Angels without wings.

Meet Elena Da Silva

She works at the local Farmer Market here in my town. I don't remember how we met nor when, I just know that one day we were friends and that's that. She comes from a big family with Portuguese Origins, since both her parents where in fact Portuguese by birth but came here and settle when they where very young.

The first thing you need to know about her is this: she has a heart that's to big for her body. She always greets you like you are the most important thing in the world, and makes a big deal when you go to her stand. Everybody that comes through the stand leaves witha big smile in their face because she always makes sure that you are well attended ans satisfied with your purchase.

The second thing that you need to know about Elena is that she is a tireless worker! She is in the market from Thursday to Monday, rests on Tuesday and replenish her shop on Wednesday only to start over on Thursday all over again.

When her mom was still alive, she always took her to here work place because she didn't have anybody to take care of here, so, she set up a little room for her mom inside the stand, with roof and all, and even though she didn't stop greeting customers, she didn't neglected her mom, until sadly, she passed away, a little over a year ago.

Today I went back to the market, to pick up a few things and check if the debt I paid three days ago was deducted. In fact, it was, and since it was early, really early, she wasn't fully installed, but there was another reason, she is in pain! She had a tooth extraction on her day off, and it was very very invasive to say the least. The root of the tooth broke, and the dentist had to pull it out bit by bit. She should be in rest but she has to work for a living, so she was trying to keep low key but the guy she had helping her was a little to slow for her, and the customers where coming in, fortunately one of her brothers arrived and she finally had a little more help.

My real debt to her

Back in 2016, came payment day at my job. I had to purchase some things and the veggies we needed for that week. But at one stablishment my debit card didn't worked and every time the checkout counter guy passed it, the bank took the amount from my account but didn't credit it to the store, and I ended up broke and without anything that I needed to buy. I went by her stand, it was in my way, and as always, she greeted me and we started talking. We she knew about what had happened, she offered to give me credit in her shop in order for me to bring home what I needed. Since that day, she always asks if I have enough money with me because if not, she takes note and sends me home.

By 2018, we hardly consume the minimum amount of food, due to food shortages and the high cost of what was available at the time. We all lost too much weight, I didn't complained too much in my case, since that was the only diet that worked for me, hunger. But my mom and dad, they lost too much weight, too much, and my main concern was to balance their meals and give them the nutrients they needed daily, and ensure the 3 meals a day, even if they didn't have meat, chicken, pork, eggs, etc.

Elena was the one that helped me to do that; she opened a endless tab for me, and because of that, my family always had vegetables in the table, and if we didn't had corn flour to make arepas (buying bread was unthinkable) we had salads, tubers such as cassava, sweet potato, etc. and whenever we could afford oil, or lard, we made them fried to make things interesting, we had fruits for breakfast and sometimes even for a snack, and even the brown sugar (called Panela or Papelon) to make Coconut and Pineapple "Conserva", one of my dad's favorites.

Thank's to her we didn't starved on those times, because she selflessly decided to help us even knowing that meat loss of profits for her and her business on a country where the inflation rate went up horribly by the hour. To this day she still gives me the credit option in her shop, and even more, she lend me a cellphone, a basic cellphone, because she says that I need to have something that allows me to call home if a need to, and gave me one. Who does that?!

She does, and I'll tell you more, I'm not the only one! She has a notebook, where she keeps track of the debtors, and I've seen tabd worse than mine in that notebook, and she doesn't call anybody to collect, she always says that kindness has no price, and that nobody gives to others what they don't have in their hearts, so, if someone took advantage of her kindness that's their problem, not hers, and time will collect the debt on it's own.

I have learned a lot from her, and sadly, there aren't to many people like her in this world, but just knowing one, is more than enough for me to know that angels do exist, even if they don't have wings.

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Thank's for reading me!

✨✨Blessings to all ✨✨

@rebeysa85