Amaia Salazar—Engrasi Salazar

The relationship between Amaia Salazar and Engrasi Salazar is an aunt-and-niece bond made visible through everyday acts of trust and care, then tested by the flood that leaves Engrasi badly injured and Ibai missing.

Family Intimacy and Practical Trust

With the transfer of James’s collection to the Guggenheim due the next day, Amaia realizes she has forgotten the arrangements. She asks Engrasi whether she will look after Ibai or whether the family should take him along. Engrasi insists that they leave him with her and urges Amaia and James to go to Bilbao and enjoy themselves. The exchange presents their closeness not as a declaration but as a dependable arrangement: Amaia can entrust her young son to her aunt while attending to another part of family life.

Engrasi’s Care for Ibai

In a later phone call, Engrasi describes the storm at home: the electricity has gone out after Ibai’s bath, and the family is relying on candles and the fireplace. Although Amaia’s sister has had to go to the bakery after Ernesto reports that the baking has been ruined, Engrasi remains with Ibai. The child has taken his bottle and is sleeping peacefully despite the weather. Engrasi’s account reassures Amaia through specific evidence of ordinary care—bathing, feeding, and keeping watch—while the flood worsens outside.

The Flood and Its Consequences

The practical safety of that arrangement is shattered when Amaia receives news that Engrasi has been attacked. Her head is badly injured, the house is wrecked, and she is bleeding; she has fought fiercely, but Ibai has been taken. The flood has also put emergency help out of reach: ambulances are occupied with the inundation, and even the fire brigade may not be able to arrive. The danger therefore falls across the relationship’s central act of trust: Engrasi has been caring for Ibai, but the disaster turns the home where she sheltered him into the scene of violence and separation. For Amaia, the news transforms reliance on her aunt into immediate fear for both Engrasi’s life and her missing child.