When books not only teach or entertain, but also lull, soothe, and offer peace in the most unexpected moments.
By Jorge Alonso Curiel
HoyLunes – I am not going to be the one to “discover” now the beneficial power of books, of what they are capable of achieving in all of us. They have not only given, and continue to give, moments of entertainment, joy, information, instruction, or comfort—like life rafts in the middle of a vast ocean for wounded souls—they also open up reading journeys that enrich people’s lives, turning them into addicts of a drug with no harmful side effects. But even more—and this is also something wonderful—books awaken literary vocations, whether as a writer in all its forms, or even as a journalist who writes about books and the publishing world, or about any other subject, but always set down in black and white.
This time, however, I want to write—based on a real event that happened in my family—about another of the powers books possess, those magical objects filled with light.
It happened five years ago. My cousin and his wife had just become parents; they had a wonderful baby boy, full of health and beauty, and we were all overjoyed. The family would visit their home at least once a week to see that tender little being, who never stopped smiling at us with every affectionate gesture we made.
But during one of those visits, they confessed they had a problem. The baby found it hard to sleep at night, and not once had his parents been able to rest for a few uninterrupted hours.
What they told us next moved us almost to tears.
One night, my cousin, already desperate, picked him up in his arms and began walking around the house. At some point—something he had never done before—he entered his study filled with books, since he is an avid reader, and sat down in his reading armchair, beside a beautiful and expensive floor lamp decorated with drawings and engravings of books, which illuminated his hours of study and reading.
And after only a few minutes, the unexpected happened.
My cousin noticed how the baby began to calm down, as if he had been given a sedative, and shortly after, he fell asleep like a little angel from heaven…
He couldn’t believe it. It seemed like a true miracle.
A few minutes later, happy and relieved, he stood up very quietly so as not to wake him and left the study without making a sound, intending to lay him in the crib they kept in the master bedroom. But the moment he entered, even before placing him in the crib, the child began to cry again.
Once more, desperate, my cousin walked around the house until he returned to sit down in the armchair of his study. And the same thing happened again, just as before: the baby stopped fussing, the crying ceased, and before long he was fast asleep, the little angel he was.
It seemed that only there, surrounded by books, did the baby find peace. He tried again: the moment he left the study, the crying and agitation returned. So, from that night on, the baby stayed in the library, where they even placed his crib and set up a small baby monitor to keep an eye on him.
Never again did they suffer through a bad night. The baby began to sleep peacefully, and his parents too were finally able to enjoy the restorative rest they so desperately needed.
They realized that where there are books, there are caresses. That where there are books, a paradise of harmony takes root. That where books live, a river of warmth and understanding always flows. A sacred refuge that offers serenity and peace.
#hoylunes, #jorge_alonso_curiel,
