Simple kindness. He remembered a time when he was a boy. He was sitting on a wooden stool in front of a broken window, looking out at the rain falling in great sheets from a cloudy sky. His mamí stood behind him with her arms around his chest. "I love you," she whispered in his ear. Then she walked away and returned to her work cleaning their shack and cooking their supper. In that moment, he knew that he was loved...and that he was able to love in return. Did his mamí know that her simple kindness helped him love the world?
Simple kindness. He remembered a time when he was a teenager. He was walking beside his papí in the late afternoon down a long row of beans. "Take my hand and come with me," said his papí. He took him to a tree and sat down with him under the shade of the giant branches. He took out a notebook, a notebook filled with words, beautiful words, powerful words, about people and about life, words he had written but never spoken, for he was a quiet man who spoke little and worked a lot. "These words are for you, my son," he said. Then he walked away and returned to his work weeding the plants and nurturing the beans. In that moment, he knew that his own thoughts and words were important. Did his papí know that his simple kindness helped him write?
Simple kindness. He remembered a time when he was a young man. He was sitting at the foot of his bed. Gabby stood in front of him. She lowered her dress to the ground. He saw her naked for the first time. He looked at her sonrisa, and it was as if the sun had risen there upon him. He looked at her brown skin, and it was as if the rich soil of the land had opened itself there to him. He looked at her body and could not breathe for a moment, and it was as if all of the beauty of the world had softly fallen on him. "Hold me close," she said. He held her and she held him for a long time, and they did not speak but only held each other. In that moment, he knew compassion, companionship and commitment. Did Gabby know that her simple kindness helped him find the meaning of life?
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