Prayers for the Stolen

The summer after Jose’s arrival, Ruth, the owner of the village beauty salon, goes missing. It is assumed that she was “stolen” by the drug traffickers. This event disturbs Jose Rosa profoundly, and he spends months trying to get someone from Mexico City to investigate. He spends hours in a clearing in the village, which is the only place where it is possible to get cell phone coverage, speaking to lawyers and judges, but to no avail. At the end of the school year, Ladydi helps Jose clean up the classroom for his imminent departure and the arrival of a new teacher. He approaches Ladydi and tells her that he is sad to be leaving. He then kisses the 13 year old. She says he “tasted like glass windows, cement, and elevators to the moon” (62).

Ladydi’s mother hears an approaching SUV belonging to drug traffickers. She tells her to quickly run and hide in the hole that was made for her in a clearing at the side of the house. The SUV drives up to the house and parks over that hole. From her hiding place, she hears her mother arguing with two men who have gotten out of the car; her mother even threatens them with a gun.