The idea of reflecting, in my opinion, is not only to think about a situation, it is inevitably to make a change in that situation. Like the time I was able to see the transformation of my friend Eugenia and her environment.

Eugenia was a college classmate with whom I had studied my entire university career. She came from a small town, near the area where I live, called Cumanacoa, which is in a valley, bordered by rivers and mountains. Her family was in charge of cultivating the land: the products they sowed were not only for sale, but also for their own consumption. According to what Eugenia had told me, her family made a huge sacrifice so that she could study. Paying for housing, food, transportation, books and other academic expenses was very expensive for Eugenia's family, but even so, they had managed to get Eugenia through her 7th semester at the university.

My family was very fond of Eugenia because she was not only a humble and studious girl, but also because she was friendly and very helpful. Maybe that is why, on many occasions, my parents had asked me to invite Eugenia to have lunch at home or even, when some academic material (photocopies) was very expensive, my parents would give it to her as a gift. In a few words: Eugenia and I managed to make an incredible friendship, maybe that's why, when she told me she was pregnant, I could not believe it and I felt that our friendship had been broken.

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I felt it was broken because I never knew Eugenia's boyfriend. Never. At no time did Eugenia ever talk to me about someone she was dating. So for her to tell me she was pregnant, it was as if she had hidden a part of the story from me. I remember I had a lot of questions in my mind: when, how, who? But I couldn't tell her anything because Eugenia was crying, disoriented, just wondering how her parents would feel when they heard the news. She was so disconsolate and out of her mind that all she could think about was doing something crazy. After the first shock, I was able to react and ask her to stay calm, to think very carefully about what she was going to do. That day Eugenia cried a lot.

My parents heard the news and although at first I saw that they were disappointed, as the days went by, they became worried, because as parents, they knew that this would be devastating news for Eugenia's parents. So, my parents offered to take Eugenia to their town, Cumanacoa, and support her in any way we could.

We left early on a Saturday morning. Already on Friday the news had arrived that the whole town of Cumanacoa was flooded. Although we wanted to postpone the trip, Eugenia was very worried about her people and said that she would go. So we decided to go with her.

The trip was very bumpy and indeed, when we arrived in Cumanacoa, the heavy rains had overflowed the rivers and many houses and plantations were flooded. Eugenia's poor parents had lost some pineapple and yucca crops. In spite of living through this traumatic moment, we were received with pleasure and with much deference. We had been chatting and drinking coffee for a while, when Eugenia told her parents that she had something to tell them. The elders looked at her and, unable to contain herself, her voice broke when she said: "I am pregnant".

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I had never in my life seen a person change color from one moment to the next. Eugenia's father looked at her and there was a mixture of disappointment, disbelief and anger. The man turned pale, while he ran his hand over his head and only said: "Eugenia, Eugenia, Eugenia, Eugenia, why, why". The mother began to fight and scold Eugenia, who only cried. My parents and I remained silent, aware that this was a family moment and we could not intervene.

It was raining hard in Cumanacoa, but it was also raining on the faces of Eugenia and her parents, who had the river in their eyes, as if their chests were full of tears. It was such a difficult moment for all of us, so emotionally charged, that there was a moment when my father gestured for us to leave. Suddenly, Eugenia said to them:

_If you no longer want to know about me, I will accept it.

The father, a man of about 60 years of age, with a face shiny from so much work under the sun and with serene eyes, remained silent for a long time, as if he was calming the river inside him, and then he said to her:

_To you no one is going to turn his back. You are our daughter and we will also support you in this.

This is my nonfiction share for the @theinkwell community. If you want to participate, here is the invitation.

The images used are free to use, edited by me in Canva and the text was translated with Deepl.

THANKS FOR YOUR READING AND COMMENTS, AND SEE YOU NEXT TIME, FRIENDS