A casual stroll in the night
…..
Chapter VIII: When the older brothers marry
San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, México
I have lost track of how many times I have been back in my dreams to find that little girl and accompany her, to tell her she is not completely alone. But I find she is most definitely shocked and frightened out of her mind. Therefore, she stands immobile, frozen in her tracks, as it were; realizing that at any moment, the terrible savagery of the violent onslaught, contained until now, outside in the surrounding streets, may penetrate those protecting walls: so, she tries to run, yet she cannot and remains motionless and quietly still. The thick, old adobe walls had up to then been her old-time friends, providing shelter from the unbearable, raging brutality. But now, the violence appears to be uncontainable and on the verge of clashing so intimately close to her life. Though I am by her side, if only in my dream, she feels alone, lost in the world and just too afraid to run…
Suddenly, I was awakening from this dreadful nightmare, for I recognized Grandfather, out of the corner of my eye. He was walking casually across the room. Linked arm-in-arm with Grandmother, he was carelessly walking towards me with a relaxed, offhand ease as if it were just a stroll through the park, on a gentle lazy, sunny day. Smiling and quite casually, he took my hand in his, and we walked together toward the patio that lies all the way in the back of the house. That was my favorite patio, the one with the hammocks strung out in the cool shade among the palm trees. Sitting down on a white wicker sofa, we made ourselves as comfortable as possible.
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