One Hundred Years of Solitude

away and he would take them
to Nigromanta to make her
soups, fortified with purslane
and seasoned with mint.
When the great-grandfather
died Aureliano stopped going
by the house, but he would
run into Nigromanta under
the dark almond trees on the
square, using her wild-animal
whistles to lure the few night
owls. Many times he stayed
with her, speaking in
Papiamento about chicken-