María was about to go back to sleep when she realized her nightgown was wet. She peeled back the quilt, sat up, and swept her legs to the floor. There was a damp patch in the center of the mattress.

She shook Laura awake. The little girl looked at her tiredly.

“You wet the bed,” María whispered.

Laura sat up slowly, rubbing her eyes.

María pointed to the damp patch.

“I didn’t mean to!” Laura’s chin began to tremble.

At that moment the door to the dormitory opened and Sister Vallín entered, rapping her cane against the wall loudly. She was a sturdy woman with beady eyes and a permanent scowl.

Almost immediately all the girls roused themselves, yawning and stretching and taking their places next to their beds. María and Laura did the same.

Sister Vallín moved down the line of beds, examining each mattress. She stopped at the foot of María’s. Bright malice lit her beady eyes.

“Bed-wetter!” she crowed triumphantly.

An excited rustle passed through the other girls: anticipation at the entertainment in store for them.

Sister Vallín smirked at Laura. “You just can’t help yourself, can you, 53? This is, what, your third bed-wetting so far this month? You are a filthy little girl, a filthy, disgusting little girl—”

“It was me,” María said, not really knowing what she was doing. “I couldn’t hold it in.”

“You?” Sister Vallín said, surprised.

“I’m sorry.”

Sister Vallín glared at her, and María was convinced the nun knew she was lying, could read her thoughts. But all she said was: “Bring me the sheet.”

María peeled the sheet from the bed and handed it to her.

“Take your places, children,” Sister Vallín instructed. “You know how we discipline bed-wetters.”

The girls formed a big circle, each of them swallowing the smiles wanting to worm their way onto their faces. Sister Vallín draped the sheet over María’s head. The smell of pee was strong. All she could see was white.

Then a sharp pain tore across her backside as Sister Vallín struck her with her cane. María yelped. She heard laughter erupt from the other girls. The nun struck her again and again, parading her around the circle, calling her everything from “child of the devil” and “enemy of God” to “unclean animal.” This went on until María’s behind hurt so badly she began to limp. Eventually she could no longer remain on her feet and collapsed to the floor, where she curled in a ball, sobbing in humiliation and pain.

Distantly she heard Sister Vallín speaking to the girls, heard them lining up before the wardrobe, heard them changing into their day clothes. Then they filtered out of the room, heading downstairs to the dining hall for breakfast.