Créditos da foto: Lorena Santos @loresinnerbabel
One step after another. A little girl learns to run before she walks. One step after another. Laura learns how to leap before she looks. Little feet dangling in the air, arms drawing lines along the living room.
Near the house she grew up in, there is a creek. Its limpid waters allow for a privileged view of all the wild life taking place beneath the surface. Through the cold water one can see rocks in the bottom, they are black, white, and brown. By the creek, there are enormous trees whose leaves are an array of bright shades of red, orange, and purple.
Near the house she grew up in, there are tiny fireflies that used to light Laura’s path when she was running towards the creek. When it was dark, stars came down from the sky to dance with her. One step after another. They waltzed. The little girl knew then that her life would be filled with wondrous adventures. She was certain she could be anything she dreamt of, an artist, a prima ballerina, a marine biologist, or an inventor.
One day, near those same trees by that same creek, Laura spotted a nymph whose hair was glimmering gold and whose eyes were a unique shade of green. The little girl was mesmerized, her little feet could barely keep her from falling as she tried to get closer to the mythical woman. “No need to be afraid, dear. I’ve known you since before you could run”, said the nymph. Laura’s eyes sparkled with glee. The nymph's, however, were embedded in deep sorrow. “I come to warn you about the truth of this Earth. The world as it is does not belong to us women. This creek is not yours, neither are the trees nor the fireflies nor the leaves”, the nymph said. The little girl did not understand. “How come these waters which are so familiar to me can belong to someone who has never been here?”, she asked the woman before her. “That is the law of the land, my dear child”, the nymph answered, “Nothing that touches the ground belongs to us”.
Laura cried tears of sadness and anger for the first time in her life. It wasn’t fair, but she could feel it was the truth. Her friends had been taken from her, she was alone. “Hush, hush, child. Let me tell you a secret”, the nymph said as she put her arms around Laura. “The stars, the sun, and the moon all belong to us. They have not been corrupted by the touch of Men”.
The little girl, a woman now, only knows how to walk, look, and stand on solid ground. Every time she had to choose between dare and safety she picked the latter. “This world does not belong to you, Laura” she would repeat as a mantra. Her job? Public worker. Her house? Next to her parents. Her sex? Missionary.
One night, driving back home she saw the moon disappear, a total eclipse. Caught off guard, she cried. “No moon, no stars. I have nothing”, she thought. As she wiped the tears off her face, she noticed small lights glowing at a distance. Fireflies! The creek’s fireflies!
She parked her car by the trail that led to the waters she had not visited ever since that bittersweet afternoon. She was running as fast as she could, each step bringing her closer to the beaming creatures. “Almost there, almost there” and then in her excitement she forgot to look: a leap in the dark. As the cold water embraced her body she felt alive again.
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I wish I were the wind. I wish I could fly like Fred and Ginger. I wish I were as clear as the creek that taught me how to dance.
One step after another. A woman resurfaces. She has learned when to walk and when to run; to look, to leap. If this world belongs to men, she will take it by storm. One step after another. Moonlight reigns supreme again. The nymph smiles at the woman. “The world does not belong to us, women….” the wise soul says waiting for her friend to see into the future.
It doesn’t.
Yet.
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