Summary
In the middle of November, the garua,or
heavy fog, lifts, and everything seems bright. The generals clip
out articles about the hostage situation from the newspapers, but
the hostages have heard snippets on the TV news about a tunnel being
dug underground to free them. The idea of a tunnel seems so far-fetched
that no one believes it.
Coss sings with even greater beauty and intensity than
she did before she became a hostage. She sings “as if she [is] saving
the life of every person in the room.”
Watanabe and Carmen continue to meet in the china closet. Watanabe
thinks about how wonderful and absurd it is that he has fallen in
love with a woman not from one of the many big cities that he has
visited, but from a village in the jungle. He marvels at the fact that
his love dresses in army fatigues, carries a gun, and has taken him
hostage.
One day Watanabe and Carmen are talking in the bathroom. Carmen
suggests that they forget about the outside world and make this
their home. Just then, Watanabe hears Fyodorov calling him and steps
out of the bathroom to see what he wants. Fyodorov has finally summoned
up his courage to declare his love for Coss. Watanabe doesn’t know
about Fyodorov’s love, and he is reluctant to leave Carmen. But
he agrees and sneaks back to tell Carmen he has to go. Before he
leaves, Watanabe says that of course the siege will end. Carmen
sheds a few tears, and Watanabe and Carmen kiss for the first time.
Watanabe and Fyodorov go to talk to Coss. Fyodorov is
so nervous that he has to sit down. Nonetheless, he manages to give
an eloquent speech. He begins to explain how moved he was by opera when
he was a university student. Then he backs up and tells Coss about
the precious art book his grandmother had. She would pull it out
in the evenings and show her children and grandchildren how to appreciate
beauty. In contrast to the struggles of most people living in the
Soviet Union, the beauty of these paintings was overwhelming. Fyodorov
tells Coss that he loves her, but he expects nothing in return.
He just wanted to tell her. “Some people are born to make great
art and others are born to appreciate it. Don’t you think?” he asks.
Coss thanks him. Watanabe felt awkward during Fyodorov’s speech,
but he notices that Coss doesn’t seem uncomfortable. He realizes
that people have probably fallen in love with her throughout her
life.
