Living with them was what I wanted most

There were two people who met when they were young on the Iberian Peninsula. Both were 19 years old and decided to get married despite their limited financial resources. Both came from farming backgrounds and knew only about planting crops and their produce.

Father

At 21, they already had their first child, but their living conditions were precarious. He had just returned from participating in the war that left his country in very bad shape, economically speaking.

He drew on his adventurous spirit and one day told his wife of his decision to leave his country and seek his fortune on another continent. He left her behind while he sought new paths to escape the situation that was slowly destroying his family.

His country, which had depleted its resources, was fighting for decolonization in the 1950s. It must have been a very difficult situation for them that led him to make such a decision, to leave his family and seek other paths. With only a boat ticket that would take him to another continent.

Crossing the Atlantic, he reached South America and embraced the idiosyncrasies of another country that welcomed him. His sea voyage lasted almost 40 days, and the migration of these Europeans to other parts of the world meant that they lost contact with their families for a long time. It was the 1950s, and technology did not help them keep in touch with their families, except when another family member traveled and brought news from here to there and from there to here.

Somehow, this man was welcomed into a country that opened its doors to him only in exchange for his effort and productivity, with the promise of a decent wage. He stayed. Over the years, he sent for his wife and son. They arrived ready to give their best to get ahead.

Maintaining the good name they brought from their country, even though they were only farmers there, made them proud of their origins and determined to show that they would not let down the country that had welcomed them.

With his work as a gardener, driver, merchant, and then entrepreneur, he began to rise and bring the rest of his family to the country that had welcomed him.

After their third child, their fourth daughter felt like she had no family. She only knew her father's friends and had no uncles, cousins, or grandparents.

Patricia grew up with a feeling of not having a family. She always asked...

"Why do my friends talk about their grandparents, and I don't?

"Mom, where are my grandparents?

"Mom, why don't I have uncles or cousins?

At night, when she went to bed, Patricia cried. She only remembered the stories of her schoolmates. Proudly, they talked about their uncles, their grandparents. About adventures with their cousins.

Patricia grew up with that feeling of detachment. There was a void in her heart because she didn't know her relatives.

Her parents died, and with them died the hope of meeting the rest of her family. Perhaps they remained in the country that had forced them to leave their roots behind.

When asked, “What time would I have liked to have lived in” I would say... that time. I would have liked to have been born and raised in that place where my relatives were. My grandparents, my cousins.

The truth is that God knows what He is doing. He allowed my family of six siblings, five of whom were born on this continent, to never know our roots. The Lord, in His greatness, allowed us to study here, become professionals, and then have our own families.

That does not take away from the emptiness in my heart of not having completed the cycle, of the absence of my ancestors in my life.

Perhaps if I had been born in that country, I would not be a healthcare professional; I would probably be just another illiterate farmer, much like my own parents.

Perhaps I would not even have had the opportunity to be born, or maybe I wouldn't have had the chance to know my ancestors and relatives, and I would be just another farm worker. I don't know.

But when I ask myself what era I would have liked to have lived in, I think I would have liked to have been born in the place where my parents grew up.

This is my entry in the contest sponsored by hive-107855..."Contest: The Adventiade 2025 - Round IV / Die Adventiade 2025 - Runde IV"

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