K.Esquivel-LWFC

would eventually be kindled by the presence
of this wonderful man.
Finally, after walking for three hours,
Chencha had the answer!
As always, she had come up with the right
lie. She would tell Mama
Elena that she'd been passing through Eagle
Pass and had seen a beggar
on the streetcorner, dressed in filthy, tattered
clothes.
Moved by pity, she had gone over to give her
a coin and had been
shocked at the discovery that the beggar was
Tita. She had escaped
from the lunatic asylum and was roaming the
world to pay for the crime
of having insulted her mother. Chencha had
invited her to come back
home, but Tita had refused. She didn't feel
she deserved to return and
live with such a good mother, and she had
asked Chencha to please tell
her mother that she loved her dearly and
would never forget how much
she had always done for her, and she
promised that as soon as she
became an honest woman she would return
to be with her mother and give
her all the love and respect that Mama Elena
deserved.
Chencha figured this lie would cover her with
glory, but unfortunately
she wasn't able to tell it. That night, when
she got to the house, a
group of bandits attacked the ranch. They
raped Chencha.
Mama Elena, trying to defend her honor,
suffered a strong blow to her
spine and was left a paraplegic, paralyzed
from the waist down.
She was in no condition to hear this type of
news, nor was Chencha in
any condition to give it.
It was a good thing she hadn't said anything,
because when Tita
returned to the ranch after hearing about
their calamity, Chencha's
pious lie would have been shattered by Tita's
splendid beauty and
radiant energy. Her mother received her in
silence. For the first
time Tita firmly held her gaze, and Mama
Elena lowered hers. There was
a strange light in Tita's eyes.
Mama Elena had disowned her daughter.
Without words, they made their
mutual reproaches and thereby severed the
strong tie of blood and
obedience that had always bound them
together, but could never be
reestablished. Tita knew perfectly well that
her mother felt
profoundly humiliated because not only did
she have to allow Tita back
into her house again but until she recovered
she needed Tita to take
care of her. For that reason, Tita wanted
with all her heart to give
her the best possible care. She prepared her
mother's meal very
carefully and especially the ox-tail soup, with
the good intention of
serving it to her so that she would recover
completely.
She poured the seasoned broth with the
potatoes and beans into the pan
where she had placed the ox tails to cook.
Once that is done, all that is necessary is to
let the ingredients
simmer together for half an hour. Then
remove from the heat and serve
piping hot.