Edition: U.S. / Global  Offstage in the Lima Drama, Fearful
Families Pray  Published: January 18, 1997  Each day since Luisa
Sivina's husband was taken hostage, his younger son has wondered
where his father is.  At first it seemed a natural kindness to
shelter 5-year-old Fabian from the truth. But as the days
stretched to weeks and the weeks have now become a month, the
burden of deception has grown more unbearable.  During the day,
Fabian says, ''My father is at work,'' Mrs. Sivina said. Later
in the afternoon, Fabian says that maybe, tonight, his father
will come home early. Before she tucks him and his older brother
in, they all pray together for Hugo Sivina Hurtado. ''Why is
Daddy working so late?'' Fabian asks.  The hints hover in the
somber household -- the plastic Christmas tree and ornaments
still in their boxes, the new seriousness of Fabian's 11-year-
old brother, Hugo Jr., who is in on the secret.  ''He's nervous,
he cries, but he still doesn't really realize what happened to
his Daddy,'' Mrs. Sivin