Magdalena is what we will call her. She's actually used that name to describe herself in our cozy chats. This is her story.
She was born in the 20's in a small, insignificant town called Jamay. Her family was poor. The poverty was further exacerbated by the abandonment of her father at an early age. One woman with four children, one of whom was our very own Magdalena, was left to provide basic sustenance for her pitiful family. They landed in Guadalajara, living in a miserable dwelling provided by the mother's boss. After injuring her leg, the mother was confined to a wheel chair and soon dismissed from work.
The children walked the streets begging for food and money to maintain their mother and themselves. After some time, a kind, unknown man realized what was happening and approached the mother. "Where are you from?" "Why don't you return there?" The mother informed him that they were from Jamay, about an hour and a half from Guadalajara by bus. "How am I going to get to Jamay in this wheel chair and with no money?" was her desperate reply to his inquiries. The stranger offered to pay the bus fare for all five of them and take them to the bus station as well. He said, "Ma'am, when you arrive at the bus station, you'll get on the bus walking on your own two feet." Surprised and quite confused, the lady and her children rode to the bus station with this perfect stranger. Upon their arrival, the mother, quite to her own surprise, got out of the vehicle and proceeded to walk toward the terminal while the stranger went to purchase the tickets.
Upon their arrival in a town called Poncitlán, still about half an hour from Jamay, the family was notified that their tickets were valid only as far as that. Somehow, they came to live in a borrowed house in "Ponci" as it is called by the locals.
There's much more to the story. I'll let it rest for now. Come back later for more.