Going back to the scene where Zita tells her father of her encounter with Mr. Reteche, she makes sure to highlight the moment when the teacher is baffled by Zita’s name. Though it was not stated why, it is implied that Mr. Reteche istroubled by Zita’s presence in the class. Don Eliodor then later comments that she should have private lessons with him on how to be a lady.
The first few weeks in Mr. Reteche’s stay with him, Turong gossips to the others how the does not sleep, does not eat much, and just sits by the window to brood by himself. Every month, there was a letter in a blue envelope withgold design on its upper left hand corner that came for him. And once, Turong delivered one of the letters to him in school.During that time, the students (including Zita) were asked to write a composition that expressed the things they love most.After collecting their papers, Mr. Reteche recited a very short piece about a moth which Zita thought was a poorly writtencomposition. She was also upset that her composition was not chosen.Despite this, Zita remains interested in the enigma that is Mr. Reteche. At the same time, she continues to learn from him,evident in her taking notes with the difficult vocabulary he speaks with. In the midst of the events that continue to unfold in the story (e.g. the villagers