Another thing you need to know about Hilcias is that he has a big heart.
Literally.
One day, he fell at the end of a long row of tomatoes and hurt his ribs on the corner of a big rock.
His mamí and abuelo took him to see Dr. Maria at the free medical clinic in the evening at the end of the workday.
His abuelo put a giant, calloused hand on his chest to check his breathing and keep him still.
He took quick, shallow breaths because his whole body hurt if he breathed deeply and slowly.
"Wow," exclaimed Dr. Maria as they looked at the x-ray with her.
"His ribs are just bruised, but, my goodness, look at the size of his heart!
I've never seen a heart so big in a child so small."
An echocardiogram confirmed it.
"It's rare in children, but his heart is enlarged because his heart muscle isn't squeezing as well as it should and his heart is growing bigger to compensate.
The good news is we can treat him so he can lead a nearly normal life.
He'll just have to use his heart for something other than professional soccer."
Later that night, when the old abuelo was reading a book to Hilcias, he said, "I want you to have a broad mind and a big heart, mi niñocita, and it seems nature is helping my hopes come true."
Then his abuelo kissed him tenderly on the forehead.
"Te amo, Hilcias. Te amo."
This is why Hilcias had such a big heart.
Figuratively.
As he drifted off to sleep, he remembered that blue whales have the largest hearts that have ever beaten on earth, and that they were so big he would be able to walk around in one and go through the swinging doors of it's ventricles without lowering his head.
"I have a blue whale's heart," he thought.
And he did.
- Trevor Scott Barton, stories for a brown eyed girl, 2020
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