In March, unusual, eerie dust storms become prevalent and Antonio hears adults blaming the atomic testing taking place south of Pasturas. The seasons have been disturbed, the old ones say, because man has gained too much knowledge, and too much knowledge will destroy mankind. Antonio's father cautions him not to blame bombs; man himself is to blame — for misusing the land and drying up wells. Deeply immersed in his catechism lessons, Antonio yearns for solid answers, for ultimate knowledge, and for direct, one-on-one communication with God. He feels certain that once he has taken communion, he will hear God's voice, speaking to him, unraveling the multitude of mysteries that confound him.
Antonio is adrift in a sea of confusion. He fervently wants to believe in God, but his friend Florence sternly and logically denies the existence of Heaven, Hell, and God. To Antonio's argument that God is continually testing our faith in Him, Florence chides that because God knows everything — there is no need for "testing." Antonio is more confused than ever because he understands Florence's logic, and he himself deeply desires knowledge — the original sin of Adam and Eve. At the same time, he believes in the godlike goodness and promise of the golden carp. Later, he witnesses a priest singling out Florence for undeserved punishment. Standing in the aisle, sunlit, his arms outstretched in chastisement, Florence seems like an angel to Antonio. Despite the priest's terrifying grains-of-sand analogy of eternity, Antonio realizes that Florence does not fear eternity. If Florence does not fear eternity and everlasting punishment, Antonio fears for his friend's fate and tries to convince Florence to at least believe in the golden carp — if in nothing else.
