Simona Gaetán and her mother’s mother-daughter relationship

Simona Gaetán and her mother’s mother-daughter relationship is shaped by a belated recognition: Simona once mistook her mother’s strength and difficulty expressing tenderness for a lack of love, but later understands that her mother had seen the danger of Renato Bley and continued trying to protect her. Their bond survives separation, intimidation, and years of abuse, and becomes part of the story of Simona’s return to a life of her own.

Early Misunderstanding and Warning

Simona’s father, Juan Gaitán, had been affectionate and indulgent, while her mother was more decisive, intelligent, and strong-willed than her husband. Though she loved her husband and daughters, she could not readily translate that love into tenderness. During adolescence, Simona concluded that her mother did not love her. By the time she discovered that this belief was mistaken, the relationship had already been marked by years of conflict and distance.

When Simona was twenty, her mother warned her not to marry Renato. Simona recalled that she had seen her mother cry only at her father’s funeral and on the day she delivered the warning. The tears were evidence of how seriously her mother feared for her, but Simona did not heed her. She married Renato, a wealthy, handsome widower whom she had known through her parents’ restaurant. At the time, she was estranged from her mother and attracted to Renato’s attentions; his courtship offered escape from their constant arguments, while his persistence eventually persuaded her to accept.

Attempts to Protect Simona

After the marriage, Renato’s affection alternated with violence. His presents and displays of love did not persuade Simona’s mother that her daughter was safe. She began travelling to see Simona without warning, staying at a small hotel in Junín before taking the train to Fortín Tiburcio. These visits brought Simona both comfort and fear: she longed to see her mother, but Renato reacted angrily and treated her badly.

When Simona was twenty-seven, her mother found her gravely ill with a fever. Renato’s sisters had refused to buy medicine or summon help, dismissing Simona as lazy. Her mother brought a doctor, bought antibiotics, and stayed beside her for three nights until she recovered. She then asked Renato to let Simona return with her to Buenos Aires while she regained her strength. Simona heard the ensuing argument and saw Renato shove her mother out of the house by the hair. He threatened to kill both women if the mother came back. Her mother reported him to the gendarmes, but they said there was nothing they could do because Renato was Simona’s husband.

The danger did not end with that visit. Renato’s sister Salomé intercepted Simona’s family letters, cutting off another channel between mother and daughter. On Simona’s twenty-eighth birthday, Renato announced that she would never again set foot in Buenos Aires. Simona privately resolved that she would not turn thirty in Fortín Tiburcio, even if she had to die to prevent it. In imagining her own death, she also remembered the violence her mother had suffered at Renato’s hands; the thought that he could no longer hurt her gave Simona a first sense of regained strength.

The Final Journey and Its Aftermath

When a flood transformed the route across Renato’s estancia into fast-moving water, Simona and her husband drove out together to reach cattle trapped against the remains of a fallen fence. Renato went into the torrent to rescue the animals; then he slipped, lost his grip on a small root, and was swept away as Simona watched. She had wanted him dead, she later admitted, but had been unable either to kill him or save him. The river struck his head against a rock, and the water turned red. After four days and three nights of rain, the storm stopped at that moment. Simona removed her rain hood and stood beneath the clearing sky, while the river continued to run violently and it took nearly a week for the land to dry.

On the long walk back, Simona remembered her mother and wept. She also discovered that she was no longer afraid or lost: the world, the field, and her own capacity to breathe seemed to expand. Rather than return directly to the house, she went to Fortín Tiburcio to report Renato’s disappearance. The authorities later took her back to the estancia. Renato’s remains were recovered in pieces over the following days; his skull was found last, reduced to bone, and even its identification was uncertain. Simona’s account does not turn his death into a simple act of revenge: she describes a moment in which her mother’s warning, years of violence, and the chance to live beyond his control converge, without claiming that she caused the flood or his fall.

Simona turned thirty in Buenos Aires. Her mother’s long effort to remain connected to her thus culminated in the daughter’s return to the city she had been forbidden to visit. As Renato’s widow, Simona took possession of the house, half the land, and substantial capital despite her sisters-in-law’s attempts to discredit her and challenge her inheritance. She cut her hair so no one could drag her by it again, then bought an apartment on Rivadavia Street, next door to her mother’s home. The mother-daughter bond had endured through warnings ignored, visits met with danger, a failed appeal to the gendarmes, and intercepted letters; its outcome was not a sudden reconciliation scene, but Simona’s recovery of a life and a place near her family.

Separation, Crisis, and the Return to Buenos Aires

Renato’s control increasingly turned the distance between Simona and her mother into a weapon. Each year, as April approached, he promised to take Simona to Buenos Aires for her birthday. The promised visit came with a beating beforehand to keep her from telling anyone what was happening, and another afterward in case she considered staying. Affection and violence alternated; Simona came to confuse fear with guilt and to blame herself for provoking her husband or failing to please him. Yet gifts and expensive jewelry could not fool her mother. She continued to travel without warning, staying at a small hotel in Junín before taking the train to Fortín Tiburcio, though Renato treated her badly for coming.

When Simona was twenty-seven, her mother found her in bed with a fever that would not break. Renato’s sisters had refused to buy medicine or summon help, calling her lazy. Her mother brought a doctor, bought antibiotics, and stayed for three nights until Simona recovered. She then proposed taking her daughter back to Buenos Aires until she was well. Renato drove her out by the hair and threatened to kill both women if she returned. Simona’s mother went to the gendarmes, but they told her they could do nothing because Renato was her husband. Afterward, Renato’s sister Salomé intercepted Simona’s family mail, further isolating her. On her twenty-eighth birthday, Renato announced that she would never set foot in Buenos Aires again. Simona secretly vowed not to spend her thirtieth year at Fortín Tiburcio; imagining death as an escape gave her the strength to recognize the trap she was in.

Recovery of the Bond

Simona’s escape from Fortín Tiburcio did not begin with a deliberate confrontation but with the flood that swept Renato away. When he slipped while trying to rescue cattle trapped by the fallen fence, Simona heard him call for a rope and watched the current carry him off. She had wanted him dead, she later said, but could neither kill him nor save him. As the rain finally stopped, she walked back alone, remembering her mother and weeping. The return was slow, but she was no longer afraid: she could go back when she chose, and instead of returning to the estancia she went to Fortín Tiburcio to report what had happened.

Simona turned thirty in Buenos Aires, the city Renato had forbidden her to visit. After his death, she cut her hair so no one could drag her by it again, and secured the house, half the land, and a substantial inheritance despite her sisters-in-law’s efforts to discredit her. She bought an apartment on Rivadavia Street, next door to her mother’s home. The move gave concrete form to the connection Renato had tried to sever: after years of intercepted letters, dangerous visits, and a warning the gendarmes could not enforce, mother and daughter were once again neighbors. The account does not supply a final reconciliation scene; instead, Simona’s return, and the home she chose beside her mother’s, mark the relationship’s durable outcome.