One Hundred Years of Solitude

oppressive that it was
difficult for him to breathe,
Aureliano Segundo visited
Pilar Ternera to see if she
knew of some herb that
would give him relief. The
dauntless grandmother, who
had reached a hundred years
of age managing a small,
clandestine brothel, did not
trust therapeutic superstitions,
so she turned the matter over
to her cards. She saw the
queen of diamonds with her