He remembered Alejandra and the first time he had seen his curved shoulders for sadness, a sadness he had believed to understand but of which he had not understood anything, and he felt only as he hadn't happened to him since he was a child, totally foreign to the world that he also continued to love. He thought that the beauty of the world hid a secret, that the heart of the world beat at a terrible price, that the suffering and beauty of the world grew hand in hand, but in opposite directions, and that perhaps that dizzying scissor demanded the blood of many people for the grace of a simple flower.
In this passage, the protagonist reflects on memories of Alejandra, particularly the way her sadness manifested in her physical presence. He acknowledges a deep sense of alienation from the world, despite his ongoing affection for it. This feeling of foreignness seems to return to him, reminiscent of childhood innocence, highlighting a complex emotional struggle.
The protagonist contemplates the duality of beauty and suffering within the world. He perceives a hidden truth beneath the surface beauty, suggesting that it comes at a cost, where joy and pain coexist in a delicate balance. This notion implies that true beauty is intertwined with sacrifice, revealing a troubling relationship between joy and sorrow that shapes the human experience.