By MONICA RAEL-AGUILAR

That kind of love that saves you… Our village is like a heart and right now we are in the middle. Sharing the core of who we are, sharing our sorrow, our pain, our love.

That heart gave us the love we needed to keep going… to survive… one day at a time. An emotional territory—the act of working together didn’t really matter—it’s the time we have together that really matters: we are each other’s energy, laughing, and healing each other’s wounds; we are in each other’s strength. A love we lose is a love we gain. But we tend to reach for the pain. But death is a celebration. So why are we so afraid of that emotion? It is a beautiful transition—for all. It’s the powerful kind of love that saves you. Don’t ever take this village away from me… It is my heart, but I am its heart right now. The whole world fades… This is what is real. Loss is loss, no matter how severe, but how can I fall, you always catch me—you are always here.

Monica Rael-Aguilar considers herself blessed to have been born and raised in Questa and to be part of a big family. She lives in Trinidad, CO and although she misses Questa, she always feels connected.