Dos damas en un café, 1927
Fuente: https://www.meisterdrucke.fr/
I heard a familiar accent.
I approached to check it out and something unusual happened.
I went down the main road of Las Palmas, took the streets of my childhood and the avenues of my distant youth.
In that transit I saw school friends, piñatas, late nights studying for some exam, songs, laughter.
Friendship. Family.
The trail that took me back was entrancing, honest, tight. Eternal seconds, those made with the material of memories.
I returned to the present. There I was, in the children’s section of Corte Inglés in Plaza Catalonia, buying a baby outfit for my new grandson.
Among baby items, an unexpected hug happened.
A fortuitous encounter with the younger sister of a childhood friend that resulted in a brief, but comforting traverse through time.
We updated our lives and bid farewell with our so flavorful Venezuelan accent.
I believe the people who witnessed the hug at the store were awestruck and even eager to applaud before this moving, unusually human scene.
I left the store with something more than a knitted outfit for my grandson.
Give and receive an unexpected hug: a true gift.
