She waits for me to say something, but what would I say after that?
“So, Valentina, do you know how to keep secrets?”
I lower my head.
Unbelievable.
She must be an associate, but that would not fit at all with her fiery speech about not being moldable, about rising from the ashes. It does not fit, because associates are subservient. Soldiers are obedient and Capodecinas are authoritarian, but they are never women.
“Who are you?” I ask, curious.
“Come on, Valentina! Do you have a word or not?”
“I cannot. You know, Elinor, I do know how to keep secrets, and that is exactly why you cannot win the challenge, because I will not tell them.”
“I already won, and I admire your silence. I admire that you know how to keep secrets and that no word leaves your mouth. But I won. Your eyes, your
