María Teresa 1953 to 1958
- Another of Mate's diaries.
- Papá has died, and Mate is scandalized that his other family showed up at the funeral.
- Mate dreams that she is looking into her dad's coffin, and she starts pulling pieces of a dress out of it until she gets to the bottom, when she sees her father. She wakes up screaming and wakes everyone up.
- Fela reads Mate's coffee cup and tells her she sees two brothers, which are Berto and Raúl, her cousins. Then she sees a professional man in a hat from the capital.
- The diary includes a letter from Mercedes Reyes de Mirabal, the girls' mother, to Trujillo, informing him of the death of her husband and affirming the family's loyalty to El Jefe.
- Mate helped her write the letter and also asks Fela for a spell to cast on a bad person.
- Fela tells her to write the person's name on a piece of paper, put it into her left shoe, then burn it and scatter the ashes near the person.
- She plans to do so with Trujillo's name and put the ashes on the letter. She'll put her father's name in her right shoe, because that's for problems with someone you love.
- Mate has lost her faith in love and romance, but not for long.
- She kisses Berto on the lips and begs God for shame.
- Raúl comes by and scolds Mate for kissing his brother, Berto, and she says she never wants to see either of them again.
- Minerva comes home and confides in Mate that she has a new boyfriend, five years younger than her (a law student), but that he's engaged to someone else.
- Minerva spends the nights listening to an illegal radio station that broadcasts Fidel Castro's speeches.
- When Minerva heads back to the capital for school everyone cries.
- Mate moves into town to live with her sister Dedé during the week and comes home on the weekends.
- Dedé and her husband Jaimito have had two failed businesses, so they can use the help: the girls' mom pays for Mate's expenses.
- Minerva brings her boyfriend Manolo home to meet her family on Valentine's Day, and Mate is in charge of the menu.
- Manolo loves her cooking, and everyone digs him. As soon as he and Minerva leave everyone starts betting on when their wedding will be.
- Mate dreams again about the coffin, but this time her father's face transforms into Manolo's.
- At her graduation, Mate's aunt Flor pulls her aside and tells her to make up her mind about her sons, Berto and Raúl, and she says neither.
- The family discovers that their yardboy, Prieto, has been spying and reporting on them at Security, so they "promote" him to the hog pen.
- Mate has a crush on a guy named Justo and declares her undying love to her diary.
- A couple months later she breaks up with him.
- Mate moves to the capital for school and lives with Minerva there.
- The girls march in a forced parade past Trujillo before the start of classes.
- At Minerva's insistence, Mate tries studying law, but she hates it and transfers to Philosophy and Letters.
- Mate goes out with a friend of Manolo's named Armando and has to stop him from French kissing her. Scandalous!
- She dreams again about the coffin, and this time her dad's face turns into Armando's. Minerva comforts her.
- Mate quits writing for a year, but picks back up to describe Minerva's wedding to Manolo.
- Back in the capital, the women must march past Angelita, Trujillo's daughter. Minerva does so even though she's pregnant.
- Another year passes without any entries, then Mate is back to report that she is giving a speech as Miss University. Minerva helps her out because she's lonely. Manolo has gone to live in another town, Monte Cristi, and hasn't come home for the weekend, so she's alone with their baby, Minou.
- They discuss the case of Galíndez, a professor who escaped to New York and was disappeared because of a book he's writing against Trujillo's regime (read about it here).
- Once again, another year goes by before Mate catches back up with her diary. She says that Minerva is graduating and will move to Monte Cristi to be with Manolo. Mate will go home to live with their mom for the summer.
- At Minerva's graduation she is shocked to find that she has gotten her degree, but no license to practice law. It is Trujillo's revenge against her.
- Minerva asks Mate to move to Monte Cristi with her and help her set up her house. Mate can tell that something is wrong between her and Manolo, so she agrees.
- Mate is shocked by the shack that Manolo and Minerva live in, and by the fact that Manolo disappears constantly. She confirms with her sister that there's another woman.
- Manolo and Minerva make up and Mate helps by taking care of the baby while they go out.
- Minerva says that the struggle has brought them together, but Mate doesn't know what she's talking about.
- One night, Mate hears someone knocking on the front shutter and she opens up to let a good-looking guy make a secret delivery. He hides a box under her cot and asks her if she's Mariposa's little sister. She says that she's Minerva's sister.
- He says that she isn't one of them. She doesn't know what he's talking about but really wants to join whatever group it is.
- Mate looks in the box after he goes and sees a bunch of guns.
- Manolo and Minerva explain that they're helping form a national underground, complete with code names. Manolo is Enriquillo and Minerva is Mariposa (Butterfly). The guy who delivered the guns is called Palomino.
- Mate volunteers to join and also takes on the name Mariposa (#2). She goes back to the capital and continues studying architecture as a cover, but really is there to wait for communications from the north.
- She also gets plenty of visits from Palomino and other men. The neighbors and landlady think she and her roommate, Sonia, are prostitutes because of all the action.
- Mate and Palomino get serious and tell each other their true names. His is Leandro.
- Sonia leaves and so Mate is all alone with the deliveries and pickups. She is nervous that someone will discover them and their plans.
- Palomino and Mate get married.