I hold and hold and hold him. Though she makes plans for adulthood, she is yet a child and the awakening to the harsh reality of losing a parent makes her realize this. She eagerly welcomed visits by the girls, listened to Esperanza's stories and encouraged her to pursue her own writing. So too, the imagery is as sobering as the subject matter. To her young eyes, naked and unmediated, the light will reveal the most disgusting realities of living and dying.
Light is also metaphor for the untiring watch over the dying.
This unique image connotes pills but also explains the strangeness of the grotesque. This chapter is a moral message against assuming that one is safe from misfortune because chance is random. It will keep you free, and I said yes, but at that time I didn't know what she meant. In this simile we recognize Esperanza's distinct powers of description, as well as the seriousness and depth of her wish. Esperanza comes with her most important question- if she will ever have a house of her own.