The Murmur of Bees

An unclothed, unprotected baby survived a night beneath a bridge in severe cold in the wilderness near Linares, Nuevo León, Mexico. Several people might have heard him but didn’t, yet Nana Reja, sleeping miles away, heard him. Following his cries, she found him shielded by a blanket of bees.

Nana Reja miraculously came to Linares and served generations as the wet nurse for the village. When no longer able to provide milk, she remained with the Morales family until the morning she disappeared to find the baby.

This chapter comprises the memories of an unnamed first-person narrator, apparently the son of Beatriz and Francisco Morales. He confesses that he’s now extremely old, a great-grandfather for whom others make decisions. He’s comforted by the memories of all that happened at his home, La Hacienda Amistad, when he was a child.

Beatriz, matron of the hacienda, sits in Reja’s rocking chair, while other’s search for Reja. Francisco Senior, Beatriz’s husband, leads the search: “While she awaited the news, Beatriz, a practical-minded woman, concluded they were unlikely to find the nana alive” (19). She’s relieved to learn they found Reja alive.