ALMAS JOURNEY

Alma’s
journey
Judith Carrillo
illustrated by:
Manuela Romero

There are those who live without a heart; there are those
who have one without using it; and even those who do not
want to listen to it! Having a broken heart is the price you
pay for daring to live. What kind of heart do you have?

And that girl appeared; Alma, they called her. I say
that “they called her“ because she could have had any
other name, for example, yours. She lived in any place
that could be named after your city. What I can tell
you is that it was a very beautiful place located between
mountains and rivers.
She was a girl, normal in appearance, just like you.
She attended a normal school with normal family
and friends. But there was a trait that distinguished
her from other children (and I’m sure you also have
some unique traits). Do you know what’s yours? Well,
going back to the topic, that characteristic trait of hers
was that she wondered and questioned absolutely
everything.
She was not satisfied with what they taught her at
school, at home, or what she heard on TV. Whenever she
saw people around her, she wondered if any of them
felt like her, if anyone had doubts too, because at first
glance everyone seemed to be happy and satisfied.
“But don’t they have dreams? Don’t they have desires?”
she would occasionally ask herself. When she asked
the adults she met, none of their answers seemed
to convince her.

But Alma did not give up that easily; it would be a
shame to hide what makes us unique simply because we
don’t want to be different from others, don’t you think?
What she felt was so strong that she couldn’t simply
turn it off. Someone had to break the mold! Why not
her? Why not you?
From a very young age, she already showed interest
in everything that surrounded her: the world,
the people who inhabited it, where they lived, and
the language they spoke, among other things. Where
could she find answers to all those questions? Books!
She always asked her dad to take her to wherever she
could find them, for she was inspired by them, and
they taught her everything she needed to know. Her
imagination went further; she saw herself getting lost
in streets in faraway lands whose names she could
not even pronounce, trying different types of food you
never thought could exist, and always being surrounded
by many friends. She wanted to live the adventures
of the characters in the books she read.
Alma could spend hours looking at pictures of other
places and placing them on the maps; this is what she
really likes, maps! This was the way that Alma filled
the restlessness she felt.

This book thing wasn’t bad for a while, but nothing
seemed to satisfy her, so she felt worse. That restlessness
she felt soon turned into emptiness.
Her dad saw her become sadder with every passing
day, so he approached her and asked:
- “What’s wrong with you, Alma?”
- “I want a life like that of the people in the books
I read; I want to have adventures too,” Alma said,
downcast. “Life cannot just be like this,” she retorted,
pointing at the window. “For example, I still don’t
know what’s behind those mountains.”
- “But you have many things to entertain yourself
with,”
- “I want to be full of stories, not full of things, dad.”
- “Well, if you don’t like the world you live in,
change it, and don’t be sad about the big emptiness
you feel. Feel happy about everything you can fill
it with. Be grateful for that wish, for being brave,
because cowards will always live their dreams
through you.”

Alma was determined to change her world. She
didn’t mind leaving her family, her home, and
everything else she knew behind. What did she stand
to lose? Would you have done the same thing, leaving
everything behind to fulfil your wishes? Are you that
brave? This works like a GPS; until you move, you
have no idea if you’re going in the right direction.
Even so, don’t think that she wasn’t haunted, from
time to time, by uncertainty. She didn’t know how
or where she was going. She knew that her dreams
were hidden behind her fear. Before leaving, she thought
about what he could do to avoid getting lost. Would
you use a map? “Of course!” She concluded that the
best map of the world was that of her own life.
Alma packed her backpack with only the things she
thought she would need and went to look for her dad.
- “Because when you come back, you will no longer
be the same. Come back only when you fill that void
in your heart.”
“When you return, you will no longer be the same.
When you return, you will no longer be the same.
“Alma repeated this in her head, but she couldn’t understand
it. What did he mean?
- “I’m leaving!” she said confidently.
Her dad already knew this. He always knew that
she would, sooner or later, leave.
- “Very well, Alma,” he replied, “but this is where
we have to say goodbye.”
- “Why Dad?” quizzed Alma.

And with that, with her backpack and the map of
her life, she left everything behind.
For many years, she walked around the world. At
long last, she could get to know those places that were
in her books, and believe me, they were even better
than what she had read. She also had the time to get
to know herself. She dared to do things she thought
she could never do. The more she learned, the smaller
the hollowness in her heart became.
She boarded trains that traversed mountains, crossed
deserts, ate brightly coloured fruits, bathed in cenotes,
swam across islands, learned new languages,
and climbed trees in jungles. She ran miles through
many cities and slept in hammocks looking at the
stars. And most importantly, she always had friends
with whom she could build her story.
It was curious and strange to her how she felt more
comfortable with people who had different nationalities,
religions, skin colour, or languages than with
people who were from the same city as her. She could
recognise herself in everyone she met. She was like a
seed, ready to grow on any type of land. Inexplicably,
the more she learned, the smaller the emptiness
in her heart became.

One day, while she was rocking in her hammock at
the foot of the Caribbean, she stood up and said:
- “It’s time to go back; now I have a heart, and I
want to share with everyone what I have inside.”
Convinced, Alma grabbed her backpack once more,
as she had done hundreds of times, but this time she
was heading home.
the floor, trying to put it together, but she didn’t know
how. She started crying like never before. Not only
that, but she was so sad that she felt paralysed.
She didn’t remember the way home being so long
but given how anxious she was and how lost she
was, thinking of all the stories she wanted to share,
she didn’t care. She was so close to getting there that,
in the distance, she could make out the mountains she
used to see from her window when she was little. Likewise,
she could only smile at the thought of the times
she wondered what was behind them, and now she
returned knowing the answer.
Alma was walking too fast to notice a small stone
in the road. Guess what happened? She stumbled,
and with such bad luck, her heart, which she was so
proud of, fell, smashing into thousands of pieces. Can
you imagine how she felt? So many years searching
for a heart for nothing! She immediately sat down on

And because of this, she became oblivious to
everything that was happening around her: the
day, the night, the stations, and the people who
walked by her. We know what it is like to feel sadness:
the unconscious passage of time. And within
her, deep silence.
A man passing by saw her crying and asked,
- “It’s not just about having a heart, Alma; it’s
also about knowing how to take care of it and protect
it. Staying like this without doing anything
only hinders your growth. The stone made your
heart fall; there, you are right.
- “Girl, what’s wrong with you?” Alma wiped her
eyes and looked at the man, realising that it was
her dad.
- ”Don’t you recognise me?” It’s me, Alma.
- “Alma? Is that you?” He answered in surprise.
- “Yes, Dad it’s me! “But she couldn’t understand
why he didn’t recognise her.”
- “What are you doing here?” What happened?”
- “I was finally able to build a heart, and on the
way back it broke, and now I don’t know how to
fix it. And all because of that stone! If only that
stone hadn’t been there”.

But as you did not want to listen to what life had
to tell you, it sat you down and spoke to you. All the
times you said goodbye, the times you lost, the people
who left you, the forgiveness you never gave or never
accepted, that’s what made your heart break. It was
just a matter of time.
While she was listening to him, memories came back
to her.
- “Dad, these hurt,” she said.
- “Alma, calm down; this is your awakening. Listening
hurts but ignoring hurts more.”
- “What an irony! I have travelled around the
world, and here is where I get lost.”
- “Now, let’s see what you are carrying in your
backpack.”
- “I am not carrying anything, dad,” Alma replied,
confused.
- “Yes, you are, but you have never understood
what you have been carrying.”
Reluctantly, she removed her backpack and opened
it. Many times we think that what we are carrying
is bad, and yes it can be unless we transform the
burdens we carry into something useful. It was something
that Alma still hadn’t learned. Remember, a
wound should never be in vain.
- “Alma, if you accept wounds as failures and not
as moments of learning, the pain will be wasted, and
all your effort would have been for nothing. I can’t
promise you that the pain will never return, but I can
promise you that you will learn what to do if it does.”
- “Oh!” she exclaimed tenderly, “Look Dad!” as every
single person she met on her trip magically appeared
in front of her. In her mind, she remembered the first
time she was called daughter, sister, or friend. She
remembered the kisses, the hugs, the “I love you,” and
the time when Alma was sick, and they cared for her.
What are friends for? Each memory was giving her
a piece of her heart back until her heart was put back
together again. Alma was happy to see them all together.
She couldn’t believe it; the sadness was gone.
- “How could I forget you?! But where were you
when I fell?” she sobbed.
- “We were always here, but you were so sad looking
outside that you forgot to look inside of you;
that’s where we live. “When you do not know what to
do or where to go, you must return to yourself; that’s
why it’s important that you heal and make yourself a
place where you always want to be.”
- “But my heart is broken, and it’s full of wounds.”
- “The challenge is that the wounds will remain, but
not the pain.”

As she understood this, each of her friends disappeared
before her eyes, but not before she told them
how much she loved and missed them. She didn’t
want to, but she had to continue alone. Now she had
learned that every time she felt fear, sadness, or
whenever her heart broke, the only thing she had to
do was to look within and return to herself.
When she stood up, it seemed that her body had
changed. Her clothes were small, she had long hair,
she was taller, and her hands were bigger. She
didn’t look like a child anymore; did she look older?
Had she grown up? Now I understood what was
going on. Is that why my dad didn’t recognize me?
And it was at that moment that that phrase returned
to her.
When you return, you won’t be the same.
- “Dad, now I understand, I’m not the same anymore.
It all makes sense. It’s clear. Travel, the
wounds, and the goodbyes changed me and made me
grow.”

All the pieces were in place, except for one. She had
one piece hidden in her hand, and she didn’t want to
let go of it. But she had grown up! So, she took a deep
breath and, with a tender smile, closed her eyes, stretched
on her tiptoes, raised her arm, opened her hand,
and looked on as that piece danced in the heavens
where those who left before her lived. Have you been
holding on to something so tight that it ends up hurting
you? Letting go is also loving. She had to let them
go so that the gap could be filled by more people. There
are pieces of us that we are better off without.
The clouds had cleared. “At what moment did the sky
become so beautiful and the sun so bright?” she asked
herself. She braved her pain because she had to continue.
When she walked by people, she could now understand
what they were carrying in their hearts. It’s
not that they didn’t have dreams or desires, like she
thought. Before they started their journey, all they had
was fear. Many had their hearts broken; others were
empty; others were half full; others were repressed;
others were locked. Alma pitied them because she realized
that their souls had not travelled. Now she had
the gift of recognizing wounds like hers.

Among the crowds of people, a small dog with a
seemingly wounded heart crossed her path. Alma
approached the dog and asked:
- “Who are you, and what seems to be the matter?”
- “I am Mambo. I have been abandoned, and I am
very afraid.” The cowering puppy replied.
- “Ah! Don’t Worry. I know how to heal wounds,”
she said in a very reassuring voice. “I have been
away for a long time, and I was on my way home.
Would you like to come with me?”
The poor little dog wagged his tail, and he happily
replied yes.

The chapter ends here, but their story continues.
Mambo, Alma, and their hearts had a long road ahead
to heal, but she didn’t care because, as she had been
comforted, now she would seek to comfort others.
I am leaving you with a broken heart so that you
can write down the things that can make your heart
whole again every time it breaks.

©Judith Carrillo Mitjana (de la obra)
©Apuleyo Ediciones (de esta edición)
Primera edición en Apuleyo Ediciones: septiembre 2023
Diseño de cubierta: Sofía Corzo González
Corrección: Aitor Andreu Guerrero
Maquetación: Francisco José Cordero Mora
Ilustraciones: Diana Valdayo García
Coordinación editorial: Isidoro Cidre González
info@apuleyoediciones.com
www.apuleyoediciones.com
ISBN: 978-84-19938-46-6
Depósito legal: H 290-2023
No está permitida la reproducción total o parcial de este libro, ni
su tratamiento informático, ni la transmisión de ninguna forma o
por cualquier medio, ya sea electrónico, mecánico, por fotocopia,
por registro u otros métodos, sin permiso previo y por escrito de
los titulares del copyright.
Hecho e impreso en España.

Have you ever wondered what keeps
your heart whole and how to mend it
if it breaks? Would you be brave
enough to leave everything behind to
find out? Would you undertake this
inner journey? Join Alma, Mambo and
yourself on this adventure to find out.