Saved by a mother's kind heart and mind
"¡Por el amor de dios, Mija! ¿No ves que el pobre muchacho esta aterrado? Desde aquí lo puedo ver temblar de miedo."("For God's sake, Mija! Can't you see that the poor boy is terrified? From here I can see him shaking with fear."), says the woman with a stern and angry tone, while looking perhaps furious at her offspring.
This was certainly a reaction the girl did not anticipated, as she looks stunned and speechless. When she mutters a few words, saying:
"Mamá, ¿qué estás..."("Mom, what are you..."), the mother looks out, definitely angry at her daughter's less than ideal sensitivity.
You're as surprised as the girl for the reaction. So much so, that you're barely able to notice on time that one of the woman's hand gets close to you, attempting to grab you.
For a split second, your terrified mind tells you to try to run, before you're able to notice that she's moving with extreme caution, in a very gentle manner: she's clearly trying not to scare you.
You manage to remain composed, and let the woman grab you. Immediately, the difference with the girl's actions is astonishing: while she had grabbed you with barely controlled strength, and moved through the air carelessly, the mother's is control, pushing just enough force to keep you safe from falling from the height, while moving you in a very slow and comfortable way, as she carries you to an open palm of hers. Then, she covers you with her fingers, while looking down upon you.
She looks at you in a very calming manner, and a small smile, before turning around to look again at her daughter with fierce eyes. She says:
"Este muchacho tuvo suerte: lo pudiste haber aplastado si hubieras presionado más fuerte con tus cachetes. Ni hablar del olor que debía haber sufrido. Hija, ¿en que estabas pensando? ¿Acaso estabas tan desesperada de tener un novio, que no te detuviste siquiera un momento antes de secuestrar a un pequeño muchacho afectado por el achicamiento? Ni hablar que sin duda es extranjero: desde aquí puedo ver que es gringo. Y si me experiencia no me engaña, dudo que haya podido hablar español para pedirte la ayuda que necesita en la situación en que se encuentra; muy pocos de ellos aprenden nuestro idioma. Es más: creo que lo intentó como pudo con su inglés, más tú no hiciste verdadero intento de tratar de entender aunque sea palabras clave del mensaje."("This boy was lucky: you could have crushed him if you had pressed harder with your cheeks. Not to mention the smell he must have suffered. Daughter, what were you thinking? Were you so desperate to have a boyfriend that you did not stop even a moment before kidnapping a small boy affected by the shrinking? Not to mention that he is undoubtedly a foreigner: from here I can see that he is a gringo. And if my experience does not deceive me, I doubt that he could have spoken Spanish to ask you for the help that he needs in the situation he finds himself in; very few of them learn our language. What's more: I think he tried as best he could with his English, but you didn't make any real attempt to try to understand even the key words of the message.")
After this harsh words, the girl looks down into the floor, most likely ashamed of her actions. With a sorrowful tone, she said:
"Lo siento, mamá, no pensé que..."("I'm sorry, mom, I didn't think...").
"Ese es el problema: no pensaste. Todavía te falta aprender que se requiere más que un hermoso cuerpo para obtener pareja. Y te digo esto no porque seas una tontita. Sé que puedes dar más, solamente requiere que te esfuerces. Y esa es una cosa que realmente no has intentado hasta ahora."("That's the problem: you didn't think. You still need to learn that it takes more than a beautiful body to get a partner. And I'm telling you this not because you're a fool. I know you can give more, it just requires you to work hard. And that's one thing you haven't really tried until now."), answer the mother, with a cutting voice. The girl return to her silence.
After a few seconds, the mother sighs, and looks down onto you again. She looks sad, and with a matching tone, she speaks to you, saying:
"Me disculpo por el comportamiento de mi hija. Ella es en realidad una buena chiquilla, solamente le falta madurar y aprender a ser más atenta."("I apologize for my daughter's behavior. She is actually a good kid, she just needs to mature and learn to be more attentive.")
She then smiles, telling you she is talking in an honest matter. And you're willing to trust her. After all, only the most disconnected parents do not truly know their Childs.
You smile back, feeling safe again. But, then, a key words sticks in your mind: "achicamiento", shrinking. Perhaps, she knows something about your actual condition?
Not willing to let this doubt linger long, you say, hoping she gets the message right, unlike her daughter:
"Lady, I think I heard you saying "achicamiento", shrinking. Perhaps, you know what happened to me?"
The woman looks directly at you, and then she says:
"Sí, sé que te paso, muchacho. Créelo o no, es algo relativamente común aquí."("Yeah, I know what happened to you, boy. Believe it or not, it's a relatively common thing here.")
She clearly understood your message, and thankfully, you did as well. You can only thank your lessons in Spanish literature and language, the few you had before coming here. They are really going to be a lifesaver now.
However, her words are clear: This "shrinking", is somewhat common here. This is interesting. And you want to know more.
Not only that, you notice with a quick look that you're not the only one interested in the matter: the girl was no longer looking down, but instead directly into her mother. She must be as intrigued and curious as you're right now. Which is odd: unless the matter, despite being apparently common around this particular part, was still somehow just know to a few, there would be no way the girl would not know about your condition.
If this was the case, then this might get a bit...somber. Whatever the reason it might be, chances were, is was not a good or nice one.
With this in mind, you say:
"So, you know what happened to me. My questions are, how is this even possible? And more importantly: is there a way for me to return to normal?"
You words reach the woman, and her formerly somewhat happy face turns somber. She looks at you, and says:
"Muchacho, esto es algo complicado. Necesitaré toda tu atención. Y probablemente, no te gustara escuchar lo que tengo por decirte. Aun a pesar de ello, será necesario que pases por esto. ¿Entendido?"("Boy, this is something complicated. I will need your full attention. And you probably won't like to hear what I have to say. Even so, you will need to go through this. Understood?")
Gulping down, you nod. No matter how grim or hard to accept the truth may be, she is right. If you want to know your predicament, you might have to learn some unsavory matter. Better early that later, you guess.
Then, the woman sits on a chair, while keeping her hands as steady as possible. You can only thank her efforts to keep you comfortable in your condition. After this, she gently leaves you again on the table, with her hands around you. Ready to act if need be for your safety.
Following this, she looks at her daughter, and says:
"Mija, siéntate. También necesitas escuchar esto. Durante todos estos años, te he mantenido esta parte de nuestro pueblo oculta: ya no más. Eres ya una adulta, y por ello ahora y no antes serás capaz de realmente entender lo que voy a decir. Especialmente sus implicaciones."("Mija, sit down. You also need to hear this. For all these years, I have kept this part of our town hidden from you: no more. You are already an adult, and therefore now and not before you will be able to really understand what I am going to say. Especially its implications.")
The daughter nods, and sits down. You manage to notice as you look at her that she puts a lot more restrain and control in her movements, trying not to look clumsy or threating from your perspective. Perhaps is due to being in presence of her mother. Perhaps is due to actually feel sorry, and trying to improve her actions to you. You have no real way to know this, for she remains silent.
After she is done, you look again into the mother. She briefly looks down to you, and then to her daughter. Then, she says:
"Muy bien, esto será algo largo, así que: pónganse cómodos."("Alright, this is going to be a long one, so make yourselves comfortable.")
Only after this words, does she actually starts to talk about the matter at hand: the origin of your condition, and how correlates to the town you’re on.
This was certainly a reaction the girl did not anticipated, as she looks stunned and speechless. When she mutters a few words, saying:
"Mamá, ¿qué estás..."("Mom, what are you..."), the mother looks out, definitely angry at her daughter's less than ideal sensitivity.
You're as surprised as the girl for the reaction. So much so, that you're barely able to notice on time that one of the woman's hand gets close to you, attempting to grab you.
For a split second, your terrified mind tells you to try to run, before you're able to notice that she's moving with extreme caution, in a very gentle manner: she's clearly trying not to scare you.
You manage to remain composed, and let the woman grab you. Immediately, the difference with the girl's actions is astonishing: while she had grabbed you with barely controlled strength, and moved through the air carelessly, the mother's is control, pushing just enough force to keep you safe from falling from the height, while moving you in a very slow and comfortable way, as she carries you to an open palm of hers. Then, she covers you with her fingers, while looking down upon you.
She looks at you in a very calming manner, and a small smile, before turning around to look again at her daughter with fierce eyes. She says:
"Este muchacho tuvo suerte: lo pudiste haber aplastado si hubieras presionado más fuerte con tus cachetes. Ni hablar del olor que debía haber sufrido. Hija, ¿en que estabas pensando? ¿Acaso estabas tan desesperada de tener un novio, que no te detuviste siquiera un momento antes de secuestrar a un pequeño muchacho afectado por el achicamiento? Ni hablar que sin duda es extranjero: desde aquí puedo ver que es gringo. Y si me experiencia no me engaña, dudo que haya podido hablar español para pedirte la ayuda que necesita en la situación en que se encuentra; muy pocos de ellos aprenden nuestro idioma. Es más: creo que lo intentó como pudo con su inglés, más tú no hiciste verdadero intento de tratar de entender aunque sea palabras clave del mensaje."("This boy was lucky: you could have crushed him if you had pressed harder with your cheeks. Not to mention the smell he must have suffered. Daughter, what were you thinking? Were you so desperate to have a boyfriend that you did not stop even a moment before kidnapping a small boy affected by the shrinking? Not to mention that he is undoubtedly a foreigner: from here I can see that he is a gringo. And if my experience does not deceive me, I doubt that he could have spoken Spanish to ask you for the help that he needs in the situation he finds himself in; very few of them learn our language. What's more: I think he tried as best he could with his English, but you didn't make any real attempt to try to understand even the key words of the message.")
After this harsh words, the girl looks down into the floor, most likely ashamed of her actions. With a sorrowful tone, she said:
"Lo siento, mamá, no pensé que..."("I'm sorry, mom, I didn't think...").
"Ese es el problema: no pensaste. Todavía te falta aprender que se requiere más que un hermoso cuerpo para obtener pareja. Y te digo esto no porque seas una tontita. Sé que puedes dar más, solamente requiere que te esfuerces. Y esa es una cosa que realmente no has intentado hasta ahora."("That's the problem: you didn't think. You still need to learn that it takes more than a beautiful body to get a partner. And I'm telling you this not because you're a fool. I know you can give more, it just requires you to work hard. And that's one thing you haven't really tried until now."), answer the mother, with a cutting voice. The girl return to her silence.
After a few seconds, the mother sighs, and looks down onto you again. She looks sad, and with a matching tone, she speaks to you, saying:
"Me disculpo por el comportamiento de mi hija. Ella es en realidad una buena chiquilla, solamente le falta madurar y aprender a ser más atenta."("I apologize for my daughter's behavior. She is actually a good kid, she just needs to mature and learn to be more attentive.")
She then smiles, telling you she is talking in an honest matter. And you're willing to trust her. After all, only the most disconnected parents do not truly know their Childs.
You smile back, feeling safe again. But, then, a key words sticks in your mind: "achicamiento", shrinking. Perhaps, she knows something about your actual condition?
Not willing to let this doubt linger long, you say, hoping she gets the message right, unlike her daughter:
"Lady, I think I heard you saying "achicamiento", shrinking. Perhaps, you know what happened to me?"
The woman looks directly at you, and then she says:
"Sí, sé que te paso, muchacho. Créelo o no, es algo relativamente común aquí."("Yeah, I know what happened to you, boy. Believe it or not, it's a relatively common thing here.")
She clearly understood your message, and thankfully, you did as well. You can only thank your lessons in Spanish literature and language, the few you had before coming here. They are really going to be a lifesaver now.
However, her words are clear: This "shrinking", is somewhat common here. This is interesting. And you want to know more.
Not only that, you notice with a quick look that you're not the only one interested in the matter: the girl was no longer looking down, but instead directly into her mother. She must be as intrigued and curious as you're right now. Which is odd: unless the matter, despite being apparently common around this particular part, was still somehow just know to a few, there would be no way the girl would not know about your condition.
If this was the case, then this might get a bit...somber. Whatever the reason it might be, chances were, is was not a good or nice one.
With this in mind, you say:
"So, you know what happened to me. My questions are, how is this even possible? And more importantly: is there a way for me to return to normal?"
You words reach the woman, and her formerly somewhat happy face turns somber. She looks at you, and says:
"Muchacho, esto es algo complicado. Necesitaré toda tu atención. Y probablemente, no te gustara escuchar lo que tengo por decirte. Aun a pesar de ello, será necesario que pases por esto. ¿Entendido?"("Boy, this is something complicated. I will need your full attention. And you probably won't like to hear what I have to say. Even so, you will need to go through this. Understood?")
Gulping down, you nod. No matter how grim or hard to accept the truth may be, she is right. If you want to know your predicament, you might have to learn some unsavory matter. Better early that later, you guess.
Then, the woman sits on a chair, while keeping her hands as steady as possible. You can only thank her efforts to keep you comfortable in your condition. After this, she gently leaves you again on the table, with her hands around you. Ready to act if need be for your safety.
Following this, she looks at her daughter, and says:
"Mija, siéntate. También necesitas escuchar esto. Durante todos estos años, te he mantenido esta parte de nuestro pueblo oculta: ya no más. Eres ya una adulta, y por ello ahora y no antes serás capaz de realmente entender lo que voy a decir. Especialmente sus implicaciones."("Mija, sit down. You also need to hear this. For all these years, I have kept this part of our town hidden from you: no more. You are already an adult, and therefore now and not before you will be able to really understand what I am going to say. Especially its implications.")
The daughter nods, and sits down. You manage to notice as you look at her that she puts a lot more restrain and control in her movements, trying not to look clumsy or threating from your perspective. Perhaps is due to being in presence of her mother. Perhaps is due to actually feel sorry, and trying to improve her actions to you. You have no real way to know this, for she remains silent.
After she is done, you look again into the mother. She briefly looks down to you, and then to her daughter. Then, she says:
"Muy bien, esto será algo largo, así que: pónganse cómodos."("Alright, this is going to be a long one, so make yourselves comfortable.")
Only after this words, does she actually starts to talk about the matter at hand: the origin of your condition, and how correlates to the town you’re on.
Calvitonks
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May 29, 2023
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