An Unexpected Light
And there were also those two glorious days when I was a shepherd's helper, and the intervening night, as glorious as the days. Forgive those born in the countryside, and taken from it early, for this insistent call that comes from afar and carries in its silent appeal an aura, a crown of sounds, of lights, of smells miraculously preserved intact.
Portugal
«"And there were also those two glorious days when I was a shepherd's helper, and the intervening night, as glorious as the days. Forgive those born in the countryside, and taken from it early, this insistent call that comes from afar and brings in its silent appeal an aura, a crown of sounds, of lights, of smells miraculously preserved intact. The myth of paradise lost is that of childhood—there is no other. The rest are realities to conquer, dreamed in the present, kept in the unattainable future. And without them I don't know what we would do today. I don't know."»
In this excerpt from The Traveler's Baggage (1973), José Saramago recalls the day he went to help his uncle sell pigs at the fair. The retelling of this seemingly ordinary experience reflects all his narrative power, taking us to a world of wonder that only childhood allows, and which Armando Fonseca illustrates perfectly.
Brazil
A story about the wonder of childhood—and how those feelings continue to resonate in adulthood—written by one of the great authors of the Portuguese language.
This text was first published in the book The traveler's luggage (Companhia das Letras, 1996), with the title "and also those days".
