Creative Nonfiction: Once in a blue moon/ Una vez en una luna azul (ENG/ ESP)


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Over time I have learned that it is difficult for a father, when he has many children, to show love to each one in equal ways, because love does not come in a dropper, nor with a cup of measures, it is given and that's it. Also, from experience, being the second child, neither the oldest nor the youngest, can mean that at some point love is not enough.

Like that day when Dad told us he would take us to the beach. We knew he might, but he might not. But like little girls we clung to the hope of getting up early, putting on our bathing suits, waiting for mom to make the sandwiches and then leaving with dad, walking, for the beach.

That Sunday, it was always Sunday, Dad woke up unwell, but we managed to get him out of bed and take us to the beach:

"Take the girls to the beach so they can get a little distracted",_ said Mom, who preferred to stay at home resting and let Dad notice us.

From the house to the beach, walking, it was about an hour and dad liked to do that walk with us. My older sister and I carried the bag with the juice and sandwiches, my younger sister carried nothing and usually rode on Dad's shoulders.


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Dad would usually tell us stories and we would ask questions:

"Do tigers eat people, Dad?"

"And do the dead come out?"

Dad always answered as if he were a teacher or as if he were the father of three daughters: with patience and a great desire to teach.

I had always felt that my dad had a preference for my older sister and my younger sister, even though he had always said the opposite:

"I love all my daughters equally",_ he would repeat when I childishly demanded my rights.

Dad used to take great care of my sisters and was very attentive to them, and that day was no different:

"Beware of the waves. Don't walk into the deep". -He would say every time my sisters were playing on the beach. I felt ignored, as if a wave could come and take me away and make no difference. While I was bathing, Dad barely saw me, but he didn't say anything.


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But that day, just that day, while running, I tripped over a sharp object and fell into the sand. Dad, who was under a palm tree, ran out to help me. After cleaning my wound, Dad decided that I would be the one to ride on his shoulders on the way home. I don't remember the look on my face, but I was probably happy about that decision.

Sure enough, when we decided to leave, Dad picked me up like a sack of potatoes and put me on his shoulders. My two other sisters started walking on either side of us.

The afternoon was falling and we walked fast so that the night wouldn't catch us on the way:

"Walk fast",_ said Dad and my other two sisters with their little feet, tried to keep up with him. I was on my father's shoulders and although I have always been scared of heights, up there I was smiling and felt so safe.

"Doesn't anything hurt?" -Dad asked and held me with his hands while I watched my sisters stumble over the rocks.


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I remember night falling and Dad would tell us about the crickets, about the ghosts that came out at dusk in the full blue moons. We would laugh with our faces full of sand and our hair frizzy from the salt. Never before, as a child, had I been as close to the moon as I was that day riding on my father's shoulders and never before had I been sure of my father's love for me.

All images are free of charge and the text is my own, translated in Deepl

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Thank you for reading and commenting. Until a future reading, friends


![Click here to read in spanish]
Una vez en una luna azul
Con el tiempo he sabido que para un padre es difícil, cuando tiene muchos hijos, demostrarle el amor, a cada uno, en formas iguales, porque el amor no viene en un gotero, ni con una taza de medidas, se da y ya. También, por experiencia, ser la segunda hija, no la mayor ni la menor, puede significar que en algún momento el amor no alcance,
Como aquel día en el que papá nos había dicho que nos llevaría a la playa. Sabíamos que podía ser que sí, pero también podía ser que no. Pero como niñas nos aferramos a la esperanza de levantarnos tempranos, ponernos nuestros trajes de baño, esperar que mamá haga los sanduches y después salir con papá, caminando, para la playa.
Ese domingo, siempre eran los domingos, papá amaneció indispuesto, pero logramos que se parara de la cama y nos llevara a la playa:
_Lleva las niñas a la playa y así se distraen un poco –dijo mamá que prefería quedarse en casa descansando y que papá se diera cuenta de nosotras.
De la casa a la playa, caminando, era como una hora y papá le gustaba hacer ese recorrido a pie con nosotras. Mi hermana mayor y yo llevábamos la bolsa con el jugo y los emparedados, mi hermana menor, no llevaba nada y generalmente iba en los hombros de papá.
Papá usualmente nos iba contando cuentos y nosotras hacíamos preguntas:
_¿Y los tigres comen gente, papá?
_¿Y los muertos salen?
Papá siempre respondía como si fuera un maestro o como el padre que era de tres hijas: con paciencia y muchas ganas de enseñar.
Yo siempre había sentido que mi papá tenía preferencia por mi hermana mayor y por mi hermana menor, aunque él siempre había dicho lo contrario:
_Yo quiero a todas mi hijas por igual –repetía cuando yo infantilmente reclamaba mis derechos.
Papá solía cuidar mucho a mis hermanas y estaba muy pendiente de ellas, y ese día no fue diferente:
_Cuidado con las olas. No caminen hacia lo profundo. –decía cada vez que mis hermanas estaban jugando en la playa. Yo me sentía ignorada, como si pudiera venir una ola y llevarme y no hacer mayor diferencia. Mientras yo me bañaba, papá a penas me veía, pero no decía nada.
Pero ese día, justo ese día, mientras corría, tropecé con un objeto filoso y me caí en la arena. Papá, que estaba debajo de una palmera, salió corriendo para socorrerme. Después de limpiarme la herida, papá decidió que sería yo la que iría sobre sus hombros camino de regreso a casa. No recuerdo que cara puse, pero seguramente estaba feliz por aquella decisión.
Efectivamente, cuando decidimos irnos, papá me tomó como un saco de papas y me monto en sus hombros. Mis otras dos hermanas empezaron a caminar a cada lado de nosotros.
La tarde caía y caminábamos rápido para que la noche no nos agarrara en el camino:
_Caminen rápido –dijo papá y mis otras dos hermanas con sus pies pequeños, intentaban seguirle el paso. Yo iba encima de los hombros de mi padre y aunque siempre me han asustado las alturas, allá arriba iba sonriendo y me sentía tan segura.
_¿No te duele nada? –preguntaba papá y me sujetaba con sus manos mientras yo veía a mis hermanas que tropezaban con las piedras.
Recuerdo que caía la noche y papá nos hablaba de los grillos, de los fantasmas que salían al atardecer en las lunas azules llenas. Nos reíamos con la cara llena de arena y el pelo encrespado por la sal. Nunca antes, de niño, había estado tan cerca de la luna como aquel día montado a hombros de mi padre y nunca antes había estado seguro del amor que mi padre sentía por mí.

































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8 comments
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This was so beautiful to read 🥰

Just as God has many children, he loves us equally and gives us that which we know we can handle. Why? Because He knows our capabilities.

Your dad loved you all equally just that yours weren't as visible as it were towards your sisters. Just maybe, your thoughts are same with your sisters - they'll be feeling they weren't loved too.

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Yes, when we are children, we tend to feel less loved. Then we realize how much love belongs to us. Greetings and thank you for your comment❀

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(Edited)

Happy and grateful for the recognition☺. Thank you, friends, for the support. Regards

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Beautiful and tender account of life. They say that a father's love (and a mother's, too) is enough for everyone. Best regards, @nancybriti1.

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Such a poignantly beautiful revelation of the factors that reinforce our appreciation of the word “love”. You’ve really brought the concept of family affection and our need for it, home. Exquisite!

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The love of a father, in most cases—if not all—can be expressed through the simplest gestures, but for us, that gesture can leave a mark for a lifetime.

In my case, I grew up only with my dad, and as the only child, I built a relationship with him that transcends words. Even though we don’t say it out loud, I know, and he knows, that I love him.

I’ve also felt that this same dynamic occurs in my relationships with the few friends I have, as we understand each other with just a few words, just as I understand them.

I really enjoyed doing this reading. ✌️

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