Parque Copihue in Peñuelas (Cathartic) by Mongolita


Lidia woke up early on Easter Friday. It was the Easter long weekend and all ten BBQs in the picnic areas were booked for the entire week.    

She checked that everything was spot on and ready for the clients when they arrived. Her perfectionism and keen eye for detail has made the business successful. 

She went through her usual checklist: 

BBQ areas cleaned and stocked with coal - checked 

Bins emptied - checked

Patio areas swept - checked 

Shop stocked with essentials - checked 

"I can't believe it seems only yesterday Rob bought me this land, she thought, and now five years on, we are on the map under the name Parque Copihue in Peñuelas."  

She was finishing her routine check on the last picnic area, when the first family showed up. To her surprise, it was the same couple who had stopped five years earlier to ask if the place was open to the public while they were having a BBQ.

She remembered thinking “we could turn this beautiful land into a picnic place with individual BBQ areas to rent. Families could come with their children for picnics and enjoy this wonderful paradise.” 

And so their plans to build the dream house changed into turning the land into a business. What mattered most was that she would be near her relatives, something she had longed for over so many years.

Moving to the UK was temporary, but months turned into years. Lidia remembered those sombre times missing her family and her country. She had carried the weight of sadness, anger and grief ever since she left her birth country and these feelings were eating away at her from within.  

One day talking to her friend about her state of mind, her friend encouraged her to seek professional help to begin healing. Days later, she found herself sitting across from the therapist. Her kind face and gentle demeanour gave Lidia the confidence to open up and tell her about her emotional struggles. She allowed herself to break down, and the release was unexpectedly cathartic. She felt something shifted inside her, a quiet unburdening, as though each tear carried away a fragment of the anguish she had been holding for so many years. In that moment, the act of letting go became a cathartic experience, not just of sadness, but of healing too.

 Understanding that the aftermath of the coup d'état was the consequence of her nightmares and palpitations, Lidia began her journey towards recovery. She was healing and finding peace within herself, and most importantly she was now back in the country where she truly belonged.

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