Category: Uncategorized

  • The ups and downs of childhood

    The ups and downs of childhood

    And he understood that having reached the peak, you invariably descend once again   That makeshift swing had been made by his Dad, surely with more love than luxuries. He built the seat from an old, worn down wooden board, polished from so much use over the years. Patiently he handcrafted it lovingly in his spare time. Once…

  • Searching for the heights

    Searching for the heights

    He was always fascinated by the world as seen from above Forever love          Rue de Rivoli, Paris Francia Back in his toddler days, Magnifico displayed amazing abilities, even in the first years of age. For example, when only fifteen months’ old, beyond already walking perfectly well, he already jumped all over…

  • The significance of the moment

    The significance of the moment

    And it was after many years had gone by that he asked himself, when had he stopped carrying his marbles in his pocket, especially the one he called “The Tiger’s eye”, for that was the moment when for better or for worse, he had become a grown up and learned to put up with life. After…

  • Beginning another day

    Beginning another day

    Yellows           Supía, Caldas, Colombia Every day the chickens and the coop had to be looked after, and that was one more of Magnifico’s tasks. Early the boy would help gather the eggs, after the milking was done and before taking the cows out to pasture. Then, the best time of the…

  • In the orchard

    In the orchard

    Life would set the rhythms to which they danced Magnifico’s mother, also had an orchard and a small greenhouse at the back of their house. There, she grew all sorts of vegetables, different herbs and spices. Eventually all that would end up in the kitchen of the house, with its huge wood burning stove that they…

  • The craft of waking

    The craft of waking

    Rising earlier does not make the day begin before Magnifico would quietly think a small while, before he answered: “But I really do try! It’s just that my eyes won’t open earlier. But really, I try very hard and put all I have into it, but, somehow, I just don’t wake up any earlier”. His father listened to…

  • The little village school

    Outside,  a universe was waiting… until the day he learned to read A daily routine, possibly simple and straightforward, but still, it gave a meaning to his life. Certainly, it also gave him the possibility of earning the bread he ate at breakfast, which he would later enjoy together with his parents at home. By…

  • In every smile, a greeting

    In every smile, a greeting

    Even his bad fortune, was received with a smile A smile would be more than enough to exchange a warm greeting between them. Right after, he would sit next to his father, and get ready to begin with, his chores and make the day worth its while. Later, when the moment for a break had finally…

  • At his favourite time of the day

    At his favourite time of the day

    And so many years went by… that eventually, he forgot to keep track of them   On Magnifico’s seventy-fifth birthday, life decided to plot a new course, as it steered unexpectedly away from his comfortable daily routine.   Like any other day in his long life, it had begun before sunrise, in those soft, gentle early hours of…

  • Talking about horses

    Talking about horses

    Not even the horoscopes for that such a particular week could have foretold what was about to occur. The emotion         The streets at Ibarra, Imbabura, Ecuador “Are they from Morocco?” Oscar asked. After which they all laughed cheerfully. Gabriel began to explain: “No, they’re more like your country folk, they come from your…