When a library burns

Recently I was listening to brother Alfredo as he reminded us: "When an old man dies, a library burns", the following story occurred to me:

In a nearby town the children lived out their stories listening to their grandfather. Every afternoon they sat around the bench where he used to sit watching the sunset. One day Grandpa was no longer there; the children looked for him and asked for him: “He has become ill; it is very serious ”, they were told.

The dreams, joy and life of the children also suffered. Everything was silence and monotony. That bench was empty, though full of loneliness, missing that old man.

That man with a live gaze and who shone when telling his stories would no longer be there: the children felt that their library had burned down.

Marleny Olivera, from San Ignacio