Episode 14: Piji y yo (2) Episode 14: Piji and I (2) Épisode 14 : Piji et moi (2) Odcinek 14: Piji i ja (2)

**Martina:** One afternoon Marco picked up Piji at Annie's parents' house and decided to take him on a walk before heading back home. Even though this was new territory for Piji, Marco decided to walk him off-leash so he could run around a bit.

**Marco:** El sol estaba bajando cuando vimos pasar a un venado. Marco: The sun was going down when we saw a deer go by.

**Martina:** Un venado is a deer.

**Marco:** Inmediatamente, Piji corrió atrás de él. Marco: Immediately, Piji ran after him.

**Martina:** Piji's barking echoed as he ran deep into these woods that were unfamiliar to him.

**Marco:** Sentí pánico. Marco: I felt panic. El cielo estaba casi oscuro y tenía miedo de perder a Piji para siempre. The sky was almost dark and he was afraid of losing Piji forever. Caminé por todos lados y grité su nombre hasta perder la voz. I walked all over the place and shouted his name until I lost my voice. “¡Piji! ¡Piji!”. Pero no lo encontraba. But I couldn't find it.

**Martina:** Marco decided to go ask for help before it got too dark. As he walked back to Annie's parents house, he couldn't help but be overwhelmed with shame and anguish as he imagined telling everybody that he had just lost his best friend.

**Marco:** Casi empecé a llorar cuando vi a Piji. Marco: I almost started crying when I saw Piji. Él estaba muy cansado y tenía sangre en sus patas, pero estaba vivo y feliz de verme. He was very tired and had blood on his paws, but he was alive and happy to see me. Quizá yo era el perdido... Maybe I was the lost one...

**Martina:** Over the following months, Marco slowly accepted that in his new job — and in many ways, in his new life — he had to start from scratch.

**Marco:** Empecé a observar con más atención cómo mis compañeros trabajaban en la cocina, y escuchaba con cuidado las instrucciones del chef. Marco: I began to watch more closely as my colleagues worked in the kitchen, and I listened carefully to the chef's instructions. Traté de ignorar los gritos. I tried to ignore the screams.

**Martina:** Eventually, he got faster with the knife and wasn't cutting his fingers any more.

**Marco:** La chef me dijo que mi trabajo era muy bueno. Marco: The chef told me that my work was very good. Seis meses después de empezar, me convertí en el asistente de una de las cocineras principales. Six months after starting, I became an assistant to one of the head cooks. Iba a ser responsable de la estación de carnes. I was going to be responsible for the meat station. ¡Finalmente formaba parte de la orquesta! He was finally part of the orchestra!

**Martina:** For all of Marco's success at his new job, each night he still came home exhausted from the intensity of the kitchen. It also pained him to be far from Piji and to put aside his writing. “If I'm going to work this hard,” he thought to himself, “wouldn't it be better to work on something of my own?”

**Marco:** Un día la jefa de cocina me dijo: “Debes de escribir un libro sobre tu experiencia en el restaurante”. Marco: One day the head chef told me: "You should write a book about your experience in the restaurant". Yo creía que era una buena idea. I thought it was a good idea. No pude dormir esa noche y pensé en mi vida en Maine. I couldn't sleep that night and thought about my life in Maine. Si mi vida era como una novela, quizás era tiempo de pasar a una nueva página. If my life was like a novel, maybe it was time to turn to a new page.

**Martina:** The next morning, Marco went to pick up Piji at Annie's parents' house.

**Marco:** Yo estaba nervioso. Marco: I was nervous. ¿Y si Piji no me recordaba? What if Piji didn't remember me? Pero no fue así: saltó sobre mí, invitándome a correr con él. But he didn't: he jumped on me, inviting me to run with him. Piji estaba feliz de estar junto a mí. Piji was happy to be next to me.

**Martina:** Marco assured him that their adventures weren't over just yet.

**Marco:** Lo miré a la cara y le dije que íbamos a estar juntos de nuevo. Marco: I looked at his face and told him that we were going to be together again. Esa tarde hablé con la chef y dejé mi trabajo en la cocina. That afternoon I spoke to the chef and quit my job in the kitchen.

**Martina:** Marco turned his attention again to his dream of writing, but now with more determination than ever.

**Marco:** Decidí escribir un libro sobre la experiencia de ser inmigrante en Estados Unidos. Marco: I decided to write a book about the experience of being an immigrant in the United States.

**Martina:** And the hero of the book?

**Marco:** Piji, un héroe de cuatro patas. Marco: Piji, a four-legged hero.

**Martina:** Marco Avilés is a journalist and is back to writing every day — he, Piji and Annie are still living in their cabin in Maine. If you liked this story, we'd love it if you shared it with your friends who are also learning Spanish. Send them a link to podcast.duolingo.com. There, you can find a transcript of this story and other episodes. To get the episodes sent to you, subscribe at Apple podcasts or your favorite listening app.

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I'm Martina Castro, gracias por escuchar. I'm Martina Castro, thank you for listening.