In a city in the south, a beautiful city, full of light, color and smells, lived Eduardo, a “good man”.
He belonged to one of the leading families of the city, was married to a beautiful and good woman, had many children and lived in a large house with a garden full of flowers.
He lived a happy and quiet life and to everyone’s eyes there was nothing that stood out in a special way. But there was. Secretly and without anyone knowing it, he had a hidden activity, which began little by little, when he realized the need in the street, when he saw that he could do something for them.
And so he met Carmen, who lived in a small house on the outskirts, who was very lonely, had no family and what she liked most was to have a snack with someone and to be able to talk to someone. Twice a week, Eduardo bought some buns and went to have a snack with Carmen.
There was Fernando, who had a family and suffered because he could not buy books for his children, he could not teach them to read, and there was Eduardo, taking books to the children, sitting with them, telling them stories and teaching them to read.
There were also Gloria and Jesus, old and a little handicapped, in need of care and medicine, but they could not afford it and their children could not take care of them. But they could count on Eduardo, who came to their house whenever he could, took care of them, bought them medicine and brought them love and joy.
And a group of children, wandering in the street, who every day waited for him when he left his house, surrounded him, waiting for his smile and his caresses and a few coins that he distributed among them every day. He knew their names, their needs, their problems and all this made them feel important in that little moment every day.
Word began to spread through the neighborhoods of the city, and he, always in secret, attended to everyone he could, always smiling, always willing.
He was just as good to his family, they all loved him, a family that grew bigger and bigger, to which also came the grandchildren, who adored their grandfather. They all loved and respected him very much and had no doubt that all the time he was not spending with them he was working, walking or hanging out with his friends.
Eduardo was happy with his life, with his wife, with his children and grandchildren, with his friends, activities and ….. with his great secret, that secret that made him so happy and from which he received so much.
But Eduardo was getting older, it was getting harder and harder for him to move around and get to everything, he was trying very hard to do it, he didn’t want anyone to suffer or to be left without help.
Until the day he got really sick, he could no longer go out, he was surrounded by his family, they gave him all the love they felt and, surrounded by all of them, he died in peace, he died as he lived, full of love.
And that’s when his family realized what Eduardo was doing when he wasn’t at home. In the midst of their grief they saw how their house was invaded by a multitude of poor and needy people from that beautiful city. They all wanted to give Eduardo their last goodbye, they all wanted to thank him for what he had done for them, for all the love, the joy, the understanding, the accompaniment, all the help he had given them.
The whole family was impressed and touched by the hidden and wonderful life of her husband, father and grandfather.
They could not believe that he had kept it hidden, that he had been so humble, so generous, in short, so good!
And they decided that this work had to continue, that it could not die with him, so they set out, and they met Carmen, Fernando, Gloria, Jesús, the children and so many others. And since they were one big family, Eduardo’s kindness was multiplied, each one contributed their grain of sand and they felt just as happy as Eduardo felt when he was able to help others.
CRISTINA BASA
