Yago's Heartbeat. Conchita Miranda

      Illustrated by Monica Carretero

      Yago’s Heartbeat

      Conchita Miranda

      Yago’s Heartbeat

      All rights reserved. Unless provided by law, no part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, publicly communicated or transformed in any way without the authorisation of the publisher.

      © 2010 CUENTO DE LUZ SL

      Calle Claveles 10

      Urb. Monteclaro

      Pozuelo de Alarcon

      28223 Madrid, Spain

      www.cuentodeluz.com

      Text © Conchita Miranda

      Illustrations © Monica Carretero

      English translation by Jon Brokenbrow

      ISBN: 978-84-15241-41-6

      LIGHT Series

      To my father, who passed on his love of books to me.

      To Ramón, my great companion in this adventure.

      Thanks to Belén and a team of wonderful women for their enthusiasm and dedication in publishing this story.

      The author donates all proceeds from this book to

      the “Sobre Ruedas” Foundation for children with cerebral palsy.

      www.fundacionsobreruedas.org

      Yago’s Heartbeat

      Conchita Miranda

      Illustrations by Monica Carretero

      It all began a long, long time ago, in the deep blue sea where I was born, surrounded by coral and fish of every imaginable color.

      I was born small and that’s the way I stayed, small: just a little snail.

      Compared to my sisters, I was just a little speck. That’s why,

      whenever we were washed up onto the beach,

      I was always thrown back into the sea.

      But one day, everything changed. It was a peaceful winter day, one of those days when the sun tries to break through the chill with its warming rays. I was covered in sand, waiting to be found and then thrown back into the sea as usual, when suddenly a rough, weathered hand picked me up, brushed of the sand, and I saw a face smiling down at me. You see, I wasn’t just small. I also had a strange, twisted hole in my shell, and that made me different.

      Without giving it a second thought,

      my new friend threaded the chain

      he wore around his neck through

      the hole, and my new life began.

      My new friend, my very first friend,

      turned out to be a great adventurer.

      We travelled over the whole wide

      world together: I sailed across

      undiscovered seas, climbed mountains,

      met people from different lands, heard

      incredible stories and saw landscapes

      I could never have imagined.

      I had become used to this busy life, full of adventures and surprises, but what I didn’t know is that there were others waiting for me that were very different from those I’d shared with my friend.

      The years went by, not just for my old friend, but also for his chain, which hung around his thick, strong neck.

      Like him, the years were gradually wearing it away.

      One day, almost without realizing it, while we were walking along the beach I slid off, without making any noise, without being able to warn him.

      The chain broke, and I returned to the sand.

      I no longer felt his touch, his warmth.

      Farewell to my adventures, to my friend….

      I saw how he gradually faded into the distance

      with his weary walk, unaware that his old travelling

      companion, his little snail, had been left behind

      on that vast, empty beach.

      My old friend had barely disappeared from view, when suddenly the small,

      soft hand of a child, with its nimble and slightly grubby fingers, plucked me away from that gloomy scene. He blew and blew on my shell. “What a pretty one!”

      he thought, and put me in his pocket.

       When he arrived home and picked me up again, he saw my little hole and

       said to me, “Wow! You’re different, like Yago. You have to meet him.”

       And that’s how I ended up hanging around the neck

       of a little boy called Yago.