My Name Is Emilia del Valle

Having been kicked and insulted by her captors, Emilia wakes in pain. She has little sense of time in the dark cell, and she can hear the firing squad outside. She prays to Our Lady of Guadalupe, resorting to religion in a time of little hope.

Eventually, two soldiers come to interrogate her, asking if she knows Rodolfo León. She denies it, and they accuse her of being a government spy. Rodolfo is in the cell next to hers, and she can hear as they torture and kill him.

Emilia is brought before a war council. They accuse her of being on the government’s side because she wore its uniform during the Battle of Concón. She knows that they won’t believe anything she says. Eventually, they return her to her cell, where a soldier asks if she wants to see a priest. Spitefully, she asks for a bishop.

Waiting for her death, Emilia imagines her loved ones with her. She thinks of her childhood and finds comfort in the idea of heaven, where she can one day be reunited with Eric. She wishes that she had a pencil and paper because she has always used