Chapter 4 Chapter Two (2)
This was how Florentino Ariza lived four months before the formal engagement was ready.But precisely at this time, at six o'clock one morning, Lorenzo Daza came to the telegraph office to inquire about him.Since it was still early, he had not yet gone to work, so Dasa sat on the bench and waited for him.He didn't arrive until ten past eight, so the visitor poured the heavy gold ring with the famous precious opal crown back and forth from one finger to the other.When he saw Florentino Ariza enter the door of the telegraph office, he immediately recognized the telegraph officer, went up and took him by the arm and said: "Follow me, young man. These two decent men must be Talk face to face for five minutes."
Florentino Ariza, livid with fright, had to follow him.This encounter was completely unexpected to him, and Fermina had not found the opportunity and the proper means to inform him in advance.It happened the previous Saturday.On that day, Sister Franka de la Luz, the headmaster of the school for the Feast of the Blessed Virgin Mary, walked into the classroom of the basic concepts of cosmology like a snake, peeping at the female students from over her shoulder, and found that Phil Mina pretends to be writing notes, but is actually writing a love letter in an exercise book.According to the school's regulations, she should be expelled from school.Lorenzo Daza was urgently summoned to the principal's office, where he found loopholes in his daughter's discipline.With all her natural poise and virtue, Fermina admitted the error of writing the love letter, but she refused to reveal who her secret fiancé was, and when brought before the ecclesiastical court, she refused again.Thus, the ecclesiastical court approved the decision to expel her from school.The daughter's bedroom, which until then had remained an inviolable sanctuary, nonetheless the father searched the daughter's bedroom and found a bag at the bottom of the mezzanine of the box containing the money Fermina had received for three years. all love letters.She collected them with the same affection that Ariza scribbled as he wrote them.The letter was clearly signed, but Lorenzo Daza could not believe, then or later, that his daughter knew nothing about the faceless fiancé except his status as a radio operator and his penchant for the violin.
Lorenzo Daza was convinced that such a difficult connection between his daughter and Ariza would not have been possible without the complicity of his sister.Without an explanation or a word of thanks, he sent his sister aboard the skiff, and she went to San Juan in the swamp.The last parting scene will always remain in Fermina's painful memory.That afternoon, she was wearing a gray, brown, and white teaching uniform and had a high fever. She stood on the porch saying goodbye to her aunt, watching her figure disappear into the small park in the drizzle.Poor aunt, the only thing she has is a bachelor's bedroll and a month's living expenses.She wrapped the little money in a handkerchief and handed it tightly in her hand.Later, as soon as Fermina got rid of his father's control, he sent people to look for her in the provinces of the Caribbean Sea, and asked everyone who might know her about her whereabouts, but they never got any news.It was not until almost thirty years later that she received a letter that passed through countless hands before reaching her.The letter told her that her aunt had died in the "God Rain" leprosy hospital at the age of nearly one hundred.
Lorenzo Daza did not foresee his daughter's unjust punishment, especially at the expense of her aunt, and the reaction was so frantic.How could he have imagined that, in fact, his daughter had always regarded her aunt as her biological mother with only a vague impression in her memory.When her aunt was gone, she shut herself up in her bedroom, barred the door, and neither ate nor drank.When the father finally got her to open the door, first by threats, then obviously by pleas, what he saw was no longer the innocent fifteen-year-old girl, but a woman as tough as a wounded leopard. woman.
He seduced her with all kinds of sweet words.To make her understand that, at her age, love is nothing but a mirage.He persuaded her well, let her return the love letter, and went back to school to kneel in front of the nuns and beg for forgiveness.
He also assured her that he would be the first to help her find a man of noble birth and to make her love eternally happy.However, the daughter didn't pay any attention to his words.Lorenzo Daza finally flew into a rage over lunch on Monday when his plan failed.Fermina put the cleaver to his neck as he swallowed the vicious expletives and blasphemy in a heartbeat.That was obviously not a joke.Seeing her firm expression and dull eyes, my father had no choice but to soften, not daring to press her any further.It was then that he decided to risk his life by talking manly for five minutes with that wretched poor boy.He never remembered where he had seen this person who broke into his life at such an inauspicious moment.Out of sheer habit he took a revolver before going out, though he hid it very carefully under his shirt.
Lorenzo da Sala took Florentino Ariza's arm, walked along the church square to the arcade of the parish café, and invited him to sit down on the terrace. Florentino Florentino Ariza still hadn't recovered from his bewilderment.There were no other customers in the cafe, but a fat black woman was wiping the tiled floor of the lobby with a mop.The stained-glass windows in the lobby were chipped around the edges and covered with a thick layer of dust.The chairs in the hall were set up on marble tops with their legs up.Ariza had seen Lorenzo Daza gambling there many times, seeing him quarreling loudly with the Asturians in the public market over bottles of wine.Those are other interminable wars, only of a different nature from our civil wars.Many times, he thought of the fatalism of love, and couldn't help asking himself, they will meet again sooner or later, what will the scene be like then?It's a pity that this kind of meeting is independent of anyone's will, and the meeting between the two of them is preordained.He guessed that he must be an unrivaled brawler, not only because Fermina had already told him in her letter that her father had a violent temper, but also because he himself noticed that even at the gambling table When he laughed, his eyes shone fiercely.His whole image gives people a vulgar impression, ugly big belly, aggravated speaking tone, sloppy beard, rough big hands, and an opal ring on the ring finger.His only attractive feature—Ariza admitted this from the first time he saw her—was that he walked exactly like his daughter, like a doe.However, when he pointed Ariza to a chair and asked him to sit down, he felt that this person was not as fierce as he had thought at the time.Lorenzo Daza offered him a glass of cinnamon, and his nerves relaxed even more. Florentino Ariza had never had a drink at eight o'clock in the morning, but he accepted it with gratitude, and at the moment he felt truly Need something to drink.
Sure enough, Lorenzo Daza finished stating his reasons in only five minutes.He told everything so sincerely and frankly that Ariza was at a loss and speechless.Lorenzo Daza said that when his wife died, he made up his mind to make his daughter a noble lady.It was a long and hard road for an uneducated mule trader, fortunately his reputation as a horse thief was not as widespread as it was in the swampy province of San Juan.He lit a mule-driver's cigar and sighed: "The bad thing is my bad reputation, which is more serious than the bad health that brings me disaster." The secret was that none of his mules were as industrious, capable, and tenacious as himself, even in the toughest of war years.In this moment of devastation, people wake up to the ashes and devastated fields of the fires.The daughter never knew that her father had already considered her fate, but she acted as if she was actively cooperating with her father.Her mind is so clever and her work is so methodical. She taught her father to read as soon as she learned to read.When she was just twelve years old, she was very sensible, and without the help of her aunt, she could still manage the family well.He sighed and said: "This is a golden mule." When her daughter graduated from elementary school, she scored five in all her homework and won an honorary award at the graduation ceremony.Only then did she understand that the swampy province of San Juan could not accommodate his daughter's fantasies.So he sold his land and all his cattle, and with new ambitions and seventy thousand pesos in gold, he moved to this city, built on the ruins, whose honor had become a thing of the past.Here, a beautiful woman with an old-fashioned education might find new life through a lucky marriage.Ariza is an uninvited guest, and his intrusion is undoubtedly an obstacle from heaven for him to grit his teeth and realize his plan.
"So I've come here to make a request to you," said Lorenzo Daza, dipping the end of his cigar in the liqueur and taking a deep puff without smoking.At last he said in a sad tone: "Please get out of our way."
Ariza listened to Lorenzo Daza tell the history of his daughter, while slowly sipping mushroom wine.
He was at a loss, not knowing what to say when he opened his mouth.But he realized that whatever he said would jeopardize his own destiny.
"Have you talked to her?" he asked.
"It's none of your business," said Lorenzo Daza.
"I ask you this," said Florentino Ariza, "because I feel that she must decide."
"You are totally mistaken," said Lorenzo Daza. "This is a man's business, and it is a man's business."
His tone hardened, and a customer at a nearby table looked back at them.Florentino Ariza said in a softer but also more firm tone: "Anyway," he said, "I can't answer you without knowing what she thinks. Otherwise, it would be treason."
At this moment, Lorenzo Daza leaned back in his seat, his eyelids were red.Wet.The socket of his left eye rolled and tilted outward.He lowered his voice too.
"You don't make me shoot you," he said.
Ariza felt a cold wind pass through his insides, but his voice did not tremble, and he felt God's revelation.
"Shoot me!" he said, putting his hand on his chest. "There is nothing more honorable than to die for love."
Lorenzo Daza did not dare to look Ariza in the face, but gave him a sideways glance like a parrot.He seemed to squeeze out four words one syllable from between his teeth: "Bitch-raised!"
Just that week, he took his daughter on a trip to make her forget the past.Without explaining anything to her, he barged into her room menacingly, chewing tobacco dust hanging from his unkempt beard, and ordered her to pack.She asked him where he was going?He replied, "Go to hell!" The answer seemed so true that she was terrified, and she restrained herself from trying to deal with him with the courage of the past few days.She saw him take off the belt with the solid brass clips, wrap it around several times tightly in his hand, and slam it on the table, the sound of which shook the whole room like a rifle.Fermina is very aware of the size of his strength and how to use it correctly.She made her bedroll out of two mats and a hammock, and packed all her clothes in two large suitcases, deciding that the trip would never return.Shut up in the bathroom before getting dressed, she scribbled a farewell note to Florentino Ariza on a piece of toilet paper, and then she cut the braid neck-length with her repair scissors and twisted it together. It was placed in a velvet box embroidered with gold and managed to reach Florentino Ariza together with the letter.
This is a crazy trip.At first, the Andean mule drivers formed a long team, rode on the back of their mules, and walked for eleven days along the rugged trails in the alpine mountains covered with patches of snow.Sometimes they marched against the scorching sun, sometimes drenched by the almost sweeping October rain.The water vapor between the cliffs suffocated them, making them drowsy and unable to cheer up.On the third day on the road, a mule was frightened mad by a bull and a snake, took its owner, and fell off a cliff dragging all the saddle ropes.The seven other mules that hung with it were not spared either.The screams of the eight mules and their master were still faintly echoing in the canyon under the cliff several hours later.That heartbreaking scream could not be erased from Fermina's memory after many years.All her luggage rolled down the valley with the mule.From the occurrence of the disaster to the disappearance of the terrible screams at the bottom of the valley, it seemed like a moment, and it seemed like centuries. She neither thought about the poor mule driver who died, nor Instead of thinking about those mules that fell bloody, I felt deeply sorry that my mules were not hung together with those suffering mules.
It was the first time she had ridden a mule, and the dangers and countless hardships of the journey would not have been so unbearable to her if she had not decided that she would never see Florentino Ariza again, nor be comforted by his letters. .She hadn't spoken a word to her father since the trip.Her father also looked embarrassed, and unless he had to, he would not talk to her, or whisper to her through other mules.When they were lucky, they could find a small inn on the side of the sheep trail, where they could buy food for the mountain team, but she refused to eat.They rented sackcloth beds from the inn, and they were disgustingly dirty, covered with patches of sweat and urine.For the most part they spent the night in Indian villages, sleeping collectively in communal bedrooms set against the roadside by two rows of posts and common palm leaves.All who come have the right to stay there until dawn.Fermina could not sleep all night, she was in a cold sweat with fear, and in the dark she heard the travelers quietly busy, hanging their animals from the posts, hanging their hammocks anywhere.
In the evening, when the first batch of pedestrians arrived, the village was empty and quiet, and the next morning, it became a noisy market.Hammocks are densely hung layer after layer.The mountain people squatted on the ground and beat and ate.Hui, the little goat that was tied, was barking.The fighting cock raised its head and flapped its wings in the master's basket.The trained mountain dogs know the danger of war and dare not bark, but stick out their tongues and pant heavily.These scenes of poverty are common to Lorenzo Daza. He has been doing business in this area for half his life, and he meets old friends almost every day at dawn.All this was extremely painful for his daughter.The smell of a pack full of fish at the station, coupled with her loss of appetite due to missing her lover, finally broke her eating habits, and she didn't think about tea or rice.If she wasn't driven mad by despair, it was because she always took a little solace in thinking about Florentino Ariza.She has no doubt that it will be difficult for her to go back to him, and she must forget everything.
Another thing that often frightens them is war.From the beginning of the trip there had been talk of the possibility of encounters with scattered small bands of patrols.Mule drivers taught them how to spot Liberals and Conservatives so they could adapt.They often encountered a cavalry squad commanded by an officer. They came to capture soldiers. They gathered the captured recruits like calves and let them run desperately with the horse team.Overwhelmed by these horrific sights, Fermina had already forgotten the legendary figure in her mind and turned her eyes to what happened before her.One night, a patrol of unknown party abducted two mule drivers in the caravan and hanged them from a tree about five kilometers away from the Indian village.Lorenzo Daza, who had nothing to do with them, had the bodies brought down and buried them according to the Christian rite, expressing his gratitude that he had not suffered the same fate himself.He was duly punished for this.The kidnappers had jolted him in the stomach with a shotgun barrel, jolting him out of his sleep.A commanding officer in rags, his face smeared with black soot, shone his lantern and asked him if he was a Liberal or a Conservative.
"I am neither Liberal nor Conservative," said Lorenzo Daza. "I am a Spanish citizen."
"You're lucky," said the Commander. He held up his hands in farewell, and shouted: "Long live the King!" "
Two days later they reached the beautiful plain where the bustling town of Valespa lies.
There was a cockfight in the yard, accordion music was playing on the corner of the street, knights were galloping around on thoroughbred horses, firecrackers were ringing non-stop, and loud bells echoed over the town.Also, a fireworks launcher is being installed there.Fermina was not even aware of the hilarity.They lived at the home of her uncle Lisimaco Sanchez.Uncle led all the young relatives, rode the best thoroughbred horses in the whole province, and came to the road to meet them lively.Amidst the roar of the flames, they followed the welcoming crowd through the streets of the town.
Lisimaco Sanchez's house is located in the main square, near the colonial church that has been restored many times. Like a large store or processing plant.
As soon as they dismounted from their horses, the drawing room was filled with many strangers, whose overly warm gestures of intimacy made Fermina unbearably disturbed.She was sore from the long mule ride, drowsy sleepy, and full of tummy troubles, and her only desire was to find some secluded place where she could cry heartily for a while, and had no intention of loving anything in the world. people.Her cousin Hildebranda, who was two years older than her, was as arrogant as she was, and she was the only one who saw Fermina's mind at first sight, and she was also living in the torment of love.At night she led her into the prepared bedroom, where the two lived together.She didn't understand how her buttocks had been worn down like that, with no skin, revealing red flesh.With the help of her mother, a gentle woman with the cool face of her husband as if he were his twin, she gave her sitz baths and washed her wounds with arnica elixir to relieve her pain. Pain and relieve inflammation.At this time, the loud noise when the colorful fireworks took off shook the foundation of her house.
At midnight, the guests got up to say goodbye, and went their separate ways in twos and threes.Cousin Hildebranda lent Fermina a Martaplan pajamas for her to lie down on the bed with its crisp white sheets and feather pillows.The bed immediately gave Fermina a feeling of joy and panic.The cousins were finally alone in their bedroom.Hildebranda bolted the door and pulled out from under the matting of her own bed a manila envelope sealed with wax from the National Telegraph Office.Seeing his cousin's strange expression, Fermina immediately felt a faint fragrance of white vibranium blooming in his heart.She crushed the wax print with her teeth, and the eleven telegrams expressing lovesickness merged into a river of tears, and she tossed and turned in the river of tears until dawn.
It turned out that he already knew.Before setting out on his journey, Lorenzo Daza made the mistake of telegraphing his departure to his brother-in-law Lisimaco Sanchez, who in turn relayed the news to the large and intricate diaspora Relatives in urban and rural areas across the province.Not only did Ariza know all about their journey, but he also established a long network of operators, following Fermina's whereabouts to the last village of Cabo de la Vera.Since the family arrived in the town of Valledupar, he and she have frequently passed bookcases.Lorenzo Daza's family lived there for three months before reaching Riohacha, the final stop of the trip.After many years, the two parents finally put aside their tribal feuds and sat down together, treating him as one of their own.
Their flattery made Lorenzo Daza feel elated.This door-to-door visit became a kind of reconciliation, although the purpose of the visit was not originally the case.It turned out that Fermina Sanchez's family had opposed her marrying this unknown outsider at all costs. He was eloquent and rude, and he often went from village to village to run the mule business, which obviously only earned petty profits.Lorenzo Daza is really a toad who wants to eat swan meat. What he pursues is the jewel in the palm of a local prominent family.The women of that tribe are all tough and fierce, and the men are all soft-hearted and risky, and they value reputation to the point of almost dead-heartedness.However, Fermina Sánchez developed a blind and irresistible affection for the thwarted Aiqing, ignored the objections of the family and married him.The marriage had come so swiftly and mysteriously, as if not for love, but as a holy rug to cover some sudden neglect.
Twenty-five years later, Lorenzo Daza did not realize that his obstinate attitude towards his daughter's first love was a vicious repetition of his own experience.In front of those brothers-in-law who had opposed him, he lamented his misfortune.
However, the time he wasted by complaining about others was won back by his daughter in her love.While he castrated the steers and tamed the mules on his brothers-in-law's fertile land, the daughter had her way among the great company of cousins headed by Hildebranda.Hildebranda was the prettiest, and the best of heart.She fell in love with a man with a wife and children who was twenty years older than herself. Good things are hard to come by, and she can comfort herself by sending glances at each other.
After staying in the town of Validupar, they continued their journey in the valleys of the mountains, across the flowery meadows and the mossy landscapes.In each village and town, they were all greeted with the same welcome as at the first stop.
The gongs and drums were beating, and the firecrackers were all going off.Wherever he went, there were colluding cousins, and the telegraph office had timely information.
After this journey, Fermina finally understood that the excitement that took place the afternoon they arrived in Valledupar was no accident, and that in that rich province every day was a holiday.They always treat their guests with hospitality.The guests had lodgings when it got dark, food when they were hungry, the houses were open-doors, hammocks were always available, cassava and banana meat were hot in the casserole on the stove in case someone was calling. Come before the telegram arrives.Hildebranda accompanied her cousin on the last journey, cheerfully instructing her and explaining to her from the onset of menstruation.Fermina understood women and for the first time felt like her master.
She felt that she was accompanied and protected.The free air made her feel peaceful and peaceful, and she felt that life was extremely beautiful.Later, until her twilight years, she still missed that somewhat evil trip, and the past was still vivid in her memory.
One evening, coming home from her usual walk, she felt as if fifteen buckets were going up and down inside her.Someone told her that happiness can be obtained without love, and happiness can also be obtained by killing love.This statement made her more vigilant, because a cousin overheard a conversation between her parents and Lorenzo Daza.During the conversation, Lorenzo Daza raised the idea of marrying his daughter to the sole heir to Cleophas Moscote's great fortune.Fermina knew this man.She had seen him perform in the arena on his impeccable horses.The resplendent horse quilt is like the curtain on the altar.The young man looks talented, smart and capable, and the charming eyelashes make even the stone nod in admiration.However, she did not waver at all when she compared him with the Ariza she remembered, the poor, bony young man who sat in the little square under the almond tree with his poetry collection on his knees.
In the days following her visit to the witch, Hildebranda had been ecstatically dreaming.
She was amazed at the witch's skill in knowing everything.Terrified by her father's intentions, Fermina also goes to the witch for advice.The hexagram says that in her future, nothing will affect her permanent and happy marriage.This prophecy gave her courage again. She didn't think that a happy ending could be connected with a person she didn't admire.Inspired by this belief, she let go of the rope of her mind, and the telegram communication with Florentino Ariza was no longer a chorus of longing and illusory vows, but an orderly and practical matter, and it was more than ever. More often than ever.They set a date, determined the way, vowed not to seek anyone's opinion, regardless of the place and form, and once they met again, they would immediately become family members.Fermina was so scrupulous about keeping this promise that the night her father allowed her to attend her first grown-up ball—the one that took place in the village of Fonseca—she didn't think it was virginity to say yes to a ball without her fiancé's consent. .That night, Ariza stayed in a makeshift inn.He was playing cards with Teugut when he was informed of the urgent telegram.
It was the telegraph operator from the village of Fonseca who called him, who interrupted the lines at the seven telegraph stations en route to allow Fermina to ask for the ball.But after getting permission, she was skeptical of the simple affirmation and demanded proof that it was indeed Ariza himself who was manipulating the send button on the other end of the line.Flattered, he made up a sentence that was enough to prove his identity: "Please tell her that I swear to her in the name of the fairy wearing the crown." Fermina recognized the god and his secret sign, and finally joined her. I danced until seven o'clock in the morning of the next morning before I hurriedly changed my clothes and rushed to mass.By this time she had more letters and telegrams in the bottom of the box than her father had intercepted from them, and she had learned the manners of a married woman.Lorenzo Daza thought that the change in her behavior was due to distance and time that had restored her to her childhood naughtiness, but he never mentioned to her the agreed marriage.Ever since her aunt was driven away, her daughter has always been wary of him. Now the relationship between father and daughter has finally gradually become harmonious, and they get along peacefully. No one will doubt that this harmony is based on feelings.
It was during this time that Florentino Ariza decided to write to her and tell her that he was working to salvage for her the shipwreck with its innumerable treasures.He came up with the idea that fine afternoon.At that time, countless fish were smoked by the poisonous fishweed and surfaced, and the sea seemed to be covered with lead blocks. All kinds of birds in the sky were screaming at this scene of massacre, and the fishermen had to wave their oars. They scare them away, lest they come to compete for these forbidden catch.Fish weed just puts fish to sleep, and its use has been banned by law since colonial times, but Caribbean fishermen continued to do so in broad daylight until it was replaced by dynamite.One of Ariza's pastimes when Fermina was traveling was to watch from the jetty that fishermen hauled into small canoes huge trawls full of sleeping fish.While fishing, a group of deep-water kids asked the onlookers to drop their money so they could pick it up from the bottom.These children swam out to meet the ocean liner with the same purpose.Ariza knew them long before they fell in love, but it never occurred to him that they might be able to fish out treasures from sunken ships.The idea came to him that afternoon.
Euclides, one of the children who played in the water, was as excited about underwater exploration as he was after talking for less than ten minutes.Ariza did not reveal to him the true circumstances of the incident, but only gained insight into his diving and sailing abilities.He asked the boy if he could dive to a depth of twenty meters without holding his breath, and Euclides said yes.
He asked the kid if he could steer a fishing canoe independently in a storm and navigate deep seas by instinct without any other instruments, and Euclides said yes.He asked the boy if he could find an exact spot sixteen nautical miles northwest of the largest of the Sotavento islands, and Euclides said yes.He asked the child if he could tell the direction of navigation by the stars at night, and Euclides said yes.He asked the boy if he would do all that for the same daily wages he got for helping fishermen, and Euclides said yes, but for an extra five coins on Sunday.He asked the boy if he could handle sharks, and Euclids said yes, because he had a knack for scaring sharks.He asked if children could keep their secrets even if they were stuffed into the racks of the Inquisition, and Euclides said yes.
He never said no to anything, and said yes so confidently that no one could question him.Finally, he billed Florentino Ariza the expenses: canoe rental, paddle rental, fishing license rental—so that no one would find out what they really were going to sea for.In addition, you have to bring food, a large pot of fresh water, an oil lamp, an oil candle and a hunter's horn, so that you can call for help in an emergency.
He is about twelve years old, quick-witted, has a lot of ghosts, and talks eloquently.His body was like an eel's, as though he had been made to slip through a bull's eye and fish for something by the hand.Sun and wind all year round, his skin is like counted leather, it is impossible to imagine what its true color is, which makes his yellow eyes appear even bigger.Florentino Ariza decided at once that the boy was his best partner in this lucrative venture.That Sunday, the two hit the ground running without further formalities.
They weighed anchor and set off from the fishing port just after dawn, "with all the gear and everything ready. Euclides was almost naked except for the pair of swimming trunks that never came off his body. Ariza was wearing a long dress, Wearing a black hat, patent leather boots, a poet's bow around his neck, and a book to while away the time before landing on the island.
On the first Sunday he found that Euclides was not only an excellent diver but also a skilled sailor, who knew the temper of the sea and the wrecks in the harbor like the back of his hand.He could tell the history of every rusted hull, the age of every buoy and the origin of any pile of ruins, the number of links in the chain the Spaniards used to seal off the mouth of the harbor.Ariza, fearing that he also knew the purpose of the expedition, asked him malicious questions, and found that Euclides knew nothing of the wreck.
Ever since she first heard the story of the treasure at the passing inn, Florentino Ariza had tried to find out as much as possible about the sailing ship.He learned that the San Jose was not alone in the sinking on the edge of a coral reef.
Indeed, the San Jose was originally the flagship of the "Land Fleet" and came here from Panama after May 1908, when the famous Portobello Exposition was being held.On board, part of the treasure was loaded; three hundred chests of Peruvian and Veracruz silver, and one hundred and ten chests of pearls collected and counted at Contadora.During the long month of sojourn here—the days and nights of which were folk festivals—there was also a treasure loaded to save the Kingdom of Spain from poverty: one hundred and ten chests of musso and Somondoko emeralds, thirty million gold coins.
The "Land Fleet" consists of at least a dozen large and small ships, escorted by a well-equipped French fleet after setting sail from this port.However, in the face of accurate artillery fire from the British fleet commanded by Commander Wager, the French escort fleet failed to save the voyage. The British fleet ambushed the "Land Fleet" at the Sotavento Islands at the exit of the harbor.Although there is no exact record of how many ships were sunk and how many escaped the British fire, the San Jose was not the only one sunk, and it is certain that the flagship was the first to be sunk One of the ships, the entire crew and the captain who stood motionless on the quarterdeck died with the ship, and most of the cargo was loaded on the flagship.
Ariza found the route of the sailing ships from the logbook at that time, and he can be sure that he has determined the location of the shipwreck.They passed through the harbor between the two fortresses of "Small Mouth", and entered the inner harbor basin of the archipelago after sailing for four hours.On the seabed full of coral reefs, you can catch sleeping lobsters at your fingertips.The sea was calm and clear, and Florentino Ariza felt as if he were a shadow in the water.At the end of the stagnation zone, two hours' walk from the largest island, is the wreck.
骄阳似火，穿长礼服的阿里萨浑身象火烧似的涨得通红。他让欧克利德斯设法潜到二十公尺深的地方，把在海底里摸到的随便什么东西都给他拿上来。海水清极了，他看见欧克利德斯就跟一条黑不溜秋的鲨鱼似的在水底下游动。一条条蓝色的鲨鱼从他身边游过，碰都没有碰他一下。不大一会儿，他看见欧克利德斯消失在一蓬珊瑚礁里了。正当他想着欧克利德斯该憋不住气了的时候，听见背后响起了说话声。欧克利德斯站在水里，举着双手，海水只到他的腰部。就这样，他们继续寻找更深的地方，始终向北。他们从热乎乎的双吻前口福绩头顶上划过，从羞羞答答的鲍鱼头顶上划过，从黛色海蔷我上面划过，最后欧克利德斯明白了他们是在白费时间。
“如果您不说您到底想找什么，我就不知道怎么去找。”他对阿里萨说。
但他还是不告诉他。于是，欧克利德斯建议他把衣服脱了，跟他一块下去，哪怕光是去看看地球底下的另一个天空——满是珊瑚树的海底也好。阿里萨素常总是说，上帝创造大海，只是为了让人们从窗户里看它，从来没有学过游泳。不久，天渐渐暗了，风变得冷飓赌，潮乎乎的。他们正在依靠灯塔辨别方向寻找港口的当儿，天全黑了。进入港湾之前，看见一艘法国远洋船从离他们很近的地方开过。白色的轮船是个庞然大物，船上所有的灯都亮着，后面拖着鲜美的杏仁羹和无数哆嘟嘟滚开的花菜。
他们白干了三个礼拜日，如果不是阿里萨下决心同欧克利德斯分享他的秘密，他们会白白浪费所有的礼拜日。之后，欧克利德斯改变了整个寻找计划，他们沿着帆船的归航道航行。那个地方距离阿里萨确定的地点东面二十多西班牙海里。不到两个月，在海上南塔下雨的一个下午，欧克利德斯在水底下呆了很长时间，独木舟飘走了，欧克利德斯不得不游了差不多半小时才追上，阿里萨没能把船划到他跟前。
欧克利德斯好不容易才爬上船，从嘴里掏出两件女人首饰，当做不懈努力的胜利果实拿给弗洛伦蒂诺?阿里萨看。
他那会儿讲的情景是那样引人入胜，以致阿里萨拍着胸脯说要学会游泳，钻到尽可能深的地方去，亲眼核实核实。欧克利德斯说，在那里，在仅仅十八公尺深的地方，珊瑚礁里躺着许许多多帆船，数不清到底有多少。躺着帆船的地方大极了，一眼望不到头。最奇怪的是，沉在水里的那些船，比海湾里露出水面的任何一条船的船壳都要完整。在好几条三桅帆船上，连船帆都是好好的，连船底都瞧得见，看来它们是带着原有的空间和时间沉下去的，仍然沐浴在沉船的那个日子——六月九日，礼拜六——上午十一点的阳光里。想象力固有的刺激，使他喘不过气来了。他上气不接下气地说，最容易分辨出来的，是圣约瑟号，它那喷在船尾巴上的金字船名看得清清楚楚，但它是被英国人的炮火打得最惨的。他说，他看见船里头有条三百多岁的章鱼，它的触须从弹孔里伸出来，不过它在餐厅里长得太大了，要放它出来非得把船拆了不可。他说，他还看见了穿着军服的舰长，他侧着身子浮在舷楼的游泳池里。还说，他没钻进装载财宝的船舱里是因为他肺里的空气不够用了。这不是证明吗！一个绿宝石耳环，一个链子被硝锈坏了的圣母徽。
这就是阿里萨在费尔米纳回家之前给她往丰塞卡写的一封信里第一次提到财宝的情形。她对沉船的故事是熟悉的，她听她爸爸洛伦索?达萨谈过多次。她爸爸为了说服一家德国潜水员公司和他合伙打捞沉在海里的财宝，丧失了时间和金钱。要不是几位历史研究院的研究员使他信服，沉船的天方夜谭是某个盗匪般的总督侵吞王室的财富而编造出来的，他还会继续干下去。总之，费尔米纳知道，沉船在二百公尺深的地方，那是任何人也潜不到的，根本不是阿里萨对她说的什么二十公尺。
然而，她对他的诗人般的夸张已经习以为常了，还是把捞沉船的冒险事业当作最成功的事情庆祝了一番。然而，当她继续收到那些叙述更加狂热的细节的书信的时候——写得是那么认真，就跟讲他对她的爱情一样，不得不向伊尔德布兰达吐露了实情，她担心她那着了魔的情人发了疯了。
在这些日子里，欧克利德斯捞出了不胜枚举的给他的谎话作证据的玩意儿。已经不是再拿着从珊瑚礁里捞到的锈蚀了的耳环和戒指欢蹦乱跳的事情，而是弄钱搞一个大公司来打捞那五十来条船里的取之不尽的财富的事情了。于是，或迟或早要发生的事情发生了：阿里萨要求母亲帮助他把此项冒险进行到底。他母亲只是咬了咬首饰上的金属，对着阳光看了看那些玻璃块儿，就明白是有人在利用她儿子的天真发横财。欧克利德斯跪下向阿里萨赌咒发誓，他的买卖里没有一丁点儿昧着良心的地方。然而，第二个礼拜天他没有在渔港露面，以后也再没有在任何地方出现过。
这次上当给阿里萨带来的唯一好处，是找到了灯塔这个躲避情场失意的避难所。
在深海遇到暴风雨的一天夜里，他坐着欧克利德斯的独木舟来到了灯塔看守所，从此以后，他经常在午后去同灯塔看守人聊天，听灯塔看守人讲那些关于陆地和海洋的无穷无尽的哀闻。这就是他们之间那历尽沧桑而未改初衷的友情的开端。阿里萨学会了点灯，在电力使用传播到我国之前，起先是用柴火，后来用油罐。他还学会了用反光镜来控制灯的方向和增加亮度。有好几次，在灯塔看守人不在场时，他还留在那里，在灯塔上监视着海面。他学会了利用声音、利用地平线上的灯光的大小来辨别船只，以及辨别它们用灯光扫射灯塔给他发回来的信号。
白天，尤其是礼拜日，乐趣又有所不同。在总督区——老城的有钱人住在那里——女人使用的海滩是用泥灰墙同男人的海滩隔开的：一个在灯塔右边，另一个在灯塔左边。于是，灯塔看守人安装了一架土望远镜，人们交一文钱就能通过土望远镜观赏女人的海滩。上流社会的小姐们不知道有人在窥视她们，把最美的部位都展示出来了，只是她们穿着带宽荷叶边的游泳装、凉鞋，戴着草帽，把身体遮盖得同穿着便服时差不多，不是那么令人神往就是了。母亲们由于担心邻近海滩的男人们从水底下钻过来勾引她们，穿着去望大弥撒时的那身衣服，戴着羽毛编织的帽子，打着遮阳伞，顶着烈日坐在藤条摇椅上，在岸上监视着。实际上，通过土望远镜能看到的，并不比在街上看到的更多、更令人销魂，但每个礼拜日到那里去争先恐后地租望远镜的顾客还是很多，其目的仅仅在于领略被人围观这淡而无味的果实所能产生的快意而已。
阿里萨就是其中的一个。他这样做与其说是寻欢作乐，不如说是因为闲得无聊。
不过，他和灯塔看守人结成莫逆之交，倒并非因为这种外加的吸引力。真实的原因是，自从费尔米纳收回暗许的芳心之后，当他狂热地到处寻花问柳试图移花接木的时候，除了在灯塔，他没领略过更愉快的足以忘忧的时刻。那是他最喜欢的地方，喜爱之深，使他曾在好些年里试图说服他母亲，后来又想说服叔叔莱昂十二资助他把灯塔买下来。当时，加勒比海沿岸的灯塔属于私人财产，灯塔的主人按照进港船只大小收取税金。阿里萨以为，那是靠灵感致富的唯一的体面方式，但他母亲和叔叔跟他的想法不同，而等他自己有钱办这件事的时候，灯塔已经成为国家财产了。
不过话又得说回来，这些幻想没有一个是毫无用处的。关于帆船的天方夜谭也好，后来关于灯塔的新鲜主意也好，都有助于他减轻思念费尔米纳的痛苦。在他意想不到的时候，得到了她回来的消息。果然，在里约阿查住了许久之后，洛伦索?达萨决定返回家乡。十二月间，信风阵阵，海面上不是最风平浪静的季节，只有那条老掉牙的轻便船才敢冒险开航。如果碰上逆风，它开了一夜之后还会退回起锚港，果真如此。费尔米纳受了一夜折磨，把胆汁都吐出来了。她把自己捆在舱房的床上，船舱不但狭窄得让人端不过气来，而且又臭又热，跟小饭店的茅厕一样。船颠簸得非常厉害，好几次她都以为床上的皮带要被扯断了。甲板上传来断断续续的痛苦的喊叫，跟翻了船似的。隔壁舱房传过来的她父亲那老虎般的鼾声，更增加了恐怖气氛。将近三年来，这是她第一次度过的一个不眠之夜而又丝毫没有想到阿里萨。与此相反，此时阿里萨正在店堂后房的吊床上辗转难眠，一分钟一分钟地计算着那总也过不完的时间，盼望着她的归来。黎明时分，风突然停止了，海面上重又变得波平如镜。费尔米纳发现，虽然头昏脑胀，她还是睡着了，因为她是被锚链的轰隆声吵醒的。她解开床上的皮带，从天窗里探出头去，希望能在港口嘈杂的人群里看到阿里萨。然而，她看到的是被晨潮染成金黄色的棕桐树丛中的海关仓库，是里约阿查港的朽槽的木码头，他们的船头天晚上正是从这个地方起钱的。
这一天的其它时间，她都觉得恍如在幻觉中，她仍然在那个一直住到昨天的家里，应酬着那些曾经送别她的相同的客人，说着同样的话。正在重复着已逝的日子的某一片断，这种感觉使她惶惑了。这种重复没有一丝一毫变化，只要一想到乘船旅行也是走回头路，费尔米纳就不寒而栗，单是回想昨夜的旅行，就够她胆战心凉的了。可是除此以外，回家只有一种办法，就是骑着骡子沿着悬崖峭壁走两周，而且比上一次的情况更加危险，因为从安第斯山地区的考卡省开始的新内战，正在向这个地区的其他省份蔓延。于是，晚上八点时分，还是那群七嘴八舌吵吵嚷嚷的亲戚又把她送到了港口，他们又一次洒下告别的泪水，送给她那些原封不动的、船舱里放也放不下的大包小包的临别馈赠。起铺的时候，送行的男人们朝天开枪，为帆船送行。洛伦索?达萨在甲板上用左轮手枪连放五响作为回答。费尔米纳的担心很快就烟消云散了，整夜都是顺风，大海散发着鲜花的芳香，她没系安全带就酣然入梦了。睡梦中，她又看见了阿里萨，他摘下了她过去常见的那副面孔，那实际上是副假面具，不过那副真实面孔跟假面具一模一样。梦中这一不解之谜，使她一大早就起床了，她看见父亲正在船长的房间里喝兑白兰地的苦咖啡，酒使他的眼睛变歪了，他脸上没有露出对归程丝毫担心的表情。
他们正在进港。轻便船从停靠在港湾市场里的迷宫似的帆船群中无声地滑行着。
市场的臭味，远在好几西班牙海里之外的海面上就能闻到。密密麻麻的牛毛细雨，遮住了天边的鱼胜白，不久细雨变成了瓢泼大雨。船帆被雨水浇得耷拉下来的轻便船，穿过“鬼魂湾”，在市场码头跟前抛锚的时候，站在电报局了望台上的阿里萨一眼就认出它来了。昨天，他一直等到上午十一点，直到从一份偶然的电报中得知轻便船因遇到打头风而推迟抵港时间。这一天，他从早上四点钟起就在那里守候。
他仍然在那里等着，目不转睛地盯着那些小艇，它们准备把决定冒着暴雨下船的旅客接到岸边来。大部分旅客不得不中途从搁浅的小艇上下来，稀里哗啦地趟着泥水爬上码头。等到八点钟，雨仍然下个不住，一个黑人搬运工趟着齐腰深的水把费尔米纳从轻便船上接下来，把她抱到岸上。她浑身湿得跟落汤鸡似的，阿里萨没认出她来。
她自己也没意识到，在这次旅行中，她真长大了不少。踏进一直关锁着的家门，她立即动手进行清扫和布置的艰巨工作。接到他们回来的通知后，黑女奴普拉西迪哑即刻从奴隶住的旧茅屋赶回来协助她。费尔米纳已经不再是那个既被父亲溺爱又受他限制的独生女儿，而是一个灰尘山积、蛛网纵横的王国的权威和主妇。只有战无不胜的爱情的力量，才能拯救这个王国。她没有气馁，她觉得浑身有使不完的力量，简直可以改天换地。就在回家的当天晚上，在厨房的备餐间吃鸡蛋奶油饼，喝巧克力的时候，她父亲象在宗教仪式上似的郑重其事地把管理家屋的大权交给了她。
“我把常用的钥匙交给你吧。”父亲对她说。
已经年满十七周岁的她，郑重地接过了这一权力，她知道，争取到每一分自由都是为了爱。一夜无眠。第二天，她打开阳合的窗户，看见小广场上依然淫雨纷罪，看见那位被斩首的英雄的塑像，看见那个阿里萨素常捧着诗集坐在上面的大理石长凳的时候，心中泛起了回家以来的第一次烦恼之情。她已不再象想念一个犹如镜花水月的情人，而是象想念一个她的一切都属于他的地地道道的丈夫一样想念着阿里萨了。她觉得，自从离家以来，这被虚耗的良辰美景是多么令人惋惜，人生是多么的艰难，她该带着多么深沉的爱去按上帝的旨意爱她的心上人啊。他没有象过去那样冒雨来到小广场，使她颇觉意外，也没接到过他用任匈方式发出的任何表示，甚至连预兆都没有。她突然想，莫非他死了吗？思念及此，她不由得一阵颤栗。不过，她随即又排除了这种不祥的想法，因为眼看就要回来，他们在最近几天的狂热的电报里忘了商定一种她回来后继续联系的方式。
原来，阿里萨从里约阿查的报务员那里确认费尔米纳他们所乘的轻便船已于礼拜五再度出发之前，他还满以为她没有回来呢。周末，他围着她家的房子转来转去，观察里面的动静。礼拜一黄昏，他看见窗户里透出了游移不定的灯光，九点过后，灯光移到了紧靠阳台的那间卧室里，熄了。怀着跟初恋头几夜同样忐忑不安的焦虑，特兰西托一夜没睡着，在鸡叫头遍的时候就起来了。儿子半夜里就到院子里去了，一直没再回屋，家里没有他的人影，她慌了。原来阿里萨在岸边的礁石上迷了路，他迎着风背着爱情诗，高兴得哭了，直到天色大亮。八点钟时，他坐在那个教区咖啡馆的拱门下面，琢磨着如何问费尔米纳表示欢迎，彻夜未眠，使他幻觉丛生。突然，他浑身猛然一震，心肝五脏几乎都碎了。
is her.她正从大教堂广场上走过，普拉西迪她挎着买东西的篮子跟着她。她比离别时更高了，身材更加匀称，线条更加分明，成年人的气质使她显得更加美丽。
她的头发又长了一些，但不是技散在背后，而是斜披在左肩上，单是这个变化，就把她的孩子气一扫而光了。阿里萨坐在那儿发呆，那个宛如下凡仙女的姑娘自不斜视地穿过了广场。然而，那股使他浑身酥软的不可抗拒的力量，又迫使他急急忙忙地随她而去。她拐进大教堂旁边的那条街，消失在市场上的人群里。市场上人声鼎沸，发出震耳欲聋的争吵声。
他暗中尾随着她，观察着世界上他最爱的这个人的惊鸿般的身影，举手投足的仪态和她那早临的成熟。这是他第一次看到她自由自在的样子。她在人群里矫健的步伐，使他叹为观止。普拉西迪哑不是撞在别人身上，就是被人家的篮子勾住了衣裳，不得不迈步小跑才跟得上她，而她却在熙熙攘攘的街上随意地从容地走着，不同别人相撞，象似编幅在黑暗里飞翔。她跟着埃斯科拉斯蒂卡姑妈逛过许多次市场，但买的都是些小玩意儿，当时由她父亲亲自负责采购家里的用品，不但买家具和食品，而且也买女人的衣服。第一次上街采购，实现了她童年时代的梦想，她觉得心醉神迷。
对捕蛇即向她兜售永恒爱情糖浆时的吹嘘，她未加理睬。对躺在屋檐下面露出鲜血淋淋的伤口的叫化子的乞求，她置若罔闻。对那个想把一条训练过的鳄鱼卖给她的冒牌印第安人，她掉头它顾。她走得很远，看得很细，但没有一个固定的方向，她在这儿停一下，在那儿停一下，只是为了享受那种化游自在、东顾西盼的东趣。
每个多少有点东西出售的门洞，她都进去看一下，她发现到处都有吸引人的东西。
她兴致勃勃地闻闻箱子里的呢料散发出的芒草芳香， 把印花丝绸裹在身上， 对着“金丝商店”那面穿衣镜里自己头插小流、手握彩扇那种小家碧玉的模样她欣然发笑，继而又对自己的笑声感到好笑。在海员商店，她揭开一只盛着大西洋卤鳅鱼的大桶上的盖子，想起了她童年时代在沼泽地的圣?胡安省和在东北度过的那些夜晚。
她尝了尝带着一股甘草味儿的阿利康特血肠，买了两条留待礼拜六当早点，还买了几大块鳄鱼肉和一袋酒枣。在香料店里，纯粹是为了闻着好玩，她用双手搓了搓鼠尾草和荆芥，随后买了一小包干香石竹花苞和一小包大料，又买了一小包生姜和一小包刺柏。卡耶胡椒的气味儿使她喷嚏连连，她笑得满眼泪水走了出来。她在法国药店里买路透肥皂和安息香水的时候，人们在她的耳朵背后滴了一滴在巴黎风靡一时的香水，又给I她一片抽烟后使用的除味剂。
她买东西是为了好玩，这不假，但她真正需要的东西，她还是毫不犹豫地买了下来，那个当机立断的劲儿，使人以为她不是头一次这么做。她心里明白，她不单是为自己买，也是为他买呀。她买了十二码为他俩做台布用的亚麻布，又买了块举行婚礼时做床单的印花细布，这床单天亮时将洋溢着两人的气息，及以他们俩将在充满柔情蜜意的家里共享的各种佳品。她讨价还价，而且做得在行，笑容可掬而又不失体面地争着，直到获得最优惠的价格。她用金币付钱，商店老板们检验金币，其实只是为了听听金币掉在柜台的大理正面上那悦耳的声音，从中取乐。
阿里萨神魂飘荡地盯着她，气吁吁地尾随而行，好几次撞到了女佣的篮子上，女佣对他的道歉报以微笑。她离他极近，他闻到了微风送过来的她的芳馨。当时她没看见他，并非因为她看不见，而是因为她在高视阔步地走路。他觉得她美若无私，勾魂夺魄，没有任何人跟他似的魂不守舍，踢里吐咱地磕碰着街上的方石。她衣衫上的宽荷叶边一禽一动送来的气息竟没使别人的心跳失常，她的头发扇起的微风，她的似乎在飞翔的双手以及那金子般的笑声也没让所有的人爱得发疯，他简直不可思议。他把她的一笑一微一喜一怒都看在了眼里，但没敢走近她，他怕错失了心醉神迷的时刻。然而，当她走进喧嚣的代笔先生门洞的时候，他心里明白了，他正在走钢丝，数年来梦寐以求的良机眼看要失之交臂了。
费尔米纳赞同她的女学友们那个古怪的看法：代笔先生门洞是个诲淫诲盗的地方，顺理成章，仍然是品行端庄的姑娘的禁区。那是个拱门式的长廊，长廊对面是块空地，空地上停着出租车和用毛驴拉的货车，民间交易在这里搞得更加如火如荼，也更加喧嚣震耳。代笔先生门洞这个名字是从殖民地时期流传下来的，从那时起，那些穿呢背心戴套袖的一言不发的书法家们就坐在那里，以低廉的价格代人书写各式各样的文件：受害或申诉的状纸，打官司的辩词，贺帕或挽联，从情窦未开到是蛮之年的各种年龄的情书。当然，嘈杂喧闹的市场臭名远扬，不能归罪于这些书法家，而是因为后来的奸商。他们在柜台底下出售由欧洲船舶带来的许许多多走私冒牌货，从淫秽下流的明信片、春药香膏到著名的卡塔卢尼亚巫术描——有的棍子末端不是粘的银晰冠毛，而是鲜花，花瓣可以按使用者的心愿张开，应有尽有。费尔米纳对街道不大熟悉，没留意这是什么地方，就走进了那个门洞，目的只是找个阴凉地方避一避十一点钟的火辣辣的太阳。
她在那群乱嚷的擦鞋匠、鸟贩、廉价书贩、走方郎中和叫卖甜食的女人堆里消失了。卖甜食的女人以压倒一切的震耳的喊声在哈喝：姑娘呷的菠萝汁、疯子吃的椰子羹、圣典用的红糖水。不过，她对这些喊声充耳不闻，因为她一下子就被那个卖文具的人吸引住了，他正在表演变化无穷的墨水儿，象血一样红的红墨水儿，色泽忧郁的写挽联的墨水儿，在黑处都看得见的发光的墨水儿，写时看不见颜色用火光一照就能现出字迹来的墨水儿。她想把所有的墨水都买一点，好同阿里萨一起玩，用自己的天才叫他大吃一惊，但她试了几下之后，决定只买一小瓶金色的墨水。随后，她到了那些坐在自己的巨大的球形玻璃瓶后面的卖甜食的文人跟前，她买了各种不同的甜食，每种六块。她指着瓶子里的甜食，因为干扰的声音太大，她没法让人家听清她的话：六块蛋松，六块白奶酪，六块绿豆糕，六块木薯糕，六块用印有格言的纸包着的巧克力，六块杏仁羹饼干，六块女王点心。六块这个，六块那个，每样六块，边买边以一种令人心动神驰的姿势把东西放进女佣提着的两只篮子里，对盯着糖浆周围嗡嗡轰叫的苍蝇，对一刻也不停息的喧哗，对令人喘不过气来的热浪中散发出的一股又一股馊臭的汗味儿，她都毫不在意。一个头戴花头巾的滚圆而漂亮的黑人妇女，笑吟吟地请她品尝一块穿在杀猪刀刀尖上的三角形菠萝块儿，使她从陶醉中醒了过来。她取下那块菠萝，整个儿塞进嘴里，有滋有味儿地品尝着，一边用秋水似的眼睛扫视那挨肩擦背的人群。这时，她一阵激动，钉子似的鸽立在原地不动了。在她背后，就在她的耳朵跟前响起了一个声音，只有她一个人才能在嘈杂的人声中分辨得清的声音：“对戴王冠的仙女来说，这里可不是什么好地方。”
她回过头来一看，在离自己的眼睛两巴掌远的地方，看见了两只冷若冰霜的眼睛，一张苍白的脸，两片因胆怯而咬紧了的嘴唇，就跟那天在望大弥撒时他第一次和她近在咫尺的情况一模一样，有所不同的只是热恋的激情变成了不满的冷峻。一刹那间，她发觉自己上了个天大的当，惊讶地在心里自问，怎么可能让一个如此冷酷无情的魔鬼长年累月地占据了自己的芳心。她仅仅来得及想：“我的上帝哟，真是个可怜虫！”阿里萨勉强一笑，开口想说点什么，试图跟她一起走，但她把手一挥，把他从自己的生活中抹去了：“不必了，”她说，“忘掉吧。”
就在这天下午，她父亲睡午觉的时候，她让普拉西迪娜给他送去了一封寥寥数语的信：“今天，看到了您，我如梦初醒，我们之间的事，无非是幻想而已。”女佣把他的电报、情诗、干枯了的山茶花也送去了，并要他退还她给他的信和纪念品：埃斯科拉斯蒂卡姑妈的祈祷书，从她的植物标本里面抽出去的树叶标本，一小块儿圣彼得?克拉维尔祭抱上的布片，几枚圣灵纪念章，和一束校服上的绸带系着的她十五岁生日时剪下来的头发。从那以后的那些日子里，濒临疯狂边缘的他，给她写了无数封悲痛欲绝的信，缠着女佣把信送给她，但女佣覆行了斩钉截铁的命令，除了退还的纪念物之外，不收任何东西。在女佣再三再四催逼下，阿里萨只好把所有的东西都退还了，但要求保留那束头发，他说假如费尔米纳不亲自来找他谈哪怕一小会儿，他决不退还。他的目的没有达到。担心儿子会寻死，特兰西托低声下气地去求费尔米纳发发善心，同她谈五分钟。费尔米纳在家里的前厅站着见了她一会儿，没请她进屋，也没表示任何回心转意的态度。又过了两天，跟母亲吵了一架之后，阿里萨把卧室墙上那个沾满灰尘的玻璃壁龛取了出来，那束头发跟圣物一样放在里面，特兰西托把头发装进了那个绣着金钱的天鹅绒套企。阿里萨再没遇到过和费尔米纳单独相处的机会。后来，他们在漫长的一生中曾多次相遇，也没有单独谈过话，直到五十一年九个月零四天之后，在她成了未亡人的第一天晚上，他向她再次表白了他的矢志不渝和永恒的爱情。