The Farming Of Bones

Amabelle reveals that Sebastien talks in his sleep and sometimes has conversations with her. On one occasion, he tells her he wants to fly a kite with “a girl’s red satin ribbon for the tail” (67). She offers her red ribbon, but he only offers silence in return.

Amabelle leaves the stream and starts fraternizing with some middle-class Haitians who all live in the same area. They start discussing a “rumor” that Haitians who are not “in one of the Yanki cane mills” will soon be sent back to Haiti (69). They mention that without documentation, it will not matter how long one has lived in the Dominican Republic; Haitians will be sent back to Haiti. This worries Amabelle, who has no “papers” proving her nationality (70). They then discuss Joël’s death in a manner that presents his death as a bad omen. A stonemason named Unèl suggests that “we gather together to protect ourselves” (71). Amabelle then watches as Unèl disappears into Don Gilbert and Doña Sabine’s lodgings, where she sees more workers than ever before. She makes one more stop on her way to work, visiting