“Dale was the newest member of the family, as one might say. A way of saying he was more than a friend, and another of Pia’s so called “uncles.” With his help, they had figured out how to teach her enough to get her started in second grade, so she could be with kids her own age, and now was her de facto adviser and mentor. Dale taught veterinary medicine at the local university, and had a considerable amount of experience with all types of students, but in his opinion, had never seen one quite like Pia. “Greedy for knowledge and wisdom for its own sake,” he had once told a surprised Arturo and Elsa, and then explained that many people desired knowledge for a particular end: knowledge of motors to be able to fix one, and have a car to drive. Knowledge of history so one could teach, make a living. Pia, on the other hand, wants knowledge for its own sake. “Very unusual,” in his opinion, “more so at her age,” and it left Arturo and Elsa wondering how exactly very was “very.” “She’s the sun, the moon, the wind, she’s the water all in one. She’s not from here or from there, she’s from everywhere; a timeless spirit that surfaces now and again in a chosen few, ageless and enduring like the sea. Makes me glad I live in her time, better yet, under her spell, and get to see some of it.
“She goes barefoot not because she doesn’t feel the cold floor, but because she wants to feel the floor, cold or not, and her desire to feel it is bigger than the bother. She’s an open window in springtime, a bird singing on a century old tree, a country road winding through a thousand shades of green into the distance; a road one can get lost in, and not mind. All in all, a panoramic view of what life is and should be. She’s a sing-song. Pure as water, with a heart of gold and the soul of a poet, at the same time she’s simple: what you see is what you get and happy-girl is the color of her ID.”
Hearing this most unexpected and heartfelt résumé of their Pia, both Arturo and Elsa were astounded, in addition to speechless.
“Sorry, I got carried away,” said Dale, “nonetheless, to me, she’s the thought that will one day grow into a wonderful idea.”
Coming from Dale, there was no reason to doubt it. All the same, Pia might have been everything Dale mentioned, but for Arturo and Elsa, she was, above all else, the center of their world, and the love of their lives.”
From Pia.