A. She resents Elena for leaving and never writing. B. She has completely forgotten about Elena. C. She has remembered Elena and hoped for some kind of closure. D. She believes Mariana is Elena in disguise.
Mariana found the letter while cleaning out her late grandmother’s attic. It was tucked inside a worn copy of The House on Mango Street , pressed between pages 84 and 85. The envelope was yellowed and unsealed, addressed in her grandmother’s familiar cursive to a name Mariana did not recognize: “Beatriz Ramirez, 1423 Calle de la Paz, San Juan, Puerto Rico.”
A. her career as a baker B. her longing for a home or family connection C. her wealth and social status D. her love of travel readtheory.org
Mariana approached the counter and held out the photograph. “Are you Beatriz?”
A. she wants to open a bakery B. she hopes to find Beatriz and learn more about her grandmother C. she needs to sell her grandmother’s old books D. she is looking for her own father She has completely forgotten about Elena
Mariana had always believed her grandmother, Elena, arrived in Chicago alone in 1980 and never looked back. Family legend said she left behind no family, no friends, no unfinished business. Yet here was evidence of a promise broken, a connection abandoned, a story never finished.
For weeks, Mariana debated what to do. The internet offered no Beatriz Ramirez at that address. The street number might no longer exist. But one evening, while cleaning out a closet, Mariana found a shoebox of photographs. Beneath the pictures of her mother as a baby was a black-and-white image of two young women smiling in front of a flamboyán tree. On the back, in Spanish: “Elena y Beatriz, Santurce, 1979.” No mention of Beatriz again.
Inside, the letter was incomplete. The date at the top read “June 8, 1985.” The first paragraph described a hot summer afternoon in Chicago, the sound of coquí frogs from a record her grandmother would play when she felt homesick. The second paragraph apologized—but for what, Mariana could not tell. The sentence broke off mid-way: “I know I promised to return after Abuela’s funeral, but the snow here is nothing like the rain at home. I met someone. His name is Daniel. He works at the factory and he—” The rest of the page was blank. No signature. No closing. No mention of Beatriz again.