pped in newspaper, the significance of which is understood only at the end of the story. They carry a cheap, plastic bag, which contains their lunch; this shows they are too poor to afford to purchase food in the town where they will be arriving. The mother clutches a book of accounts. This evidently holds a great deal of importance, because Garcia Márquez frequently refers to the way the mother holds this book; he describes it as an almost desperate action. Finally, the two are dressed in inexpensive, but respectable mourning clothes. With this description, the reader may infer that their errand involves
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