In the morning of each day, she walked barefoot from the kitchen to the courtyard. Her singing voice could be heard talking to Mitzi the black cat with green eyes, and Pelusa the black and white shepherd dog who followed her everywhere. She was the joy of the house, but since she left one cold and rainy day in May, everything has been lonely and sad.
"Grandma!. When is Carmen coming back?", was my question every day when I had breakfast to go to school.
"Carlos, I have already explained to you that Carmen went to take care of her mother, who is very sick, and I don't know if she will be able to come back to live with us".
I loved Carmen from the moment she arrived with my mother. At 15 years of age, she was tall and slender, with black hair so long it reached her waist. She was the most beautiful young woman I had ever seen in my life.
My mom called my sister Cecilia and me into the living room and said.
"This is Carmen, she is the daughter of a great friend of mine, and she is coming to live with us".
So it was, without further explanation or questions, that she became part of the family. She became our older sister, the one who, with her joy and spontaneity, her easy laughter and her imagination for games and stories, accompanied us every afternoon when we came back from school.
But Carmen had a secret and amazing ability that Cecilia and I discovered one afternoon when we ran to the corral to look for her.
We found her sitting on a little wooden bench next to Lucero the cow. She was chatting with her, and Lucero was mooing back at her.
"Are you talking to Lucero?" Cecilia asked her.
Carmen turned around in astonishment. We had arrived without making a sound.
She looked at us with her big black eyes.
"Yes, she and I understand each other."
"And what does she tell you?", I asked her with the curiosity and innocence of a 10-year-old who believes in what to others might seem impossible.
"She tells me that her son is no longer moving, that something is wrong. We have to call the vet. Let's go tell your dad".
We ran into the house, and Carmen went into the kitchen and talked to my mom. We didn't know what she said, but within an hour, Dr. Morales arrived and went into the pen where Lucero had started calving. The calf was in distress, but with the help of the doctor, my father and Carmen, everything turned out well and Long legs as we named her, had already stood up and was looking for her mother's udder to drink the rich, warm milk.
That was not the only proof of Carmen's ability, when we went to the forest to look for wild berries, she would talk to the birds and butterflies. She collected the leaves, flowers and bark of plants, from which she prepared medicine for the family.
"How do you know which ones are medicine and which ones are not?" he would ask her because he wanted to learn.
"I learned it from my mom and my grandmother. You have to ask their permission to take a piece of their body. Remember that plants are living things."
I was very curious about what she was doing. She taught us to love and respect nature. But I never used a sling to kill birds or lizards. If I found a wounded animal, I would take it to the house, and we would cure it and then let it go free.
The three years that Carmen lived in our house were unforgettable, and every day that goes by, I miss her even more. I can't, and I don't want to forget her. When she said goodbye to us that rainy morning, she gave us a big hug, and I breathed in the scent of orange blossoms from her hair.
"Any moment now I will return to this house, I will not forget you."
But that was not possible, and the years went by. Carmen's mother died, and she was left in charge of her two younger siblings. My parents helped her every time they traveled to the town where they lived. She would send us fruits, flowers and plant extracts so that we would not get sick and would grow strong.
But my parents lost contact with her. In the village where she lived with her siblings, there was a landslide due to heavy rains and many houses were washed away. Some of the inhabitants were reported missing, among them my beloved Carmen and her siblings. I didn't want to think that she had died.
I went to the university to study veterinary medicine to help animals, as I had learned from Carmen. Furthermore, I felt that I should not leave her teachings, that I had to continue on the path that she had indicated to me, and that I wanted to follow it with all my love.
I graduated and began to practice my profession in a Foundation to help homeless animals. We attended at very low prices and many times free of charge to people who came with their pets. But what I loved the most were the rescue and adoption days.
One day, we received a call from a person requesting our help to rescue some dogs that were tied up and locked in an apparently abandoned house. I went with my work team. When we arrived, we saw a woman crouched on one side of the fence while two thin dogs dogs, with their necks fastened by chains, were on the other side, very close to her, howling and crying.
I got closer, and my heart began to pound. That voice was unmistakable. The long black hair was tied back in a ponytail. As I turned my face, her big black eyes looked up at me.
"Carmen, what are the dogs telling you?"
"That they haven't eaten and are very sad and lonely," she answered me, and it was as if time had not passed, and I was that 10-year-old boy marveling at her.
Seeing her there alive and as beautiful as I remembered her, with that sensitivity towards animals, communicating with them through her pure soul, I felt that the love I treasured in my heart expanded and filled me with great happiness.
After rescuing the two dogs, we talked for a long time. She was able to save herself and her two brothers from the disaster, and they were relocated to the city where she started working.
Forgive me for not trying to communicate with you and your family, we were just trying to survive that tragedy.
I have nothing to forgive. Fate and that wonderful gift you have have brought us together again, and I would like it if you would allow me to continue my life with you.
Carmen just smiled and for me it was the best of answers
Traductor www.deepl.com