minimalism

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. 

“Te quiero,” she whispered in his ear. 

Then she walked away and returned to her work cleaning their house and cooking their supper. 

In that moment, he knew he was loved and was able to love.

Did his mamí know that her simple kindness helped him love the world?

     

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 person who spoke a 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 stories?

He remembered a time when he was a young man. 

He was sitting at the foot of his bed. 

Gabby stood before him. 

She lowered her dress to the ground. 

He saw her naked for the first time. 

He looked at her sonrisa, her smile, and it was as if the sun had risen upon him. 

He looked at her brown skin, and it was as if the rich soil of the land was before him. 

He looked at her body and couldn’t breathe for a moment, and it was as if all of the beauty of the world had fallen upon him softly with light. 

"Hold me close," she said. 

They held each other for a long time, and they didn’t speak, but only held each other. 

In that moment, he knew companionship.

He knew love.

Did Gabby know that her simple kindness helped him find the meaning of life?

Simple kindness.

 

- Trevor Scott Barton, stories for a brown-eyed girl, 2020