María’s letter to her mother describes her first weeks in New York in a flurry of details. She talks about the “little words” she is working to learn and says that she misses her mother and the Island (21). The tone of the letter is wistful and loving.

A response from Mami comes with a detailed description, mostly in English, about a visit to a beautiful library in Puerto Rico. Mami mentions her friend who is a historian. Additionally, Mami says that she is “sorry that [they] are separated” and promises to come visit María soon (23).

In one of the only second-person passages in the novel, María’s description of the “papi-lindo” explores a characterization of a boy or man who is perceived as being beautiful and masculine at the same time (25). This kind of person is able to get any girl he wants; the papi-lindo whom María describes is a boy who lives on the fifth floor of the apartment building.