The Shadow of the Wind
by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Contents
Nuria Monfort: Remembrance of the Lost — Chapter 8
Overview
Miquel finds Julin Carax prowling the abandoned Aldaya mansion and warns him that Fumero’s pursuit is closing in. Over a hidden cafe9 meeting, Julin reveals he has been hiding with his father Antoni Fortuny, who searched unsuccessfully for Pene9lope and confirmed Fumero’s false charges. The police arrive, and Miquel sacrifices himself in a shootout to let Julin escape, turning their friendship into the decisive act that keeps Carax free.
Summary
A flower vendor leaves a message at the Diario de Barcelona that the mysterious man Miquel described has been seen near the long-abandoned Aldaya mansion. Near midnight, Miquel reaches the estate on Avenida del Tibidabo and spots Julin Carax moving through the garden with a shard of glass in hand. Miquel quietly calls to him, and after a tense moment Julin recognizes Miquel; Miquel warns that Inspector Fumero is hunting him and that the Aldaya lead was a trap.
Weak and visibly ill, Miquel is helped over the wall by Julin, and they slip away together to a nearby cafe9, hiding in the back. Julin eats ravenously while Miquel barely touches food, and their reunion turns to hard truths: Nuria is as Julin left her, and she has married Miquel. Julin admits he has been hiding in Barcelona in his father Antoni Fortuny’s apartment after returning from Paris.
Julin explains that his father found him, hid him, and warned him that Fumero had already come asking, accusing Julin of murdering Jorge Aldaya and listing other alleged crimes. Antoni, refusing to betray his son, searched desperately for Pene9lope Aldaya while Julin stayed concealed in his unchanged childhood room; Antoni also reveals Sophie left and later wrote from Bogote1. Despite weeks of searching, Antoni finds the Aldaya name almost erased by years of ruin, and he cannot locate Pene9lope; finally Julin goes out himself to look for her.
As Miquel listens, he fails to notice the waiter’s suspicious phone call and watchfulness. A police car stops outside, and three policemen enter; Carax has a revolver and claims there is nowhere to run. Miquel, realizing he is dying and deciding one of them must escape, takes Julin’s passport and invokes their old bargain that what was Miquel’s will pass to Julin, ’except your dreams.’
When the policemen turn toward them, Miquel steps up first and opens fire, killing two before a third shoots him. With his last breath, Miquel instructs the surviving policeman to tell Fumero that Carax remembers his ’little sailor suit,’ using the message to taunt Fumero and divert attention. Miquel crashes through the window and dies on the pavement as he sees Julin running away, buying his friend a chance to flee.
Who Appears
- Miquel MolinerIll journalist; reunites with Carax and sacrifices himself to secure Carax’s escape.
- Julin CaraxFugitive writer; returns to search for Pene9lope and flees after Miquel’s diversion.
- Antoni FortunyCarax’s father; hides him, refuses to betray him, and searches Barcelona for Pene9lope.
- Inspector FumeroPredatory inspector; falsely accuses Carax and deploys police surveillance to catch him.
- Nuria MonfortMentioned; Miquel’s wife, still emotionally tied to Carax and waiting for him.
- Pene9lope AldayaAbsent but central; Carax’s goal is to find her despite her family’s disappearance.
- Flower vendorInforms Miquel that a suspicious man was seen near the Aldaya mansion.
- Cafe9 waiterSecretly alerts police after spotting Carax and Miquel.
- Three policemenArrive to arrest Carax; two are killed, and one fatally shoots Miquel.
- SophieMentioned; Antoni’s wife who left and later wrote from Bogote1.