little salt

little salt

Little Salt had small ears. 

Well, they were less than small. 

They were infinitesimally small. 

Unnoticeable if you didn’t know they were there

He used to be self conscious about them. 

When he stepped into a classroom for the first time, his glasses slipped off one of those ears and hung crooked across his face. 

Those ears weren't big enough to hold them.

"We come from a family with little ears but big hearts," said his abuelo one day as Little Salt was moping down a row of tomatoes, thinking about the laughter of his classmates. 

“You can use your heart for listening. 

Your ears sure won't help you out much.”

As he grew older, though, he discovered that blue whales, which are the biggest animals to ever live on earth, have ears the size of the point of a pencil. 

"The blue whales know how I feel," he thought. 

And that made him feel better.

Little Salt really did have a big heart. 

Literally. 

One day, when he was a toddler, he fell at the end of a row of tomatoes and bruised his ribs on a jagged rock. 

His abuelo and mamí took him to the Johns Island free medical clinic.

His abuelo wrapped his arms around him and placed his giant, calloused hand on his chest to keep him still. 

He took quick, shallow breaths because if he breathed slowly and deeply his whole body hurt. 

When they looked at the x-ray, Dr. Maria exclaimed, "His ribs are bruised but, my God, 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,” said Dr. Maria, "But his heart is enlarged because the muscle isn't squeezing well and his heart grew bigger to compensate. 

The good news is, we can treat him. 

He can lead a nearly normal life. 

The bad news is, he won’t be able to become a jugador de futbol profesional.

He'll just have to use his heart in different ways than other people."

Later, beside his cot beneath the open window of the old bus, his abuelo said, "I want you to have listening ears and a big heart, mi nieto, so it seems like nature is helping my wishes come true. 

Don't you worry. 

I'll always love you just the way you are. 

You are perfect to me and for the world."

His abuelo kissed him lightly and tenderly on the forehead.

It comforted him again when he learned that a blue whale has the largest heart on earth. 

It's as big as a Volkswagen Beetle.

"I have a heart like a blue whale," thought Little Salt.

And that made him smile.