A five-generation house
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Chapter IX: The girl and the mango tree
Historical Center, Queretaro City, Queretaro, Mexico
Finding no way out the salesman ended up explaining that: more than eighty years before when they built this house (more than seventy years have gone by since that day, can you imagine that?), the mango tree already existed, but not only that, it was quite big and tall. Consequently, it was considered to be a considerably old tree at the time.”
While she explained, Grandmother was pointing at the mango tree in the center of the patio. I was struck by all these years she was talking about, and how old the tree really was, so I just had to ask her:
“But, tell me, Grandmother, how old is this house?” I knew that it was definitely an old house, but I had no idea how old it really was.
“Now that’s an easy question to answer, dear. Last year, this house just turned 160 years old, last year to be precise. What do you think about that, Dear? But let me tell that, it extended much more at the time. Just the land measured more than 830 meters, that’s roughly what we used to call a hundred yards, and that’s only what it measured, on the front side of the land. The property used to occupy the whole block entirely, from one corner of the street to the others. Now that’s the front to the back of the plot and from one side to the other. Most of the terrain had gardens. When it was built the construction was much smaller than now. The house in itself has grown throughout the years, especially as it has changed from one owner to another, each one of them adding a few rooms here and there, you see. Without considering the time it didn’t belong to our own family, these old walls have seen five generations of ours, as we have gone about our business; and that, of course, is with yours included.
In the land of volcanoes’ Chapters Purchase the book