Hello everyone! I've had a pretty long period without showing up. Many things have happened that have kept me away from the online world a bit. However, I'm back today because I have a story to tell. This one seems really relevant to me, and it would be for anyone, when it's about a great and dear friend.
A few weeks ago, I got in touch with an old friend, my best friend to be more precise, whom I haven't seen for many years. I haven't seen him since he left the country, and truly, a lot has happened. It's been almost 10 years since I said goodbye and wished him all the best in the world, along with his girlfriend at the time. Nowadays, they are married with a child, which makes me feel very proud—that he was able to achieve what he so longed for: happiness with a family.
Every now and then I call him to check how he's doing, and more so last month, since it was his birthday. This time, he surprised me because he said that around these dates he would be returning to the country to visit his grandmother, who has been in poor health. She is a strong woman but very advanced in age. For the moment, his younger sister is taking care of her here in her apartment. I go and visit them sometimes, with a certain sadness, because the lady was always such a strong person, and seeing her so delicate and fragile makes me thank God for being alive and healthy for all the time I am allowed.
In any case, I could hear the concern in his voice. His grandfather had passed away several years ago, leaving his grandmother alone in her apartment. Still, his great loss was a little less than 2 years ago when his father died. It was really a hard blow for him, and I deeply regretted not being nearby to offer support, because due to the illness his father had been battling for years, he had been able to take him to live with him abroad for treatments. However, I repeat, life is like a thread; it stretches to a certain point and then it snaps—a fragile, mortal thread from which we all are suspended.
Hearing that he was returning was undoubtedly a joy. However, putting myself in his shoes, I felt a certain melancholy. It wasn't a common visit, but perhaps a bitter farewell. His grandmother hasn't seen him physically in 10 years, nor has she met his 2-year-old baby. And I am sure that he knows, just as I know, that it would likely be the last time he sees her.
With all this in my head, I remember what we used to do when we were younger. We would sit outside the building and chat for hours—about his day and my day, his stories and mine, his joys and sorrows. Sometimes we were surrounded by other kids, with whom we were like their older brothers. We would usually go to a pastry shop or the supermarket to buy sweets, chips, and other snacks to share with everyone else. Everything was on us, the older brothers of the group. Amid laughter and jokes, we would spend our time.
Adult life is complicated. So when the day finally arrived that he returned to the country and we saw each other, we did the same thing. Nothing had changed. We sat outside the building to talk about so many things, to catch up on what we had missed due to the distance.
I saw him so happy with his wife and son, but at the same time so sad and desolate. He no longer had his grandfather or his father, and now, his grandmother had little time left. So when I saw him lost in thought for a second, I understood his gaze—that same one from years ago, yearning for some peace and happiness, without so much melancholy.
So I just stood up and asked him to accompany me to a new place that was on the way to the residence. I didn't tell him why, and he didn't ask either, because it was always normal for one to accompany the other wherever, like two warriors covering each other's backs in battle, without asking or questioning. That was always our friendship.
So, I directed him to the place. It was comical because he didn't expect that place to be there. It was actually a bit anticlimactic compared to what it was 10 years ago, before he left. But, well, some things change and move forward, and that was the point.
At the place, I placed my order, for two of course. This time it was on me. It was funny because even though we've always shared costs, the truth is he has always had more purchasing power than me, so he was joking with me about that. But it was the effect I was looking for—for him to remember that despite the years, adult life, and the gray hairs starting to show, we can still share like children, just like before he left.
While he was making fun of me, and I was making fun of myself because I'd basically run out of money in my account again, I told him:
"Brother, life is hard, sour, and bitter on many occasions. But if there's a possibility of giving it all to be happy, to feel joy, and to fill things with smiles, then it's worth being left with little and serving a sweet to life, so it comforts us a little to move forward."
The runner who brought our order left two ice creams—vanilla, strawberry, with hints of lemon. She gave us a smile because of what we were saying and went back to continue her work, while my brother and great friend tried to sweeten our lives by remembering our adolescence and youth, to keep moving forward.
SPANISH VERSION
Hola a todos! he tenido un periodo bastante largo sin aparecer, han sucedido muchas cosas, que me han alejado un poco del mundo virtual, sin embargo, hoy he vuelto por que tengo una anécdota que contar, esta es me parece realmente relevante para mi, y lo seria para cualquiera, cuando se trata sobre un gran y querido amigo.
Hace unas semanas atrás, me comunique con un viejo amigo, mi mejor amigo para ser mas precisos, el cual tengo muchos años sin ver, no le veo desde que se fue del país, y realmente muchas cosas han pasado, han sido casi 10 años desde que me despedí y le desee lo mejor del mundo junto a su novia en aquel entonces, hoy por hoy están casados y con un hijo, de lo cual me hace sentir muy orgulloso, de que pudo conseguir lo que tanto anhelaba, la felicidad junto a una familia.
De vez en cuando le llamo, para checar como esta, y mas para este mes anterior que pasó, pues es su cumple años; En esta oportunidad me sorprendió por que me dijo que para estas fechas volvería al país a visitar a su abuela, quien ha estado delicada de salud, pues ella, es una señora fuerte pero de edad muy avanzada, de momentos, la cuida aquí en su departamento su hermana menor, que de vez en cuando voy y les visito, con cierto pesar, pues la señora siempre alguien muy fuerte, y verla tan delicada y frágil, me hace dar gracias a Dios por estar vivo y saludable todo el tiempo que me sea permitido.
En cualquier caso, pude entender en su voz su preocupación, ya su abuelo hace ya varios años había pasado a mejor vida, dejando a su abuela sola en su departamento; Aun así, su gran perdida, fue hace poco menos de 2 años cuando su padre falleció, realmente fue un duro golpe para el, y lamente mucho no estar cerca, para brindarle soporte y apoyo, pues, por la enfermedad que su padre venia arrastrando de hace años, el se lo pudo llevar a vivir con el fuera del país a recibir tratamientos, sin embargo, repito, la vida es como un hilo, se estira hasta cierto punto y luego, se corta, un frágil y mortal hilo del cual todos estamos suspendidos en el.
Al escuchar que regresaba, fue sin duda una alegría, sin embargo, al ponerme en sus zapatos, sentí cierta melancolía, no era una visita común, sino quizás, una amarga despedida, su abuela no lo ha visto físicamente desde hace 10 años, ni tampoco conoce a su bebe de 2 años, y estoy seguro, de que el sabe, así como yo se, que seria la ultima vez que la vea.
Teniendo todo esto en mi cabeza, recuerdo que era lo que hacíamos de mas chicos, nos sentábamos a las afuera del edificio a charlar por horas, su día y mi día, sus anécdotas, los míos, sus alegrías y tristezas; de vez en cuando estábamos rodeados de otros chicos, con los cuales, éramos como sus hermanos mayores, normalmente íbamos a una pastelería o al super mercado a comprar chucherías, Frituras y demás para compartir con todos los demás, todo iba a cuenta de nosotros, los hermanos mayores del grupo, entre risas y chistes, pasábamos el rato.
La vida adulta es complicada, así que cuando por fin llego el día en que regreso al país, y nos vimos, hicimos lo mismo, nada ha cambiado, nos sentamos fuera del edificio, a hablar de tantas cosas para ponernos al corriente de lo que nos hemos perdido en la distancia.
Le vi tan feliz con su esposa y su hijo, pero a la vez tan triste y desolado, ya no tenia ni a su abuelo y a su padre, y ahora, poco tiempo le quedaba a su abuela, así que cuando lo vi ensimismado por un segundo, entendí su mirada, esa misma a la que años atrás, anhelaba algo de paz y alegría, sin tanta melancolía.
Así que solo me levante y le pedí que me acompañara a un sitio nuevo que quedaba de paso a la residencia, no le dije para que, y el tampoco pregunto, pues lo normal siempre fue, que uno acompañaba al otro donde fuese, como dos guerreros que se cubren las espaldas mutuamente en batalla, sin preguntar o cuestionar, así siempre fue nuestra amistad.
Entonces, lo dirigí al sitio, fue cómico, por que no se espero ese lugar ahí, realmente un poco anti climático para lo que era hace 10 años atrás antes que el se fuera, sin embargo, pues algunas cosas cambian y siguen adelante, y ese era el punto.
En el lugar hice mi pedido, para dos por supuesto, esta vez iba por mi cuenta, fue gracioso por que a pesar de que siempre hemos compartido costos, la verdad es que el siempre ha podido tener mayor poder adquisitivo que yo, así que estaba lanzándome bromas con eso, pero era el efecto que buscaba, que recordara que a pesar de los años, la vida adulta y las canas que ya se nos asoman, aun podemos compartir como niños, justo como antes de que se fuera.
Mientras estaba burlándose de mi, y yo de mi mismo por que básicamente me volví a quedar sin dinero en la cuenta, le dije:
"Hermano, la vida es dura, agria y amarga en muchas oportunidades, pero si existe la posibilidad de darlo todo por ser felices, sentir alegría y llenar de sonrisas, pues vale la pena quedarse con poco, y servir un dulce a la vida, para que nos conforte un poco para seguir adelante"
La runner que traía nuestro pedido, dejo dos helados de vainilla, fresa y toques de limón, nos dio una sonrisa por lo que estábamos diciendo y se aparto a continuar su trabajo, mientras que mi hermano y mi gran amigo, tratábamos de endulzar nuestras vidas recordando nuestra adolescencia y juventud, para seguir adelante.
Atte:
"The Prime Guide"
𝔍.𝔭 W𝔬𝔩𝔣𝔢𝔫𝔰𝔱𝔢𝔦𝔫
