María Consuegra kills a thief with an ancient revolver that lies in the armoire. She aims at the lock on the door the thief is trying to force open, and with her eyes closed, kills the man on the other side of the door. A week later, on a Tuesday, when the schoolboy Márquez is playing tops with his friend Luis Carmelo Correa, he sees a woman and a girl who is about 12 years old, dressed in mourning clothes and walking down the deserted street. They carry with them a bouquet of wilted flowers, wrapped in newspaper. The pair – the mother and younger sister of the dead thief, have brought flowers for his grave.
