The Dreamer

Neftalí is now 11 years old. His father has planned for the family to spend the summer at Puerto Saavedra, a town on Chile’s Pacific coast. He’s rented a summerhouse by the beach. To get there, they must take a train, then an oxcart, and finally a paddle boat down the Imperial River. Rodolfo has a new job at the hardware store and can’t get time off to go with them, a fact that saddens Neftalí.

Before they embark, Laurita tells Neftalí she’s afraid of the ocean. He comforts her, saying they don’t have to get in, they can just look at the water. She falls asleep, but Neftalí is kept awake by excitement and curiosity. Though Father turned out not to be a kinder version of himself in the forest, Neftalí wonders if the ocean could be different. Maybe rest and salt air will be enough to change him.

On the paddle boat, Neftalí discovers the passengers include a group of Mapuche. He wonders if they’re traveling because they were forced from their homeland. Neftalí bonds with a Mapuche boy, using pantomimes when they realize they don’t recognize each other’s language. The boy plays a harmonica, filling Neftalí with peace and a sense of something magnificent.