Tiene Duende ¡Fantástico!

Out for a stroll with Toffee this morning. The early morning mist was rolling over the mountains. Toffee was busy sucking on an orange when there was rustling in the trees just above us. I looked up but couldn’t see anything. It happened a couple more times. Toffee didn’t even look up from his orange. The next minute Duende came hurtling down the rugged path, nearly knocked me off my feet. Toffee was totally spooked, he dropped his orange and gave chase. The Duende just vanished into the mist. The look on Toffee’s face. TieneDuende.

Factoid: The most elusive word in the Spanish language is Duende. Like a breeze or moonlight, it is more easily experienced than explained. In stories, it means simply an imp or goblin, or a poltergeist-like force that disturbs the spirit of a house. But it runs much deeper than that; Duende is almost a blood-type. Someone who has it in their veins is likely to be creative, fey, prescient, spontaneous, captivating, maybe melancholic, volatile. Or none of these. One of Duende's charms is that just when it seems grasped, it slips away like a trout; makes a chord change; turns quick as a small child from laughter to tears.