In this story by Manuel Rojas, an evangelical priest is predictably dismissive when a man says he has “black magical” powers. The man begs to be put to the test, claiming that, if locked in a room for an hour, he can retrieve any distant object the priest nominates. The priest’s orderly view of the universe is shattered; not only when the man hands him a unique rose he requested from a Santiago convent, but also by what he saw when he unlocked the door and crept into the room twenty-five minutes early. Themes include religion, disbelief, disillusionment, the supernatural.
As with many Rojas stories, the conclusion is left up in the air. The man and priest are traveling together, and appear to have formed some kind of union. It is unclear whether the man, once of dark complexion but now pale, has been cured of practicing black magic, or has resigned himself to living with it. Equally, it is unclear whether the priest has been able to rationalize what he saw, or has experienced a spiritual downfall. The answers may lie in the fact that the two are not traveling as equals. The man, as the one on a horse, may well have emerged the dominant character.
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