During dinner, Amanda hardly touched her food. Her corset was so tight that even breathing was difficult. The conversation revolved around Isabel and then shifted to political matters. As was proper, she and her sisters stayed out of it.

After the maids cleared the dishes, the adults insisted that Sofía play a melody on the Páez family's luxurious piano. Feigning modesty, the youngest of the Pérez Esnaola initially evaded the suggestion. However, she soon gave in to her mother's insistence. The truth was that, unlike Amanda, Sofía loved being the center of attention and never missed an opportunity to show off the talents God, her governesses, and teachers had given her.

Everyone had a lovely evening. After so much time at sea, Amanda appreciated being on solid ground. If it were up to her, she would not return to Spain, not because she didn't miss her homeland, but because she didn't believe she could survive another ocean crossing.

The only thing she had enjoyed about that trip was seeing, for the first time in her life, some picturesque fish that accompanied the ship as they skirted the coasts of Brazil. The sailors called them dolphins, and the young woman was comforted by the stories they told about those creatures that, according to them, rescued shipwrecked sailors. Fortunately, they hadn't shipwrecked, but they had endured terrible storms and seen waves as large as entire ships. Sebastián claimed to have seen the eye of a kraken in one of the waves, but by now everyone in the family ignored his tales.

Amanda knew that most of Sebastián's stories were just attempts to get attention, but the truth was, they made her laugh a lot. She enjoyed spending time with him because sometimes he was the only one who included her in his life, even if it was just to cover for him with their uncles when he wanted to sneak off with some girl from the village. Her cousin had quickly earned a reputation as a heartbreaker, along with the enmity of many family members of his conquests. She was sure that starting over and leaving his past behind would be the best option for him.

Amanda observed her older cousin for a moment. He noticed right away and gave her a half-smile while pushing back his black, wavy hair. The young woman returned the smile and couldn't help but think that whoever became Sebastián's wife would have to work hard to win his heart, as she would undoubtedly have much competition. Her cousin was very handsome.

She looked away and diverted her thoughts from the young man to shyly ask their hosts about a small elephant statuette resting on the polished wood of the piano where her sister had been playing.

"Our dear mother was very fond of this little bronze piece. They are very common in the Indies," Esteban, the younger of the Páez brothers, hurried to reply.

"It's very beautiful. Your mother undoubtedly had a good eye for art," Amanda responded, somewhat embarrassed, as she was aware that everyone in the room was focused on her.

Sofía, for her part, glared at her. Perhaps she had been expecting some compliment or recognition from Esteban, who did not seem interested in her at all. However, Amanda's intention had not been to overshadow her sister's talent, and when she thought the evening could not get more uncomfortable, Diego began to speak:

"My cousin Amanda loves art. Her drawings are very beautiful."

"It would undoubtedly be a great pleasure to see your art, my beautiful lady," said Esteban.

"I appreciate it, but to be honest, they are just sketches. My cousin is simply exaggerating," the young woman replied, with no intention of revealing those snippets of reality she captured to a stranger.

The charcoal drawings Amanda created were indeed very good. Sebastián had told her more than once that she had the gift of capturing the essence that emanated from people's souls. Her cousins and sisters were her favorite models, and she didn't need to make them pose for hours. No, she preferred to capture moments in motion, and thus her drawings seemed to come to life.

She had a very good visual memory and could draw places, animals, or people she had seen years ago with astonishing clarity. Even so, her drawings were very personal, and she didn't like showing them, especially to someone she didn't even know.

Late at night, they retired to their rooms. Amanda was exhausted and fell asleep as soon as she laid her head on the feather pillow. Perhaps she would have slept just as well if she had laid down on the floor, as long as the floor didn't move like that infernal ship.

Her dreams were filled with memories of the countryside where she had grown up. She could feel the cool dew on the grass under her bare feet and hear the song of the thrushes around her. They surrounded her, and that melody seemed to attract more birds, which soon turned into black birds. A flock of birds of prey gathered and threatened to cover the sun.

She woke up startled at dawn and didn't dare try to go back to sleep. Her sisters slept on either side of her bed with serene expressions. She didn't want to disturb the calm of their dreams and waited until their mother came to wake them. They would soon be leaving for the La Rosa estate. She fervently hoped that the vultures would not find her family there.