I Must Betray You

Cristian is uneasy in the American Library. However, he is enthralled by the books in English. He peruses an album containing photos of Ceauşescu with foreign leaders and is stunned to realize that many important nations have been convinced of Ceauşescu’s magnanimity. That he can travel the world freely angers Cristian, whose family is forced to live without many necessities. Cristian then locates a recent copy of Time magazine that Mr. Van Dorn advised him to read. He is shocked to learn that communism just ended in Hungary.

Cristian reads the article quickly, hoping to share details with Bunu. He rejoins Dan, who asks Cristian about his interests in music and girls. Dan tears a photo of Bruce Springsteen from a magazine when Cristian tells him that Liliana is a fan. Thoughts of America swirl in Cristian’s mind as Dan speaks of how different the two countries are. Americans certainly are unable to imagine standing in food lines. Dan tells him that the American Library is open to Romanians but then asks him not to tell his parents that he tore the page from the magazine. As they leave, Cristian cannot stop thinking of what he read in Time, unable to believe that Hungary is free.

Cristian decides it is not wise to tell Bunu how he learned the news of Hungary’s freedom. Back home, he meets a woman struggling to carry a suitcase up the building’s stairs. She explains that she is Romanian but lives in the United States. She has returned to care for her sick mother.

In the apartment, Cristian’s family argues: Bunu spent cigarettes to repair the radio after hearing rumors of Hungary’s freedom. Cici gives a sealed envelope to Cristian that Liliana dropped off. Cristian is dismayed to find a note in which Liliana accuses him of being an informer.

Cristian is frantic, worried that Liliana feels he spent time with her only to obtain information. He runs to her apartment, hoping to explain, but her brother Alex tells Cristian that she refuses to speak to him. A fistfight ensues between the two boys, and Liliana bursts out of the apartment. Cristian confronts her about the note, and she angrily acknowledges writing it. Her father lost his job for stealing the can of coke. Liliana is certain that Cristian reported this to someone. Cristian is devastated and guilt-ridden.

That night, Cristian has a nightmare in which a group of agents attempts to suffocate him. Ceauşescu appears in the nightmare but does not help him.

Cristian is torn between the guilt he feels for spying and his desire to obtain medication for Bunu. At school, Luca approaches him, and the two briefly confide in one another without saying or revealing anything specific. Cristian tries to explain himself to Liliana, but she avoids him. Cici senses that something is wrong between the two and encourages Cristian to continue to reach out to Liliana. Bunu, too, seems to know that something is wrong. Cristian attempts to confess to him that he is an informer, but Bunu will not listen.

Cristian prepares to meet the agent after school. He is angry at the situation and speculates as to the circumstances that might have made Paddle Hands succumb to being a member of the Securitate. He is certain that if he can get his notebook to Mr. Van Dorn, America will learn the truth of Ceauşescu’s dictatorship.

The agent asks Cristian about the trip to the American Library. Cristian reveals some of Dan’s interests but also invents a lie concerning Dan’s interest in a famous American musician. Cristian does, however, reveal that Dan tore a page from a magazine. He takes a chance with the agent and asks about his interest in soccer. Initially, the agent is quiet, but then relaxes and chats a bit. At the end of their conversation, the agent instructs Cristian to write a signed statement, as before, then orders him to discover what items appear on the top of Mr. Van Dorn’s desk. Cristian reminds him of his promise of medicine for Bunu and wonders how the agent knows of the existence of the desk.

Cristian returns to his apartment building to find the woman who lives in America smoking in the stairwell. He helps her move the sofa inside her mother’s apartment and learns some of the details of how she came to live in Boston. Cristian asks what Americans know of Romania, and she replies that they know very little. Americans are primarily focused on political activity in Germany and the Soviet Union. The woman offers Cristian some cigarettes as payment for helping, but he refuses to take them.

Cristian returns home. Bunu is listening to the radio, which reports on the fall of the Berlin Wall in Germany. Bunu is elated, but Cristian is frustrated that nothing is changing in Romania. Bunu urges him to be patient, and Cristian’s mother cautions them not to speak so loudly. Cristian notices that his father—who is usually quiet—even comments on the broadcast.

The family continues to listen to the news reports. They are unsure of whether the information can be trusted and divided as to whether to continue to listen. Cristian notes that with the news reports came an increasing number of visitors to his grandfather, which angered his mother. Bunu explains that she is afraid.

Cristian is outside on the balcony at night. He listens to a Securitate agent beneath him rummage around, then sees Liliana and her brother walking in the street. He tries to convince himself that he no longer cares about her but cannot. He returns inside where Cici is listening to the radio. It reports communism falling in Poland, Hungary, and East Germany. Cristian is frustrated that similar activity isn’t taking place in Romania.