(đŸ‡Ș🇾/🇬🇧) Cuando el ParaĂ­so 🌮se vuelve un Infierno đŸ”„/CapĂ­tulo 5 | When Paradise 🌮 Turns into Hell đŸ”„/Chapter 5

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‎La muerte repentina de mi abuela fue un punto de quiebre. Todo lo que creía seguro hasta aquel momento se vino abajo.
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‎Su funeral fue muy concurrido, pues toda la comunidad la tenĂ­a en alta estima. El mismo dĂ­a que nos avisaron empacamos y viajamos a su funeral y sepultura. Verla metida en una caja y sin vida cuando hasta hace apenas dos dĂ­as –¡solamente dos dĂ­as atrĂĄs!– compartĂ­a con nosotros como si nada, fue una impresiĂłn que aĂșn no consigo digerir.



Funeral

FotografĂ­a de Pavel Danilyuk en Pexels


‎A diecisiete años de su muerte me siguen persiguiendo las Ășltimas palabras de aquel momento cuando la despedĂ­:
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‎"No es la Ășltima vez que nos vamos a ver. TodavĂ­a tenemos una cita en mi graduaciĂłn"
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‎Pero sĂ­ era la Ășltima vez, solo que no tenĂ­a idea. Ni siquiera el acto de grado de mi cohorte lo disfrutĂ©. El dĂ­a de la entrega de los diplomas miraba a mi alrededor y me dolĂ­a una inmensa barbaridad ver sobre todo a mis compañeros abrazados y fotografiĂĄndose con sus abuelas. Fue insoportable; pero lo disimulĂ©.
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‎EntrĂ© en una etapa de limbo emocional que me obligĂł a reestructurar mis proyecciones a largo plazo. DesistĂ­ estudiar IngenierĂ­a Civil, abandonĂ© muchos planes vinculados a ello y en lugar de ceder a la depresiĂłn, solo dejĂ© que pasara el tiempo y ya encontrarĂ­a quĂ© hacer.
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‎Cuatro años despuĂ©s, estaba de regreso en el mismo lugar donde alguna vez habĂ­a tenido con ella horas de agradables conversaciones, que para entonces solo eran simples recuerdos. Nada mĂĄs.
‎


‎Recordar el pasado –desde la memoria y no desde el resentimiento– puede ayudarnos a ver en retrospectiva quĂ© errores podemos evitar repetir y quĂ© peligros no vimos venir por haber actuado con ignorancia.
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‎Desmontar el pasado nos ayuda a no quedarnos estancados en el. Por eso, quiero decir que con este relato solo pretendo compartir lo que vivĂ­, cĂłmo lo superĂ© y quĂ© hice para pasar la pĂĄgina. Probablemente estas vivencias sirvan mĂĄs que de entretenimiento, un espejo donde otros, habiendo pasado por situaciones similares, puedan encontrar el reflejo de una realidad que tal vez no se atreven a contar.


Los primeros tres o cuatro meses viviendo con mi familia paterna fueron tranquilos, sencillos y agradables. Mi plan: encontrar un empleo y estudiar. Para finales de 2013 aĂșn la economĂ­a del paĂ­s era fuerte, sĂłlida y estable. El dinero era dinero, no ese montĂłn de barajitas hiperdevaluadas que son hoy.
‎‎RĂĄpidamente ingresĂ© como auxiliar de carga en el Aeropuerto Internacional de MaiquetĂ­a y de allĂ­, luego en una empresa de Telecomunicaciones ubicada en una zona del este de Caracas.
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‎En paralelo, pasaron cosas que cambiaron por completo mi percepción de "familia". Sin explicación alguna, al cabo de cuatro meses mi presencia en aquella casa se volvió un estorbo, o así lo entendí.
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‎A mi abuelo empezó a molestarle casi todo lo que hacía. En aquel entonces, tenía la costumbre de escribir de madrugada, cuando el bullicio de la casa y de la ciudad se calmaba y el silencio encontraba su momento. Allí es donde las ideas fluyen. Con precaución, me quedaba en la sala, lejos de las habitaciones de todos y con una sola lámpara encendida, maquetaba mis ideas y proyectos.



EscenificaciĂłn referencial

FotografĂ­a de cottonbro studio en Pexels


Un día mi abuelo se levantó a mitad de la noche. Fue a la sala y me consiguió despierto, escribiendo. No dijo nada, tomó agua y volvió a acostarse. Al día siguiente hizo lo mismo y me volvió a encontrar escribiendo, pero regresó a la cama refunfuñando incoherencias entre dientes.
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‎A partir de ese dĂ­a comenzĂł una cacerĂ­a sin sentido. A mitad de la noche, cada dĂ­a, se levantaba a oscuras y, apoyĂĄndose en las paredes, caminaba por toda la casa hasta que llegaba a la sala y si me encontraba escribiendo y redactando, armaba un berrinche senil porque, a su juicio, yo tenĂ­a que estar acostado y durmiendo. Desde ese dĂ­a me puso un apodo: "el murciĂ©lago". DejĂ© de escribir de madrugada con frecuencia. Al parecer, desde entonces se calmĂł.
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‎Poco tiempo pasó para que encontrara otra razón para lucirse y armar otro berrinche. En aquel tiempo, en esa zona el agua llegaba por las tuberías una vez al mes. Ya era costumbre, así que todas las casas de aquella comunidad tenían de uno a varios tanques plásticos que se utilizaban como reserva.
‎En una ocasión, la fecha del bombeo oficial se retrasó casi por dos semanas.
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‎Como Ășltimo recurso y mientras esperĂĄbamos –como se agotaban las reservas– comprĂĄbamos agua en galones de 20 litros. Cada quien compraba su galĂłn. Casi siempre, ellos –mis tĂ­os y mi abuelo– gastaban lo que compraban antes que yo, por lo que no era extraño que en ocasiones no tuvieran para bañarse, pero yo sĂ­.
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‎Nunca tuve problemas en compartir, pero el agradecimiento, asĂ­ fuese de boca nada mĂĄs, no existĂ­a. En esa condiciĂłn sucedieron cosas ridĂ­culamente absurdas. Una vez, tras llegar del trabajo, me fui a dar una ducha. Al salir del baño escuchĂ© a lo lejos una discusiĂłn. Era mi abuelo, que hablando solo declaraba que no entendĂ­a cĂłmo era posible que si nadie mĂĄs se habĂ­a bañado en todo el dĂ­a porque el agua se les terminaba demasiado rĂĄpido, yo sĂ­ pudiera hacerlo. Se atreviĂł a sugerir que les robaba agua sin que ellos se dieran cuenta.



Una convivencia problemĂĄtica rĂĄpidamente me decepcionĂł

FotografĂ­a de Satyam Pathak en Pexels


‎¿Que quĂ© decĂ­an o hacĂ­an mis tĂ­os? Nada. Se lavaban las manos y se hacĂ­an la vista gorda. Poco a poco se hacĂ­an parte de aquel circo. Uno tras otro mostraban incomodidad absurda por cosas sin sentido. La convivencia empezĂł a mutar en un campo de batalla.
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‎Una vez, despierto a oscuras y apoyado en una ventana mientras observaba hacia el vacĂ­o del mar nocturno, pensaba que era momento de salir de allĂ­. Pero Âża dĂłnde? Regresar con mis padres no era una opciĂłn, en lugar de eso querĂ­a que ellos salieran de Cantaura... Por aquellos dĂ­as el bombeo oficial se habĂ­a retrasado mĂĄs de lo normal y la tensiĂłn era insostenible. Mientras consideraba opciones para resolver mi situaciĂłn, escuchĂ© un chorrito... un goteo continuo. Sorprendido, salĂ­ de mis pensamientos y comprobĂ© que comenzaba a llegar agua por las tuberĂ­as.
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‎Mi emociĂłn fue gigantesca. Aunque era de madrugada y todos dormĂ­an, como pude revisĂ© los tanques de reserva y descubrĂ­ que de tantos dĂ­as sin usar habĂ­an desarrollado un limo baboso y verde por dentro, asĂ­ que sin hacer mucho ruido, me puse a lavar todo lo que podĂ­a contener agua: tanques, pipotes, tobos, poncheras... No me importĂł madrugar con tal de que hubiese agua en las reservas.
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‎A eso de las tres y media de la mañana, se levantĂł mi tĂ­o NoĂ© enfadado porque el sonido de los tanques mientras se llenaban le hacĂ­a perder el sueño. Le expliquĂ© que posiblemente al amanecer, cuando el resto de la comunidad despertara, muy probablemente el agua dejarĂ­a de llegar con fuerza porque todos en el barrio comenzarĂ­an a llenar sus reservas. AdemĂĄs, nosotros no contĂĄbamos con bomba asĂ­ que habĂ­a que hacer algo mientras.
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‎Refunfuñando, me dijo que yo debĂ­a estar dormido; que aquellas no eran horas para coger agua. QuedĂ© sin palabras. "TodavĂ­a estoy sacrificando mi sueño para que todos estemos mĂĄs cĂłmodos... Âży eso es lo Ășnico que tienes para decirme? ÂżAsĂ­ es como me respondes?", pensĂ©. No lo dije por respeto, pero aquella fue una actitud que me decepcionĂł.
‎



Luna llena en la madrugada

FotografĂ­a de Arthur Mateo en Pexels


Andando el tiempo, una persona del barrio me regaló una perrita preciosa de pura raza Golden Retriever. Suelen ser costosos y difíciles de conseguir, pero caí en gracia y no tuve que pagar nada por ella. Contento, me la llevé pensando cómo hacer para tenerla de tal forma que no molestara. Encontré a mi abuelo sentado a la entrada tomando la brisa de la tarde, pero no mås me vio con la mascota, su rostro se transformó en una expresión no de rabia, sino de un odio irracional.
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‎Sin disimular su enojo, se levantĂł y dirigiĂ©ndose a mĂ­ me dijo:
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‎– Y ese perro... ¿de dónde lo sacaste?
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‎– Me lo regalaron –le contestĂ©.
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‎Y sin otra explicación, agregó:
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– AquĂ­ tĂș no vas a tener ese perro. AsĂ­ que ve buscando a dĂłnde te lo llevas.
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‎Nervioso y asustado, redundĂ© en el hecho de que no tenĂ­a dĂłnde tenerla... Entonces le preguntĂ©:
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‎– Pero Âżpor quĂ© no lo puedo tener aquĂ­? Usted sabe que yo no cuento con otro lugar para cuidarla.
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‎–Ese no es mi problema. No me da la gana de que tengas ese perro aquí. Antes que termine el día, no quiero seguir viendo ese animal.
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‎SentĂ­ rabia, impotencia, dolor, tristeza... todo junto. ÂżQuĂ© culpa tenĂ­a la perrita? Era solo una cachorrita. AdemĂĄs, era preciosa, juguetona y muy alegre. Daba gusto tenerla. Por un instante imaginĂ© quĂ© distinto me hubiese respondido mi abuela. Se me llenaron los ojos de lĂĄgrimas, pero no permitĂ­ que Ă©l me las viera.



Un cachorro Golden Retriever (Referencial)

FotografĂ­a de GERARDO PEREZ en Pexels


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‎TenĂ­a que pensar rĂĄpido. Me sentĂ© con la perrita a mis pies y la acariciaba mientras trataba de encontrar una soluciĂłn. No iba a botarla en la calle, ella no se lo merecĂ­a. DebĂ­a encontrar una salida y hacerlo rĂĄpido. Perdido en mis pensamientos, una voz a mi espalda me sobresaltĂł:
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‎–Te dije que no quería ese perro aquí.
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‎Mi abuelo me tomó por sorpresa, estaba cavilando en mis pensamientos y no lo había visto acercarse.
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‎–Estoy pensando quĂ© hacer, abuelo –le respondĂ­ con firmeza.
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‎No me volviĂł a molestar. RecordĂ© que unos dĂ­as antes, andando en un autobĂșs por otra zona de La Guaira llamada Caraballeda, coincidĂ­ con un lugar parecido a un parque en medio de toda la jungla de cemento con un cartel al frente donde se leĂ­a "Granja de Contacto". No recordĂ© el nombre del lugar pero sĂ­ quĂ© era.
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‎AsĂ­ que rĂĄpidamente me dispuse, tomĂ© la cachorrita y me fui. Minutos despuĂ©s y con mucho dolor la entreguĂ© a los cuidadores que atendĂ­an otros animales rescatados de la calle. A la vez sentĂ­ tranquilidad porque tendrĂ­a un sitio mĂĄs apropiado y digno dĂłnde pasar la noche y personas que la cuidaran como no me dejarĂ­an hacerlo a mĂ­. Una vez mĂĄs, me sentĂ­ profundamente decepcionado de mi familia.
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‎De manera progresiva fueron más frecuentes los malos tratos, la ingratitud y los desprecios. La verdad, nunca les di razones para justificar ese proceder. Concluí que simplemente no toleraban mi presencia por las preferencias que tuvo mi abuela conmigo. Quizás ese pasado despertó en ellos sentimientos negativos que no supieron manejar y en esa ocasión encontraron la oportunidad perfecta para demostrarlo.
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Mås tragos amargos a la lista cuando descubrí a hurtadillas que una de mis tías, con quien me desahogaba sobre cómo me sentía por todo aquello, simulando que me entendía y que estaba de mi parte, terminaba contåndole todo lo que escuchaba de mí al resto de la familia, a los mismos que me hacían la vida imposible. Una convivencia hipócrita y malintencionada que lentamente mató el poco cariño y amor que sentía por ellos.
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‎Fue esa impotencia acumulada la que me empujó más rápidamente a abandonar ese lugar.

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‎MarĂ­a Martina fue una mujer temerosa de Dios y muy devota. ProvenĂ­a de una formaciĂłn en conocimiento bĂ­blico muy abundante, de la denominaciĂłn bautista del movimiento evangĂ©lico. Bajo esa ideologĂ­a y cosmovisiĂłn crio a todos sus hijos.
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‎Como ya mencionĂ© antes, de todos ellos quien mĂĄs se apegĂł a su educaciĂłn espiritual fue mi papĂĄ. Sus hermanos se adaptaron a una religiosidad light muy permisiva, de apariencias y cargada de hipocresĂ­a. Mi papĂĄ fue mĂĄs, digamos, respetuoso y entregado a sus convicciones, esforzĂĄndose a pesar de su humanidad, por ajustarse a los criterios que aprendiĂł acerca de la conducta y el estilo de vida de un evangĂ©lico.
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FotografĂ­a de el jusuf en Pexels


‎Un modelo que pasĂł de una generaciĂłn a otra, coincidiendo conmigo. En esa religiĂłn, mi papĂĄ conociĂł a quien luego serĂ­a su esposa y, compartiendo ambos la misma fe, formaron un hogar. Como primogĂ©nito, me dedicaron mucho tiempo y empeño en educarme bajo lo que ellos sabĂ­an y creĂ­an que era lo correcto; por eso desde muy pequeño desarrollĂ© un conocimiento y cariño muy especial por las Sagradas Escrituras.
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‎Ya de adulto, fuese de viaje o por mudanza, lo primero que hacĂ­a al llegar a cualquier sitio era buscar una iglesia evangĂ©lica y asistir con regularidad. Por eso, cuando decidĂ­ huir de mi familia, pedĂ­ refugio en la iglesia a la que asistĂ­a desde hacĂ­a varias semanas. Era un grupo pequeño, entre 16 y 20 personas, en el que ostentaba el liderazgo una mujer que decĂ­a ser pastora.
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‎AllĂ­ experimentĂ© en primer plano las contradicciones y abusos de conciencia mĂĄs inauditos gracias a los cuales constatĂ© cĂłmo personas cegadas por el poder que otorga la sugestiĂłn y la manipulaciĂłn, son capaces de arrojarse cargos y tĂ­tulos tomados de la Biblia y usar la religiĂłn para alimentarse el ego de maneras desproporcionadas.
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‎JamĂĄs pensĂ© que estar allĂ­ tambiĂ©n me exigirĂ­a un alto precio, pero esta vez, por tener criterio propio. A partir de esta experiencia comencĂ© a cuestionarme seriamente si lo que creĂ­ durante toda mi vida era realmente la verdad. En adelante, los hechos hablarĂ­an por sĂ­ solos.

ContinĂșa en el prĂłximo capĂ­tulo...




To read the previous chapter, click here

My grandmother’s sudden death was a turning point. Everything I had taken for granted up until that moment came crashing down.
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‎Her funeral was very well attended, as the whole community held her in high regard. The very day we were told, we packed our bags and travelled to her funeral and burial. Seeing her lying in a coffin, lifeless, when just two days ago – only two days ago! – she had been spending time with us as if nothing were wrong, was a shock I still cannot come to terms with.



Funeral

Photograph by Pavel Danilyuk on Pexels


Seventeen years after her death, I am still haunted by the last words from that moment when I said goodbye to her:
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‎“This isn’t the last time we’ll see each other. We still have a date at my graduation.”
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‎But it was the last time; I just had no idea. I didn’t even enjoy my own graduation ceremony. On graduation day, I looked around and it hurt like hell to see my classmates hugging and taking photos with their grandmothers. It was unbearable; but I hid it.
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‎I entered a period of emotional limbo that forced me to rethink my long-term plans. I gave up studying Civil Engineering, abandoned many plans linked to it, and instead of giving in to depression, I just let time pass, thinking I’d find something to do eventually.
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‎Four years later, I was back in the very place where I’d once spent hours in pleasant conversation with her—conversations that by then were nothing more than simple memories. Nothing more.


Remembering the past – through memory rather than resentment – can help us look back and see which mistakes we can avoid repeating and which dangers we failed to foresee because we acted out of ignorance.
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‎Unpacking the past helps us avoid getting stuck in it. That is why I want to say that, with this story, I simply aim to share what I went through, how I overcame it, and what I did to move on. These experiences will likely serve as more than mere entertainment; they will act as a mirror in which others, having gone through similar situations, can see reflected a reality they may not dare to speak of.


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The first three or four months living with my father’s family were peaceful, simple and pleasant. My plan: to find a job and study. By the end of 2013, the country’s economy was still strong, solid and stable. Money was money, not that pile of hyper-devalued scraps it is today.
I quickly got a job as a baggage handler at MaiquetĂ­a International Airport and from there moved on to a telecommunications company in an area of eastern Caracas.
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‎At the same time, things happened that completely changed my perception of ‘family’. Without any explanation, after four months my presence in that house became a nuisance, or so I understood it.
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My grandfather began to take issue with almost everything I did. Back then, I was in the habit of writing in the early hours of the morning, when the bustle of the house and the city had died down and silence reigned. That is when ideas flow. With caution, I would stay in the living room, far from everyone’s bedrooms and with just a single lamp lit, sketching out my ideas and projects.



Referential staging

Photograph by cottonbro studio on Pexels


One day my grandfather got up in the middle of the night. He went into the living room and found me awake, writing. He said nothing, drank some water and went back to bed. The next day he did the same and found me writing again, but he went back to bed muttering incoherently under his breath.
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‎From that day on, a senseless hunt began. In the middle of the night, every day, he would get up in the dark and, feeling his way along the walls, walk through the whole house until he reached the living room; and if he found me writing and drafting, he would throw a senile tantrum because, in his view, I should have been in bed asleep. From that day on, he gave me a nickname: ‘the bat’. I stopped writing in the early hours so often. Apparently, he calmed down after that.
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‎It wasn’t long before he found another reason to show off and throw another tantrum. At that time, in that area, water came through the pipes once a month. It was already the norm, so every house in that community had one or more plastic tanks used as a reserve.
‎On one occasion, the official water supply was delayed by almost two weeks.
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‎As a last resort, whilst we waited – as our reserves were running out – we bought water in 20-litre containers. Everyone bought their own container. Almost always, they – my uncles and my grandfather – used up what they’d bought before I did, so it wasn’t unusual for them sometimes not to have enough to bathe, whilst I did.
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‎I never had any trouble sharing, but gratitude, even if only verbal, was non-existent. In those circumstances, some ridiculously absurd things happened. Once, after coming home from work, I went to have a shower. As I came out of the bathroom, I heard an argument in the distance. It was my grandfather, talking to himself and declaring that he couldn’t understand how it was possible that, if no one else had had a shower all day because the water ran out too quickly, I had been able to. He went so far as to suggest that I was stealing water from them without them realising.



A troubled coexistence quickly disappointed me

Photograph by Satyam Pathak on Pexels


‎What did my uncles say or do? Nothing. They washed their hands of it and turned a blind eye. Little by little, they became part of that circus. One after another, they displayed absurd discomfort over meaningless things. Living together began to turn into a battlefield.
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‎Once, lying awake in the dark, leaning against a window as I gazed out into the emptiness of the night sea, I thought it was time to get out of there. But where to? Going back to my parents wasn’t an option; instead, I wanted them to leave Cantaura... In those days, the official water supply had been delayed longer than usual and the tension was unbearable. Whilst I was considering options to resolve my situation, I heard a trickle... a continuous drip. Surprised, I snapped out of my thoughts and realised that water was beginning to flow through the pipes.
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‎My excitement was immense. Although it was the early hours of the morning and everyone was asleep, I checked the reserve tanks as best I could and discovered that, after so many days of disuse, a slimy, green slime had formed inside them. So, without making too much noise, I set about washing everything that could hold water: tanks, jerrycans, buckets, punch bowls... I didn’t mind getting up early as long as there was water in the reserves.
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‎At about half past three in the morning, my uncle NoĂ© woke up angry because the sound of the tanks filling was keeping him awake. I explained that by dawn, when the rest of the community woke up, the water would most likely stop flowing strongly because everyone in the neighbourhood would start filling their own tanks. Besides, we didn’t have a pump, so we had to do something in the meantime.
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Grumbling, he told me I should be asleep; that it was no time to be fetching water. I was lost for words. “I’m still sacrificing my sleep so that we can all be more comfortable
 and that’s all you have to say to me? Is that how you respond to me?” I thought. I didn’t say it out of respect, but that attitude disappointed me.



Full moon at dawn

Photograph by Arthur Mateo on Pexels


As time went by, someone from the neighbourhood gave me a beautiful purebred Golden Retriever puppy. They are usually expensive and hard to come by, but I was in their good books and didn’t have to pay a penny for her. Delighted, I took her home, wondering how I could keep her without her causing any trouble. I found my grandfather sitting at the entrance, enjoying the evening breeze, but as soon as he saw me with the puppy, his face contorted into an expression not of anger, but of irrational hatred.
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‎Without hiding his anger, he stood up and, turning to me, said:
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– And that dog... where did you get it from?
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– Someone gave it to me,’ I replied.
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And without further explanation, he added:
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– You’re not going to keep that dog here. So go and find somewhere else to take it.
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‎Nervous and frightened, I emphasised that I had nowhere else to keep her... Then I asked him:
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‎– But why can’t I keep her here? You know I’ve got nowhere else to look after her.
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‎– That’s not my problem. I don’t fancy you having that dog here. Before the day is out, I don’t want to see that animal anymore.
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‎I felt anger, helplessness, pain, sadness... all at once. What had the little dog done wrong? She was just a puppy. Besides, she was beautiful, playful and very cheerful. It was a joy to have her. For a moment I imagined how differently my grandmother would have replied. My eyes filled with tears, but I didn’t let him see them.



A Golden Retriever puppy (Reference)

Photograph by GERARDO PEREZ on Pexels


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‎I had to think fast. I sat down with the little dog at my feet and stroked her whilst trying to find a solution. I wasn’t going to throw her out onto the street; she didn’t deserve that. I had to find a way out, and quickly. Lost in my thoughts, a voice behind me startled me:
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‎–I told you I didn’t want that dog here.
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‎My grandfather caught me off guard; I was lost in my thoughts and hadn’t seen him approach.
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‎–I’m thinking about what to do, Grandad – I replied firmly.
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‎He didn’t bother me again. I remembered that a few days earlier, whilst travelling by bus through another part of La Guaira called Caraballeda, I’d come across a place resembling a park in the middle of the concrete jungle, with a sign at the front reading ‘Petting Farm’. I couldn’t recall the name of the place, but I knew what it was.
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‎So I quickly got ready, picked up the little puppy and left. Minutes later, with a heavy heart, I handed her over to the carers who looked after other animals rescued from the streets. At the same time, I felt a sense of relief because she would have a more suitable and dignified place to spend the night and people who would look after her in a way I wasn’t allowed to. Once again, I felt deeply disappointed in my family.
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‎Gradually, the mistreatment, ingratitude and contempt became more frequent. To be honest, I never gave them any reason to justify such behaviour. I concluded that they simply couldn’t tolerate my presence because of the favour my grandmother had shown me. Perhaps that past had stirred up negative feelings in them that they didn’t know how to handle, and on that occasion they found the perfect opportunity to show it.
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More bitter pills to swallow when I discovered, by chance, that one of my aunts—to whom I confided how I felt about it all, pretending she understood me and was on my side—ended up telling the rest of the family everything she heard from me, the very people who were making my life a living hell. A hypocritical and malicious coexistence that slowly killed off the little affection and love I felt for them.
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‎It was that accumulated helplessness that pushed me to leave that place even more quickly.

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‎María Martina was a God-fearing and deeply devout woman. She had received a very thorough grounding in biblical knowledge within the Baptist denomination of the evangelical movement. She raised all her children according to that ideology and worldview.
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‎As I mentioned earlier, of all of them, it was my dad who adhered most closely to his spiritual upbringing. His siblings adapted to a very permissive, ‘light’ form of religiosity, one of appearances and rife with hypocrisy. My dad was, shall we say, more respectful and devoted to his convictions, striving, despite his human frailties, to conform to the standards he had learnt regarding the conduct and lifestyle of an evangelical.
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Photograph by el jusuf on Pexels


‎A model that was passed down from one generation to the next, coinciding with my own. In that religion, my father met the woman who would later become his wife, and, sharing the same faith, they built a home together. As the eldest child, they devoted a great deal of time and effort to raising me according to what they knew and believed to be right; that is why, from a very young age, I developed a very special knowledge of and affection for the Holy Scriptures.
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‎As an adult, whether travelling or moving house, the first thing I did upon arriving anywhere was to look for an evangelical church and attend regularly. That is why, when I decided to flee from my family, I sought refuge in the church I had been attending for several weeks. It was a small group, between 16 and 20 people, led by a woman who claimed to be a pastor.
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‎There I experienced first-hand the most outrageous contradictions and abuses of conscience, through which I saw how people blinded by the power granted by suggestion and manipulation are capable of bestowing upon themselves positions and titles taken from the Bible and using religion to feed their egos in disproportionate ways.
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‎I never thought that being there would also exact a heavy price from me, but this time, for having a mind of my own. From this experience onwards, I began to seriously question whether what I had believed all my life was really the truth. From then on, the facts would speak for themselves.

To be continued in the next chapter...



Portada: EdiciĂłn en Canva
FotografĂ­a del banner es de mi propiedad
Banner diseñado y editado con Inshot y Canva Pro
Divisores de texto: @eve66
Traducción al Inglés: DeepL App
Publicado con Ecency App


Front Page: Edited in Canva
The banner photo is my own
Banner designed and edited using Inshot and Canva Pro
Text separators: @eve66
Translated by: DeepL App
Published using the Ecency App



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