory casing。 Four months later； when Jos？Arcadio arrived； he found her intact。
It was impossible to conceive of a man more like his mother。 He was wearing a somber taffeta suit； a shirt with a round and hard collar； and a thin silk ribbon tied in a bow in place of a necktie。 He was ruddy and languid with a startled look and weak lips。 His black hair； shiny and smooth； parted in the middle of h