I was two years old when Papá first took me to the museum. I asked to visit my ‘yaya’ so often that we went every Friday, rain or shine. I think it helped him to get me out of the garage! But as I grew up, those visits became less and less important.
“They say time heals all wounds. What does it do for those that never began to close in the first place?”
Now, looking back on her life, I realise I know so little. My earliest memory is of her smile, but her dreams, her desires – her fears – those are all missing. What I love most is the light her memory brings to my father’s eyes. She is still very much alive in his heart. Now, whenever I visit, I spend hours listening to him talk about her, trying to capture that light for my own.
The death toll of a war never tells the whole story. It says nothing of the casualties that occur after the treaties are signed. Bad habits, old wounds, memories – these kill so much more slowly. We can never understand, but we can remember and maybe, God willing, we can keep such a tragedy from ever happening again.
-- Specialist Elena “Mira” María Álvarez
“The past gives us a lens through which to view our future. Inspiration and opportunity come from introspection and observation.”
