A Letter to God

The story opens on the crest of a low hill overlooking an expansive river valley, introducing Lencho's isolated homestead—the only house in the entire valley.

1.1 Lencho's Agrarian Existence:

Lencho is described as an 'ox of a man'—a striking zoomorphic metaphor illustrating his immense physical stamina, endurance, and tireless dedication to his land. He spent days intimately surveying his fields of ripe corn dotted with kidney bean flowers, knowing each furrow and crop like the back of his hand.

1.2 The Desperate Need for a Downpour:

The earth needed only one blessing to ensure an abundant harvest: a downpour or at least a shower. Lencho spent the entire morning gazing expectantly towards the north-east sky, watching the air turn fresh and sweet as dark, mountainous clouds began to gather.

Fuentes masterfully shifts the mood from triumphant celebration to terrifying devastation in a matter of minutes.

2.1 The Metaphor of Currency:

Overjoyed by the shower, Lencho famously proclaimed:

"These aren't raindrops falling from the sky, they are new coins. The big drops are ten-cent pieces and the little ones are fives."

For an agrarian subsistence farmer, water does not merely quench soil; it translates directly into grain, market value, and economic survival.

2.2 Nature's Sudden Fury:

Standing in the middle of his ruined field, Lencho lamented to his sons with profound grief: 'A plague of locusts would have left more than this. The hail has left nothing. This year we will have no corn.'

In the hearts of all who lived in that solitary house in the middle of the valley, there was a single hope: help from God.

3.1 The Psychology of Unshakeable Faith:

Despite working like an ox, Lencho knew how to read and write. He firmly believed in the biblical omnipotence and omniscience of God—whose eyes see everything, even what is deep in one's conscience. He comforted his weeping family with the immortal words: 'Don't be so upset, even though this seems like a total loss. Remember, no one dies of hunger.'

3.2 The Extraordinary Letter:

At daybreak on Sunday, Lencho began to write a letter which he carried to town to post:

"God," he wrote, "if you don't help me, my family and I will go hungry this year. I need a hundred pesos in order to sow my field again and to live until the crop comes, because the hailstorm..."

He addressed the envelope simply 'To God', placed a stamp on it, and dropped it into the mailbox, completely confident of a reply.

When the postman saw the address 'To God', he laughed heartily and took it to the postmaster. Never in his career had he seen such an address.

4.1 The Postmaster's Character Transformation:

The postmaster was a fat, amiable man. Though he initially broke out laughing, he quickly turned serious, tapping the letter on his desk in awe:

"What faith! I wish I had the faith of the man who wrote this letter. Starting up a correspondence with God!"

4.2 Organizing the Charity:

Recognizing that answering the letter required much more than goodwill, ink, and paper, the postmaster made a remarkable moral decision:

• He gave up a significant portion of his own salary.
• He asked his post office colleagues to contribute, framing it as an 'act of charity'.
• Several friends of his were obliged to give something for this noble cause.

The following Sunday, Lencho arrived earlier than usual to inquire if there was a letter for him.

5.1 Lencho's Reaction—No Surprise, but Utter Anger:

Lencho showed not the slightest surprise upon seeing the money—such was his unquestioning confidence. But as soon as he counted the money, his face flushed with fury: there were only 70 pesos instead of 100!

'God could not have made a mistake, nor could He have denied Lencho what he had requested!'

5.2 The Second Letter:

Without hesitation, Lencho marched up to the window, demanded paper and ink, and wrote furiously with a wrinkled brow. He pasted a stamp with a blow of his fist and dropped it in the letterbox. The moment he left, the postmaster opened it:

"God: Of the money that I asked for, only seventy pesos reached me. Send me the rest, since I need it very much. But don't send it to me through the mail, because the post office employees are a bunch of crooks. Lencho."