What are two recurring metaphors in Las Almendras?

She snapped the edge of the shell and pried it apart, then pulled the meat from its defenses and ate it."

The almond is a recurring metaphor that represents Esperanza, the was she was protected while Papa was alive, and the loss of that protection when she arrived in the United States.

'Now if they bloomed she could drink the memories of the roses that had known Papa'?

The rose bush metaphorically represents Papa and Esperanza's memories of her father.