In addition to my parents, those special people who are so important to every child, there was a woman named Esperanza, whom I consider my second mother. I don't know how Esperanza was related to our family; I know she wasn't a cousin or an aunt... but she was always part of the family.

^{Mom and Dad}

I must have been about 8 years old, and she was about 30, although I don't know her exact age. She was the kind of woman you could count on with your eyes closed. She was the confidante of my mischief, the perfect advisor, the necessary hug when Mum had to go out. She was the second face the world gave me after the operation that gave me my sight.

I vaguely remember that she once kissed the soles of my feet; I think I felt embarrassed; I still couldn't see. I asked her why, and she simply replied, ‘Because I love you.’ Her words were engraved in my heart. Despite the time that has passed, some 63 years since then, I can still picture the scene in detail.

^{Victoria Esperanza Pinto}

We had just moved into a four-walled house (three walls made of tin and one of concrete blocks). I remember that, on one of those first days after we arrived, I found a mouse, light grey in colour with a white chest, in the lower frame of the front door. The strangest thing was that I was able to gently pick it up with my hands (it didn't run away) and it stayed calm in the palm of my hand. My older brother took it from me and threw it to the rooster. I remember how sad that made me, and it was Esperanza who comforted me.

Those were wonderful moments, those I experienced as a child, because, due to my condition, I was always overprotected by the other members of my family. My parents are no longer with us; neither is Esperanza, but it is the memories that keep them alive in my heart.

Today, at 70 years old, I understand that the true vision was not in my eyes, but in the love with which Esperanza taught me to feel the world.

Hi! Everybody, if you've made it this far, THANK YOU! You are welcome to participate; the link with all the information is below. But I also hope to read your comments in the reply box. Thank you for joining us in these waters of HIVE.