The summer after sixth grade, my mom, dad, sister and I visited Tokyo to spend time with my mom’s side of the family. I don’t remember too much from the trip besides the fact that I was twelve, I missed going to the pool with my friends, and was disproportionately concerned with soccer tryouts later that summer. (I ended up making the D team; we lost most games.) One night, I drank too much orange juice at a buffet dinner and wet the futon I shared with my mom.
In spite of all this, one thing I remember very clearly was finding The Little Prince, one of the only children’s books written in English in a Japanese used bookstore.
During our three week stay, I read the book over and over. It unlocked a door inside me, a hidden door that opened to a secret world of wisdom I already understood, but had only just discovered…
The story follows an alien prince’s journey back to his native planet. It’s told from the perspective of a pilot who has crashed his plane in a desert on Earth, where the prince accidentally lands. The two become companions, and the prince regales the pilot with tales from his travels: encounters with greed, loneliness, and pride.
The story is simple but poignant, and told with a melancholic gentleness that stirred my twelve year old soul. I knew that the book represented the power of beauty and humanity, and anyone who read it and thought the same could be trusted. Whenever I see a copy of The Little Prince, I’m reminded of this connection.
I’m in Chile at the moment, on a trip that’s gotten more unpredictable than I initially planned (which wasn’t much to begin with.) After an escape from an evil poultry farm in the countryside, I landed in Valparaiso, a port city teetering on the hills of the coast. I was plotting my next move, anxious about time, money, and my abysmal Spanish. Luckily, a friend told me about a bed and breakfast just outside the city where I could stay for free and work for a few weeks.
My friend came with me to scope it out. As soon as we stepped into the garden walls, we were greeted by flowers blooming from every corner. The owner was very straight forward, and the work, which he described as we made our way through the house, seemed fair: preparing breakfast; cleaning rooms; afternoons plus two days a week off.
The sun was just setting, filling the whole place with tranquil golden light. As we walked through the hallway, I spotted The Little Prince on a bookshelf. I took it as a sign to stay. ◊
🤠
I love this