The Farming Of Bones

The group arrives in the bustling city of Dajabon at night. The try to blend in but it doesn’t work, and a group of men end up attacking them. Despite putting up a good fight, Tibon is killed. Yves and Amabelle are forced to kneel while several people shove their mouths full of parsley, making it almost impossible to breathe or think. All around them, people celebrate the Generalissimo’s presence in the city, and Dominican pride in general. The crowd disperses when the Generalissimo leaves the church. Wilner and his partner, Odette, come to Amabelle’s and Yves’ aid, offering them a place to stay until they can cross the river tomorrow. They leave Tibon “face up” where he has been killed, which bothers Amabelle, but she doesn’t have enough strength to fight against Odette’s and Wilner’s wishes that he be left behind (196). They escape to a small lodging Wilner has paid for. Almost as quickly as they arrive, they have to leave because someone comes to warn them of approaching danger. They walk down to the river and decide to cross immediately. A soldier sees them and shoots Wilner. Odette is drowning so Amabelle grabs her and swims with her to shore, along with Yves. Odette dies when they arrive, her last word being pesi, the Haitian word for parsley. 

The next morning, Amabelle and Yves are found by a doctor and a priest who are attempting to help survivors and care for the dead. They have to leave Odette lying in a row of deceased Haitians. They wait in line to see a doctor with hundreds of other displaced and injured Haitians. When Amabelle is finally examined, they comment that she may die. She then has a dream of her mother “wearing a dress of glass” and “talking to her cheerfully” (208). Her mom tells her that her issues are in her head, not her body, and that “your mother was never as far from you as you supposed” (208). When she wakes up, she is surrounded by other survivors telling of all the horrific events they have witnessed and been a part of the past few days. They also complain about Haiti’s failure to protect them. Three days later, Amabelle wakes up to find out that she has been suffering from a fever and that Yves has been taking care of her. He says Mimi and Sebastien are still missing. Yves says he will take her to Sebastien’s mother’s house. The night before they are supposed to leave, she finds out that many of the injured are Dominicans, not Haitians, and just look Haitian.