Snippet 7: Cloaked & Crooked

While the merry, dancing and feasting continued. Lucio (Right), the masked one, was in deep sorrow for his disfigured facial look. He remembered how Esmeralda sought to touch his face and how he forbade her. It was an expression of kindness that touched him, even in his crookedness. Juana advised him to do something to treat his face, so that he could live a normal life like any other person.

Esmeralda was exceedingly happy at the party. Adrián and Graciela were aggrieved with the closeness of José Armando and Esmeralda at the party. Graciela felt threatened by Esmeralda's disarming beauty, knowing that José Armando may easily fall in love with her. Adrián was secretly in love with Esmeralda and he was uncomfortable throughout the duration of the party because of the closeness and dancing together of Esmeralda and José Armando. Oblivious Esmeralda later shared her joy with Fermín and Dominga.

Graciela developed a great inferiority complex after the party, next day she demanded that reluctant José Armando should let them leave for the city, away from the beautiful peasant usurper. Rodolfo saved the tensed atmosphere by proposing to Graciela to spend some more time with them in the countryside. When it seems Graciela was not convinced, Fátima had to intervene to advise her to stick by her man. She also counseled her to use the opportunity of her stay to learn how to ride horses, and also never let Armando out of her sight for one second.

As old Melesio came to decorate Esmeralda with flowers, at that moment Armando arrived and the old strawberry thief, Melesio took to his heels. Armando asked her to dance again with him, just like before, she agreed. While they were dancing, he became raptured with her beauty, and impulsively opened his mouth to swallow her yielding lips, in what was destined to be Esmeralda's first kiss.