It has always been my mother's saying "It is better to give than to receive" and my father would add, "As long as you are not a boxer".
So, on Christmas Eve, we went to the nearest shelter with a box of gifts for the city´s homeless children; stickers, snowballs, and one teddy bear, all in a cardboard box, were our grain of joy for the little ones.
When we arrived at the care center, like a classic mother hen we were greeted by Mrs. Hannah Garcia, a nice nun who covered with her attire about 12 children who peeked curiously behind her.
They invited us in and offered us hot chocolate, with the cold that crept into the morning I almost didn't feel the temperature of the sweet mocaccino nectar going down my throat.
The children would range in age from about 6 to 14 years old and now and then they would peek out of the office door, running away with laughter whenever the mother superior would turn her gaze towards them.
-These children have been abandoned at the abbey by parents who have emigrated to seek solutions in other lands, so material deprivation is the least of these children's difficulties," said Mrs. Hannah.
The center was a humble place with a small chapel in the middle where the children were taught the customs and values expected of them in the near future.
For a moment I thought about the unfairness of some situations, as a couple we could not have children, and after two losses, we decided not to try and resign ourselves to our company as spouses.
In silence we went with Mrs. Hannah to the chapel where she called the children one by one with a Sunday mass voice, each one received her blessing and a toy that lit up their faces, as if it was the best thing that had happened in years for them.
One little girl caught our attention, Marie, she was found by Mother Superior personally on a pilgrimage across a border crossing where her father had died trying to cross a river less than a year ago.
Marie was 6 years old and her cheeks reddened from the cold made her so adorable that it was impossible not to want to hug her. The little girl received the most precious gift in the box, the sleepy Christmas teddy bear.
She ran up to my wife and snuggled into her lap, I think at that moment, I could sense a strange ancient bond between them, it was like that famous red thread that binds lovers across various existential planes.
- Isn't she beautiful Joseph? - My wife said, to which I could only nod and smile at the beautiful picture of woman and orphan.
The mother superior called us aside to the office and told us that Marie needed a lot of emotional support, given her previous trauma, she hugged the remains of a raft until she reached the shore where some soldiers found her almost frozen.
- Have you ever thought of adopting a child? -asked the mother superior.
We both looked at each other dumbfounded, although the emptiness of not having children was a silent wound, taking on this responsibility was a surprising proposal.
-No, but we can think about it," my wife jumped in.
I admit I felt a tightness in my chest, adopting a child would imply a significant change in our lifestyles, did we have the preparation to have a child in our lives?
In the case of Marie, who I know had awakened all those emotions in my wife, the child has indeed been through a lot in a very short time, and she needs the warmth of home, but it didn't quite fit the piece on the board, perhaps Eugene -my wife- was acting hormonally charged.
I think it was days, decades maybe, while I was still pondering, I felt as if they were all waiting for an answer from me, but my brain, stomach, and voice couldn't agree on what to say.
All my musings broke when little Marie took me by the hand and said "Will you take me to the park? Those eyes pierced my doubts and that voice pierced my ears until it awakened my life, if there is an instinct of parenthood was born right after that question.
-Of course, little princess," I said hesitantly, but deep down I was sure that I had found the heir to everything I would achieve from now on.
The following months, between paperwork, and modifications of the room for Marie, turned into a year, for bureaucracy does not solve, but it does not spare obstructing the opportunities of those who need a helping hand.
Mother Superior smiled at us as we signed Marie's official paternity papers; to see her standing there at the door of the shelter with her little yellow suitcase and a little backpack that had become home to the little bear she received a year ago was epic, it was as if she had officially adopted us as her parents.
It's funny that the perfect daughter for us was not born of our procreation, but became from the day of gifts from the little Christmas box the unexpected gift that completed our life.
Every day that passes as I watch my Marie grow, I understand that the energy of life is in giving without expecting in return, that providence is in charge of making miracles and giving logic to the most torrid misfortunes until all the pieces fit on the board and the game finally makes sense in the mortal game of finding destiny.
| Spanish Version |
|---|
Ha sido siempre un dicho de mi madre "es mejor dar que recibir" y completaba mi padre, "siempre que no seas un boxeador".
Así que, en la víspera de navidad, nos fuimos al albergue más cercano acompañados de una caja de obsequios para los niños desposeídos de la ciudad; pegatinas, bolas de nieve, algún osito de felpa, todo en una caja de cartón, eran nuestro grano de alegría para los pequeñines.
Cuando llegamos al centro de cuidados, como una clásica mamá gallina nos recibió la señora Hannah García, una simpática monja que cubría con su atuendo a unos 12 niños que escondidos detrás de ella se asomaban curiosos.
Nos invitaron a entrar y nos ofrecieron chocolate caliente, con el frío que merodeaba la mañana casi no sentí la temperatura del dulce néctar mocaccino atravesando mi garganta.
Los niños tendrían edades entre los 6 y 14 años aproximadamente y cada tanto se asomaban a la puerta de la oficina, huyendo entre risas cada que la madre superiora dirigía su mirada hacía ellos.
-Estos niños han sido abandonados en la abadía por padres que han emigrado buscando soluciones en otras tierras, así que la carencia material es el menor de las dificultadas de estos niños -Dijo la señora Hannah.
El centro era un lugar humilde con una pequeña capilla en el medio donde le enseñaban a los niños las costumbres y valores que se esperaba de ellos en el futuro próximo.
Por un momento pensé en lo injusto de algunas situaciones, como pareja no pudimos tener niños, luego de dos pérdidas, decidimos no intentar y resignarnos a nuestra compañía de esposos.
En silencio nos dirigimos con la señora Hannah a la capilla donde ella fue llamando uno a uno a los niños con una voz de misa dominical, cada uno recibía su bendición y un juguete que les iluminaba el rostro, como si fuese lo mejor que hubiese pasado en años para ellos.
Una niña en particular llamó nuestra atención, la pequeña Marie, ella fue encontrada por la Madre superiora personalmente en una peregrinación a través de un paso fronterizo donde su padre había fallecido tratando de cruzar un río hacía el norte hacía menos de un año.
Marie tenía 6 años y sus mejillas enrojecidas por el frío la hacían tan adorable que era imposible no querer abrazarle. La pequeña recibió el regalo más preciado de la caja, el osito dormilón navideño.
Ella corrió hasta mi esposa acurrucándose en su regazo, creo que, en ese momento, pude presentir un extraño vinculo antiguo entre ellas, era como aquel famoso hilo rojo que une a los amantes a través de diversos planos existenciales.
- ¿No es hermosa Joseph? - Dijo mi esposa, a lo que solo pude asentir y sonreír ante el hermoso cuadro de mujer y huérfana.
La madre superiora, nos llamó aparte hasta la oficina y nos contó que Marie, necesitaba mucho soporte emocional, dado su trauma previo, ella literalmente se abrazó a los restos de una balsa hasta llegar a la orilla donde unos militares la hallaron casi congelada.
- ¿Han pensado alguna vez en adoptar un niño? -Nos preguntó la madre superiora.
Ambos nos miramos boquiabiertos, si bien, el vacío de no tener hijos era una herida silente, asumir esa responsabilidad, era una sorpresiva propuesta.
-No, pero podemos pensarlo -saltó enseguida mi esposa.
Admito que sentí una opresión en el pecho, adoptar un niño implicaría un cambio significativo de nuestros estilos de vidas, acaso ¿Teníamos la preparación para tener un niño en nuestras vidas?
En el caso de Marie, quien sé que había despertado todas esas emociones en mi esposa, es cierto que la niña ha pasado por mucho en muy poco tiempo, que necesita calor de hogar, pero no acababa de cuadrar la pieza en el tablero, tal vez, Eugene -mi esposa- estaba actuando cargada de hormonas.
Creo que pasaron días, décadas quizás, mientras yo aún cavilaba, sentía como si todas esperaban una respuesta de mi parte, pero cerebro, estómago y voz no se ponían de acuerdo en que decir.
Todas mis cavilaciones rompieron, cuando la pequeña Marie me tomó de la mano y me dijo "¿Me llevarías al parque? Esos ojos atravesaron mis dudas y esa voz perforó mis oídos hasta despertar mi vida, si existe un instinto de paternidad nació justo después de esa pregunta.
-Claro princesita -dije titubeando, pero en el fondo estaba seguro que había encontrado la heredera de todo lo que lograra de ahora en más.
Los siguientes meses, entre papeleos, modificaciones del cuarto para Marie, se convirtieron en un año, pues la burocracia no resuelve, pero no escatima en obstruir las oportunidades de los que necesitan una mano amiga.
La Madre superiora nos sonrió mientras firmábamos los papeles de paternidad oficial de Marie; verla allí, en la puerta del centro de abrigo con su pequeña maletita amarilla y un morralito que se había convertido en el hogar del osito recibido hace un año era épico, era como si oficialmente ella nos había adoptado a nosotros como sus padres.
Es curioso que la hija perfecta para nosotros, no nació de nuestra procreación, pero se convirtió desde el día de regalos de la cajita de navidad en el regalo inesperado que completó nuestra vida.
Cada día que pasa mientras veo crecer a mi Marie, entiendo que la energía de la vida está en dar sin esperar a cambio, que la providencia se encarga de hacer los milagros y dar lógica a las más tórridas desgracias, hasta que todas las piezas calzan en el tablero y el juego finalmente cobra sentido en el juego mortal de hallar el destino.
Credits:
Text translated with https://www.deepl.com/es/translator
AI Images generated with: https://wepik.com/ai-generate
This story was written as an entry to the A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words event promoted by the Freewriters community.
Wow you got angelic parents.glad you understand what Xmas is all about. Thanks for sharing. Compliment of the season
I hope the new family will always be close.
A Merry Christmas.
🍀❤️
Such a beautiful story :) Gifts can be received and given at the same time...
Are you familiar with Dreemport, by the way?
This post has been manually curated by the VYB curation project
Hello thank you for the time, the healing and for these beautiful words.
No, I don't know about the dreemport project, in fact I'm just catching up, I haven't written here for a long time.
Thanks to VyB for considering me for your healing.
I'll give you a little information about Dreemport :) If you need more help, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm an official Dreemport Ambassador 🙌
Dreemport is a place where you can connect with others who will read your posts - and in turn, you will be reading other's posts :) And to sweeten the deal, you also earn tokens and playing cards while you do this!
Dreemport also has an awesome community which meets on Discord! On Thursdays you can even share yours and others posts live on Pimp Your Post Thursday 🙌 https://discord.gg/EyRU7V6
https://ecency.com/hive-150329/@dreemport/how-do-i-use-dreemport-its-easy-
https://dreemport.com/
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I like your father's response 🤣
Thanks for your entry.
hahahahahah if the Latin grace in its fullness, as the comedian Franco Escamilla says "It seems joke, but it is anecdote", Thanks for the wonderful challenge and your reading of my verses.