At the family home I have my own office, a desk and some bookcases, with a spare bedroom next to it just in case I ever desire a siesta. One day my niece comes to pay a visit. The rest of the family is not home, so it’s just the two of us. That afternoon she complains that she doesn’t feel well. I take her to the spare bedroom next to the office so she can lie down and rest. She suddenly dies. I do my best to set things right, closing her eyelids, and leave the body lying on the bed. Now I can only wait for the rest of the family to come home so that arrangements can be made. I am suddenly overcome with exhaustion and go to my own bedroom. I sleep until early evening when I am awoken by the sound of my mother talking on the telephone. I stand up and compose myself and go out to the living room, where she stands while she talks on the phone; the living room is adjacent to my office and the spare bedroom, whose door is closed. I sit in a chair slowly waking up and listening to my mother talk. My aunt is the person on the other end of the phone. It seems my niece has vanished and they’re looking for her everywhere. My mother keeps saying things like, “I just don’t know where she could be,” and “No, I haven’t seen her at all.” I try and get my mother’s attention so I can lead her to the spare bedroom, where the body is, but she merely waves me off, annoyed that I’m interrupting her.