Pamelú

Figuring out what to wear was tricky because the temperature inside the house was constantly changing. 

On certain days, she’d open her bedroom door and discovered the house had become smaller.

Other days, the house was bigger and the windows tiny. The temperature kept changing; some days it was cold, and some others it was hot. One day, she even saw snow falling inside the house!

She wondered what made the house change. There had to be a reason behind the fluctuating temperature, the sudden smells, the different shapes and sizes.

While she thought of an answer, she peeked through a little crack in her bedroom door and realized there were many different factors that could explain the house’s particular behavior. 

So, she came up with a plan:
Measure the temperature with a fever thermometer …it was all she had. Calculate the distance between the little crack in the door and a nearby mirror and record any changes. Measure the wind with one of her hairs to determine how fast it moved. Take a deep breath to try and capture all the smells floating in the air: toast, candy, meat, stinky kitchen trash (yuck!), and many more. Listen to the noises and sort them out. Practice keeping her eyes wide open without blinking for as long as she could, determined to watch everything.

After gathering all the information, she made a chart where she wrote down everything she saw as a way of anticipating the state of the house before she left the bedroom. 

She did such a remarkable job of creating a meticulously detailed record of every variable that she was able to almost always guess exactly how the house would present itself each day. 

She also made an explorer outfit! She used a kitchen pot as a helmet, her dad’s big cowboy boots, a pair of wide-leg jeans, a colorful striped T-shirt and a few other gadgets. Her bedroom was on the second floor, so she had to tiptoe carefully to the stairs, leaving no trace.

A very important thing to know is that her cats were the best spies she could have as a kid.  It would be a crime not to mention their names: Lucho, Malo, Piratita, Rucete, Pru, and Cuchuflí. Their sharp instincts warned her what was to come. She could always trust in that valuable information.

As time passed, she realized the house’s temperature shifts were a reflection of the emotions of the people living in it. Sometimes, they shared the same cheerful feelings, as it was the case whenever Chile won a sporting event. But other times, everyone had different feelings. Mom was tired, Dad was sad, and her brothers were bored. When the days were sunny, the air they breathed was blissfully light, and all was laughter and light-hearted anecdotes. Other days, she could perceive everyone’s uneasiness and anger. The air was no longer breathable and the house itself seemed too small for everyone to fit in. 

Whenever this happened, Pamelú would feel the urge to rush to see her cousin, Igor. She also found comfort in the warmth of Cuchuflí’s purr, he was well-known for having the loudest purr on earth. Holding her cat close, they would both take deep breaths, and she’d focus on gratitude for the people and beautiful experiences life had gifted her. 

As she grew older, she realized that her well-being didn’t really depend on what others did, but on herself. She discovered that taking the time to fill her lungs with air helped ease her mind. I’m pretty sure her cats taught her, every time they purred near her or curled up on her chest and slept together.

Slowly, she noticed she didn’t need to keep her eyes wide open anymore, or feel scared to leave her room. She was older now, moved to a new house, and many things had changed.

She began to walk, sensing the ground beneath her feet, and discovered there was a lush and generous nature that supported her every day and gave her its marvelous presence. Her tight, observant look slowly became softer. She was now able to see the world with a new set of eyes; she saw potter wasp and different types of bees and bumblebees for the first time, she heard… hummingbirds, thrushes, tencas, crabs, praying mantis and music.

And so, her daily life became more full and aware, at her own speed regardless of external events.

She started to trust, to let go, to stop planning every time she needed to leave her room, to stop measuring the changes and to stop calculating…

And just like that, before she even knew it, she began to dance.

English translation by: Jimena Chandía Cabas