A touching story - The cripple of Santa Catalina
Perfection does not exist, and the outside of a person is not more important than the inside, how many times people have been judged by appearances, they only look at a body or a pretty face. The true essence of a human being is in his aptitude and attitude. Inner beauty is a symbol that very few are fortunate enough to possess. The following story happened a few years ago and is taken as an example of life for future generations. Judge for yourselves.
Santa Catalina is a town that is part of the Barlovento Region, characterized by the richness of its land in terms of vegetable crops, bananas, bananas, cambures, corn, sugar cane, among others. Many years ago a woman named Hilaria Blanco, gave birth to a child with a deformity in one of his limbs, the left leg was longer than the right, the doctor informed the woman that the child would have serious problems when he began to take his first steps, because of this problem, he told the mother that she should go to the capital to correct this condition to the child. Hilaria had no money and the child's father refused to take care of his son. In view of this situation, without a job and worried about the future of her son, she decided to look for a job in the Granada's hacienda called the Tulipanes, the wealthiest family in the region, because of her reputation as a good cook, she was immediately hired. Doña Helena de Granada, widow and heiress of a large fortune, childless, was a kind and very religious woman, so she accepted Hilaria to take her little son, named Pedro Miguel.
-One year later-
Pedro Miguel is one year old; he has a lot of difficulties to walk upright, Doña Helena decides to help the infant, she has become attached to the child so she goes to a friend she has in the capital city, a doctor who specializes in orthopedics. Hilaria happily accepts the help and goes to the specialist's office; the doctor, upon examining the little boy, tells her that the only thing he can do for him is to have a shoe made for the missing centimeters of his left leg in order to give him balance when walking; however, he warns her that the boy will be lame for the rest of his life. She says excitedly! Dr. I am very grateful that he will limp rather than crawl and not have a normal life like any other child his age. The boy smiles at his mother as if he understands what she is trying to say.
Back at the hacienda, Doña Helena receives them excitedly and says to Hilaria, "Tell me daughter, how did it go? The young woman answers sadly, not as I expected, but she is very grateful because the doctor treated us very well, Hilaria continues with her country lexicon telling her employer everything that happened in the capital...... the little doctor gave Pedro Miguel a shoe with a heel so he can walk straight! Doña Helena affectionately takes her by the hands and tells her; I am so glad to hear that, my dear, the important thing is that this is the only problem your son has and remember that you can always count on me. Hilaria, with tears in her eyes, knelt down and kissed Doña Helena's hands effusively. Helena pleading; God put you in my hands! In my way, Doña. Helena with great sorrow said No! No! No! No! please, daughter, stand up, don't kneel down like that again. We are human beings and we must show solidarity with those who need our help. And giving her a kiss on the forehead, he told her to go and rest, tomorrow we have a long day ahead of us, remember that the Castro Lopez family is coming to visit.
The next morning Hilaria woke up earlier than usual to prepare meals and desserts. The Castro Lopez family lived in the capital Don. Carmelo was a prominent lawyer, his wife Doña. Emilia, owner of the textile company of the time, had two children, Leonardo and Carlota. They were in charge of a nephew named Luis, who was orphaned when his parents died in a traffic accident. The boys were older than Pedro Miguel, but the girl was Pedro Miguel's age. The children of the Castro Lopez family were educated, but the nephew was a bad boy, thought Hilaria, after observing the boy, making fun of Pedro Miguel when he saw him walking. The weekend ends and the visitor leaves.
-Five years later-
Pedro Miguel has turned six years old and is of school age, he is an intelligent child and in spite of the teasing, the laughter and the nicknames he receives, he likes to attend school. Hilaria with her words sows in him the hope that someday he will be operated and he will be a normal child and will walk without a limp. Pedro Miguel's teacher is fascinated by how talented the boy is with his brushes, he draws beautiful landscapes and even paints a portrait of her, and not only that, he is polite, helpful, kind and very affectionate. In view of this talent Doña. Helena decides to set up a small studio in one of the many rooms of the hacienda so that the young man has a space where he can draw his artistic lines. The Hacienda Granada is decked out, Doña Helena is celebrating her birthday and will be the cream of the region. As always Hilaria runs the kitchen to delight everyone with her excellent seasoning. The first to arrive are the Castro Lopez family, Hilaria noticing their presence decides to look for Pedro Miguel and take him to sleep to prevent that wicked boy named Luis from bothering him; the sad little boy says to her, but mom I want to sing birthday to Doña. Helena she is very good. She hugs him and tells him I know my love, but there are very bad people out there. Look, I promise I will save you a good one. I promise I will save you a nice piece of cake...... he smiled at her and obeying his mother he got into bed and told her I love you mama.... I love you very much.
-Ten years later-
Pedro Miguel; he turned fifteen. Doña. Helena decided to give him the opportunity to study in one of the best and most prestigious educational institutions for talented young people in the city, where the young man can perfect his talent. Hilaria is so grateful to Doña. Helena that she asked her as a favor to be Pedro Miguel's godmother. The Doña. Enchanted she accepted, several weeks later the academic activities began, the young man goes to the classroom and in the hallway coincides with Carlota Castro López, who is going to study singing since the beautiful girl has a prodigious voice, when she sees him she smiles and asks him, are you going to study here, Pedro Miguel shyly answers yes, I am going to study Artistic Painting. Carlota very affectionately extends her hand and says, welcome ...... See you soon... The young man was captivated by those beautiful blue eyes, and said to himself.... Wake up deluded, she will never look at a boy like you! Poor and lame.... She's perfect....... The days and months went by and Carlota met Pedro Miguel, in the corridors, the cafeteria, the dining room, they talked about their studies and they agreed on several tastes. One of Carlota's friends approached her and said hey! Cata, that's what they called her, are you coming with us or are you staying, she answered yes, can I bring a friend, the girl gave the young man a scornful look and said, yes... well but you won't be able to dance and laughed. Carlota said to Pedro Miguel, don't listen to her, she is like that. The young man sadly said to the girl, excuse me Carlota but I prefer not to go, I don't want to be the target of ridicule.
-Three years later-
Three years have passed, Pedro Miguel is the center of attention in the institution, admired for his talent, for his aptitude and because he did not give up, he continued advancing without caring about being the target of mockery, scorn, rejection and listening to those negative phrases; never will that lame man stop being lame! He is a poor devil, let the old woman die where he lives, these are some of the comments of unscrupulous, envious, scheming people who have no talent to show..... Or yes, their talent is to disqualify and bet on the failures of other people..... What is certain is that the young man managed to arrive limping, where those who walk upright never arrived; He won a scholarship to study abroad and become a famous painter and recognized for his great works, he took his message beyond the horizon, that horizon that many for fear of experiencing did not realize their dreams or goals because they only know how to go around in a circle in one place, and this young man limping, walked in a hurry without fear, taking advantage of everything that the universe gave him although it was cruel because it took away a few inches of his leg but gave him plenty of talent, kindness, maturity and above all humility. He also won the love of Carlota, the girl of his dreams.
-Six years later-
Carlota, reading the press, learns that a group of doctors specialized in orthopedics are visiting the country and decides to contact through some influential friends to talk about Pedro Miguel's case. The girl manages to take the young man's case and they decide to study it, five months later they call Pedro Miguel to operate on him. The surgical intervention is completed; his mother, Carlota and Doña. Helena, anxiously await news from the surgeon; at last! The doctor arrives with news and tells them: Everything was a success, the only thing left is the recovery and the therapy to see the final results, for the moment let him rest. The women embrace each other, crying with emotion. The next day Pedro Miguel wakes up in pain, after the medical examination, Dr. Complacido tells him I will discharge you in a week after giving the indications and recommendations for the therapy. The young man says thank you Dr. God bless you!
-A year later, after the surgery-
Pedro Miguel, standing up, is preparing to receive one of the most important awards for his artistic talent, he consolidates as the Painter of the Year. A pride for his mother, Doña. Helena and his girlfriend Carlota. The young man takes the opportunity to ask Carlota to marry him and she happily accepts. Then he asks her, "If I were still lame, would you accept? She says", "Of course I would, silly, I didn't fall in love with your talent". I fell in love with your soul, your kindness, your humility, the way you see life, overcoming the obstacles that appear on the way. Even the most handsome man in town would like to become a Pedro Miguel.
This story is a life lesson for every person who, despite their limitations and physical appearance, takes advantage of their inner beauty. How many people walk without a limp, yet have a mental disability. They feel they are the masters of the world because they have an abundance of physical beauty and wealth. Ah, but what have they achieved, have they discovered what their talent is, because everyone is born with an innate intelligence and talent, the difficult thing is not to have it, the difficult thing is to discover it and keep it.
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