Day 45: On ancient streets.
We walked beside the ruins on the way to the mercado, the ashen air still heavy with the reminder that volcanoes were the volatile and unwelcoming sentries around the village.
On the sidewalks, they were scattered about like dolls. The lame, the blind, the poor. Mysterious in their arrival, disruptions to the cadence of the crowds that walked ancient cobblestone streets in search of riches.
Always alone. Always.
And then, life broke forth. I became the disruption as I stopped and watched the mother and child, pressed so small against the expanse of amarillo. The beggar’s bowl beside her, she focused not on the receiving but on the giving. Her little one enraptured by a plastic jar, they rolled it back and forth in a tender game of catch. There was no one else in that moment.
Just two dolls who knew they were rich in each other.
I found myself wanting to be a doll.
*****
Shoot like a Girl began as part of the #31days project. You can learn more about the “why” of my story and see all my daily posts here. I’d love to stay in touch with you – be sure to subscribe to my blog and visit my writer’s page to get updates on stories and special projects, including a collaborative that will publish this spring and a book about women who are fighting for change and beauty. Thank you for your encouragement!
I read the powerful words “Always alone. Always.” and immediately thought, “No. Never alone. Never.” And that’s our mission. To let the dolls–the forgotton–know that they are never alone. Never.
Every time I see them, I wonder “oh sweet one, how did you get to this place?” Not just physically, but how did their life’s journey lead them here. I’ve been able to speak the most broken of words to only a few, and we’re never in the merchant centers long enough to talk – but one day I’ll have days of just getting low on the streets and listening and holding hands and faces.
When that day comes Ronne I hope I too can listen, hold hands and faces. I find myself doing this here in the US as I work with the homeless but look forward to that day I can do it on the streets of Guatemala.
Beautiful. So simple and beautiful
Oh holy moly, you got me! This is gorgeous and effectively descriptive. Your eyes are like His! You see as He sees.
Beautiful.
and I’m glad you are back!