Alcira is a peasant woman, whose features bear her pain and sorrow. She lives alone in a peasant house. Henry, shy and demure, comes over to help with trying tasks. Their relationship is strained. Alcira becomes annoyed whenever Henry is near. Henry, for his part, is uncomfortable but tries to come nearer to her. Alcira gradually makes an effort to be kinder. She shares moments with Henry, where she excruciatingly mentions her dead son. Her talks distress Henry. For Alcira, these are moments of liberation: she releases shards of great affliction. Little by little, the tension relaxes. Henry feels increasingly comfortable. Alcira even considers Henry akin to her deceased son: the son slain by Henry in the armed conflict. Commitment and time to know him results in Alcira forgiving him.