On his way to the creek with Cico, Antonio hopes to see the golden carp; at the same time, he is obsessed with communicating, one-on-one, with the Catholic God—despite the fact that He did not cure Uncle Lucas or save Lupito or Narciso. Cico believes in many gods; the god of the Catholic Church, he says, is a jealous god who cannot live in peace with the other gods.
Arriving at the creek, they witness the arrival of the golden carp. To Antonio, it seems to be the embodiment of beauty, the god of here and now. He tells Cico that they must tell Florence about the golden carp. Florence needs at least one god, one that can bring beauty into his life.
They arrive at Blue Lake and hear frantic shouting. Florence dived and did not surface. Antonio sends Abel for the lifeguard, and moments later, Florence's body rolls to the surface, his eyes clouded and staring. After the body is pulled from the water, Antonio kneels beside it, makes the sign of the cross, and prays an Act of Contrition. Instinctively, he knows that his actions are futile because Florence did not believe in God.
Above, two hawks circle high in the blue sky. Antonio notices that Cico is gone and suddenly becomes sick. He runs back to town and to the river, wades across to the thickets of the brush and cottonwoods on the other side, and spends the rest of the afternoon grieving for his friend.
