Three Petals of Jacaranda

 

💜 Three Petals of Jacaranda

A story about first love in 1930, 1960, and 2025

 I. 1930 – The Letter Beneath the Tree

In the year 1930, when dances took place on earthen patios and words were written with ink and trembling hands, Elena, 17 years old, left a letter beneath the jacaranda tree at the Portal del Sol.

It was for Tomás, the baker’s son, with whom she had exchanged glances at the fair and silences during mass.

The letter read:

"If one day the wind brings you to this tree, you’ll know that my first love bloomed here."

Tomás found it. He didn’t reply with words, but with a paper flower he placed in the same spot.

From then on, every Sunday, they sat together beneath the tree, not speaking much, but with their hands close.

II. 1960 – The Song That Was Never Recorded

Thirty years later, Lucía, Elena’s granddaughter, found an old guitar in the attic.

She learned to play and wrote a song for Raúl, a young man who came from Montevideo to spend the summers.

They met at a folk gathering, among verses and shared mate.

Lucía never recorded the song. She sang it only once a year, beneath the jacaranda, when Raúl returned.

It was her way of saying “I love you” without saying it.

The tree kept the melody, and the petals fell like soft notes upon their shoulders.

 III. 2025 – The Message That Was Erased

In the present, Milo, Elena’s great-grandson, lives at the Portal del Sol and creates digital stories.

He met Kaila, a visitor who came in search of ancient tales.

They shared walks, rituals, and one night, Milo wrote a message on his blog:

"Today I understood that first love is not the first in time, but the first in truth."

The message was accidentally erased. But Kaila had already read it.

And the next day, she left a symbolic image beneath the jacaranda: two intertwined figures, surrounded by violet petals and stars.

The jacaranda is still there. It doesn’t speak, but it remembers.

Each generation left something: a letter, a song, an image.

And every time someone falls in love for the first time at the Portal del Sol, the tree blooms stronger, as if saying:

"True love doesn’t repeat. It transforms."