Life for Love--2

silence of tears
Anonymity

Now I know why birds sit on telephone lines. They listen.
　

I am either nine or ten years old. At the orphanage they call me Miguel.
　　

When I want to feel improtant， I say， "Call me Don Miguel. " I used to act important all the time because 1 felt I wasn't.

Back then， no one liked me very much because I didn't like other peole
　　

But last year， I began to learn two important things： I was learning to see， not just look. And I was learning to listen， not just hear.
　　

I used to lie in the dark and make up relatives that I didn't have. My favorite relative was a nice old man who spoke Spanish， like me.
　　

One day a man came to see me. He said he was my uncle. "I don't have an uncle，" I said.
　　

"Now you do ， " he said.
　　

He was an old man who liked children. He had a boy once who went to Korea. His daughter moved to the City. He said the City can be a difficult place in which to live. He taught me how to see and listen. I don't know if he is my uncle or not； neither did he， but he came to see me often. I guess if you act like an uncle all the time， you are one.
　　

I was not a good student before my uncle came along. He took me walking in the fields. At one point he spread his arms and said. "It is all here. "
　　

"What？" I said.
　　

"Everything you need to know，" he replied.
　　

At first it appeared to be nothing more than just a few trees. I thought I was nowhere. Then he had me close n-.y eyes. First I heard the breeze in the grass， then in the trees. I also heard a faraway train and a barking dog. For a while I heard nothing. I was almost scared. He said to listen harder.
　　

I heard my heart beat.beause I used to be so sad， I had almost forgotten that I had a heart.
　　

Once I asked him who he was.
　　

"An experiment ， " he said.
　　

"What kind of an experiment？" I said.
　　

He grinned and said， "Nobody knows. Like you， there is no one in the world like me. So who is to say what I will be. "
　　

One day in the field he showed me the way the breeze made the trees move. The rustling of the leaves made a sound that frightened a nearby bird. It flew away.
　　

We watched the bird drop an acorn.
　　

"The bird ， " he said ， "care make a seed move. From that seed the oak can grow fifty feet tall. It will be a friend to those who want one. "
　　

I always knew that trees were there， but I never knew they were real like me.
　　

One Sunday I was angry. When my uncle came ， I said ： "I don't have anything. I wish I had something. "
　　

"You have everything worth having，" he said. "And I will give you even more. I will give some secrets of the Universe. Do you believe me？"
　　

"Yes，" I said， wanting to believe him.
　　

He gave me three small seeds.
　　

"Put each seed into a small box filled with dirt. Then care for them. Talk to them if you wish. They will grow with you. "
　　

Now they are in larger boxes. One of t.he plants has grown up to my knee. I sometimes wonder what else it is up to.
　　

Another time we were walking in the field when we saw two birds on a telephone line. They seemed so peaceful. Then suddenly they flew away. My uncle just laughed.
　　

"See，" he said."Someone said something they didn't like.& careful what you tell the birds."
　　

One night I passed by the office of the orphanage. A man I don't iike very much was on the phone. He was angry and loud.
　　

When he'left， I went into the office and picked up the phone. I heard the funniest sound.
　　

"Listen，" I said. "Listen， birds. Come on back， never mind what he says. We like you. "
　　

One day-Unele did not come： I waited and waited but he did not come. The man I don't like at the orphanage said Uncle was sick.

　　"May I go and see him？" I asked.

　　"No，" he said. "He may be contagious. "

　　"May I call him？"

　　"No， " he said. "I'll call him for you. "

　　"Don't do that，" I said.

　　"Why not？" .

　　"You'll make the birds fly away. "

　　I sneaked into the office one night and called Uncle.

　　"Are you all right？" I asked.

　　"Yes， but I must go away. "

　　"Why？"
　　"To make room for something else. "
　　"Will you come back？"
　　"I will help you remember me， if you want me to. "
　　"I do. . . . I do. . . ."

　　When I went to bed at night， I would try to imagine that he was there. He was harder and harder to see. One night， he was not there at all. There was only a grcen ficld.

　　I went back to our field. It was raining. T'he sky was dark， the way I was inside. I looked for Uricle everywhere. I called his name.

　　I was angry for a while. I said some things out loud that I shouldn't have said. Two birds flew out of the trec.I made them get wet.

　　On the way back， I saw something that was only an inch or two tall. It was where that hird dropped the acorn. I didn't tell anybody， but I knew.

　　Someday Uncle will be fifty feet tall.