It seems impossible, but it’s been two years since I stepped on Lisbon airport and boarded a plane. In August 2019 I travelled to Madeira, as I’m doing now, and little did I know what would be hitting us in a few months’ time. Looking back, these two years have brought many changes to my life, and I’m not just talking about lockdowns, social distancing, wearing masks and feeling there’s a threat hanging over our heads all the …
Tag: boys
Some songs are just nice to listen to; some others, though, carry a strong message that goes straight to your heart. “You’re Not There”, by Lukas Graham, is an infinitely sad song whose lyrics tell a story of pain and loss. From the first time I heard it, it sounded like a heartfelt message from a son to a mother or father (or both) who died prematurely. Years later, the child talks to his missing parent, saying he …
Let me introduce a few characters in my book, Love Secrets Lies. First there’s Teresa, the protagonist. The story spans five years of her life. When it begins, in 1975, she’s twelve, and her storybook life has just been upended by a revolution that forces her to move to a country and a city where she feels like a foreigner. Her grandparents worry too much about her, keep her under strict supervision and allowing her little freedom …
I go for my late afternoon walk. I stand over the beach and look at the sea, inhaling its smell. It’s not too strong, here, as in other places by the sea, but it’s unmistakeable. I just stay there, filling myself with so many sensations – the light blue of the sky, the still bright light of the sun, already low on the horizon but still warm; the sea breeze on my face and my hair. The sensation of …
My darling boys I’m writing to say that I miss you. On these first holidays without you, when we won’t be together for a single week, not even for a few days, I have to confess that I miss you. A lot. This doesn’t mean I’m not happy that you are travelling to the places of your dreams. On the contrary. I am thrilled that you have are grown, that you have become adults, that you can …
She was ten. Only a girl, little more than a child, really, but she liked to say she was a “pre-teenager”. She knew she looked older; she was tall, with long legs and her brown eyes shone in her cinnamon skin, tanned by the tropical sun. She had long, straight dark hair that came to the middle of her back and a ready smile. She was full of romantic dreams; in a time without television the evenings were long …
