Gloria
With a little bit of food, water, and something to keep the sun and rain off me, I could stay in this little corner for a very long time. From here, the noise of the city -- dogs barking, kids yelling, horns, motorcycles' and cars' engines, banging music from a hundred different houses, goats bleating, and dozens of voices -- recedes into a murmur of humanity that allows for me to hear the wind entangling the grasses around me.
From here, the houses look quaint and charming, you can almost forget that the people in the kitchen have front row seats to the toilet and shower, that water must be hauled, and that mosquitoes are more prevalent than places to stand or sit. But as uncomfortable as some of this is, there is a strange feeling that if I walked a ways, through the tall grasses, between swaying palm trees, over the dirt road destroyed by heavy rains, I could find my way home.
I would remember what it was like to walk barefoot without worrying about what hundreds of diseases I was contracting, that I could eat whatever was before me without wondering what misery I might be in later.
Because there is a special beauty in brushing my teeth while overlooking a green yard overgrown with tropical plants, with butterflies flitting here and there. Yes, it is only made possible by the lack of running water, but maybe, if I keep trying, I will remember my way home.
From here, the houses look quaint and charming, you can almost forget that the people in the kitchen have front row seats to the toilet and shower, that water must be hauled, and that mosquitoes are more prevalent than places to stand or sit. But as uncomfortable as some of this is, there is a strange feeling that if I walked a ways, through the tall grasses, between swaying palm trees, over the dirt road destroyed by heavy rains, I could find my way home.
I would remember what it was like to walk barefoot without worrying about what hundreds of diseases I was contracting, that I could eat whatever was before me without wondering what misery I might be in later.
Because there is a special beauty in brushing my teeth while overlooking a green yard overgrown with tropical plants, with butterflies flitting here and there. Yes, it is only made possible by the lack of running water, but maybe, if I keep trying, I will remember my way home.
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