Ana for a Smile

My Spanish teacher deserves a lot of credit. More for her patience than for my language ability, true – but also for her skills in reading upside down. Every time we get together she relays the sentences and exercises, takes part in our little theater readings, from the other side of the table. Reading upside down can boost brain activity, break monotony (no comment on what it’s like to teach me Spanish), make it easier to share newspapers, not to mention spy on other people. It also comes in handy when riding the metro.

On a grey, early morning (yes, these do happen in Madrid and – actually – they tend to make people happy because the sun is always freaking shining here in this part of the world) there were a bunch of tired folks riding the metro. It was too early for them to be in good spirits. No one seemed all too pleased to be alive.

Ana - let’s call her Ana because that’s her actual name – was in this bleak metro car.

She turned her book upside down and kept reading. With an eye on the page and an eye on the people around her, she noticed the other passengers glancing at one another, little elbow nudges, discrete head tilts in her direction. Slowly but surely, with each stop, the air in the car began to change. Some people even gave way to giggles and full smiles. She looked up, glanced a bit around, smiled herself, before going back to reading without giving away the fact that she realized her book was upside down.

As people got off the metro, they went into their day in a better mood. Lighter. Happier. Smiling. So did Ana, knowing she had helped make it happen.