She was from Granada, Antioquia, but lived in the big city. Her house had an astonishing view of the valley, one could say that was one of those for which the rich pay so much. Up there life tends to stop; all the pressures, all the hurry, they seem so small and tender, like little toys on the carpet floor. It is all quite. But quietness at times comes with sadness and longing, and that was her case.
The big city was a mere illusion, her life conditions were far from being better than the poor country side. There were various reasons why she came to Medellín. Mainly violence, as usual, a threat, a murdered relative, they were interrupting someone else’s ambition and had simply to move away. And they chose the big city as their new home, it was full of opportunities, or that’s what others told them. Finding job was not that easy, especially when you have no education and all you know about is farming. Many years later, as time passed, they got used to being beggars at times, mason or maids at others, and doing whatever they found as an income source.
I felt their resignation. Maybe you cannot call their situation as extreme poverty, but it wasn´t a suitable environment to be at. They all slept together, the house was tight; some rooms had no floor, the tiling was broken in some corners and it created small mud patches. The family had grown, some of her daughters already had their own child. She also had a new mate and a new baby. She was hopeless about moving on.
In some way it was understandable. I could feel how all the injustices of our country were on top of her. Off course we hear of certain persons that overcome those difficulties, but you need a special spirit, something that does not grow in stagnant waters. Must of the pond will stay the same if no one opens a crack were water can flow.
I tend to think I could be one of those crack openers. At least my spirit seeks to change structures for the benefit of human kind. But, where will the water flow to? To the neurotic, selfish consumerist and unsatisfied pond I live in? If that’s my only offering, the misery I’ve seen on them is just a mere reflection of the dark feeling that lies in my unconscious for the misery I live in. Maybe the point is not about misery, poverty or development, but about turning back to those ignored basic feelings of love, kindness, honesty and pureness.
She and I, we are part of the same society. I probably live in better conditions, but does it really matters if she doesn’t? Pity for her would be selfishness, for the right way is to recognize we are equal, and as equals we live in an unbalanced city and must work together, giving the best each has at hand.
