I have punctuation marks.

Virtual world of a child

One day, while in a hurry and with a great appetite at a restaurant, I chose a table well
away from the movement, because I wanted to take advantage of the few minutes I had
that day; use them to eat and implement some programming ideas, for a system that I was
developing, and I also wanted to plan my vacations, which I haven't known what they are
for a long time. (Thinking of Hawaii, possibly).
I ordered a salmon fillet with capers, salad and a juice.
I opened my notebook and at the same moment I was scared by that low voice behind me:
- Uncle, can you give me some money?
I don't have one, I responded.
- Just a little coin to buy a loaf of bread.
All right, I'll buy you one.
For a change, my mailbox was full of emails... I was distracted reading poems, nice
messages, laughing at those crazy jokes. There! That music took me to London,
remembering a beautiful time gone by.
- Dude, maybe they put cheese on it too.
There I realize that the little one was next to me.
- Ok, but then you let me work, I'm busy, okay?
My food arrived and with it the reality. I place the order for the little one, and the waiter
asks me if I want the child to be removed. My conscience prevents me from making a
decision, and I say "no, everything is fine."
- Let him stay. Bring bread and a decent meal for the little one.
Then the boy sat in front of me and asked:
- Dude, what are you doing?
I'm reading emails.
- And what are e-mails?
They are electronic messages sent by people via the Internet.
I knew that he wouldn't understand anything, and to avoid further questioning I said:
- It is as if it were a letter, only it is sent over the internet.
- Uncle, do you have internet?
- Yes I have, it is essential in today's world.
- And what is the internet, man?
- It is a place on the computer where we can see and hear many things, news, music,
meet people, read, write, dream, work, learn. It has everything, but in a virtual world.
- And what is virtual uncle?
I decide to give a simplified explanation, with the certainty that the little one will
understand, and it will free me to eat my lunch, without guilt.
- Virtual is the place we imagine, something we cannot touch, reach, a place where we
create a lot of things we would like to do. We create our fantasy, we transform the world
into almost how we would like it to be.
- I ask, did you understand what virtual is?
- Yes man, I also live in this virtual world.
- And you have computers?
- No, but my world is also virtual!
My mother spends the whole day outside, she arrives very late and I spend the time taking
care of my little brother who is crying from hunger, and I give him water so he thinks it's
soup.
My older sister goes out all day, she says she is going to sell her body, but I don't
understand, because she always comes back with her body.
My father is in prison and I always imagine the whole family together at home, lots of food
and me going to school to be a great doctor.
- Isn't this virtual, man?
I closed my notebook, but not before my tears fell onto the keyboard.
I waited for the child to literally finish devouring his plate, I paid the bill and gave the
change to the little one, who contributed one of the most beautiful and sincere smiles and
also with a "Thank you man, you are a teacher."

PUNCTUATION MARKS
1. THE COMMA ( , )
Mark a brief pause in a statement.
It is used in the following cases:
 To separate the elements of an enumeration.
Ex.: He comes to pick up the rest of his things: the clothes, the basketball, the camera, the fishing rod and the
Vespa.

2. THE POINT (. )
The period marks a pause at the end of a statement.
After a period a capital letter is always written.
There are three types of points:
 Period and followed: separates statements that make up a paragraph.
Ex.: With the disk in hand, all that remains is for it to work. A year and a half of work and uncertainties have
been left behind.

3. THE SEMICOLON ( ; )
Indicates a pause greater than the comma and less than the period. Used:
 To separate the elements of an enumeration when dealing with expressions that include
commas.
Ex.: You had to be in contact with nature; let in the sky, the sea and the wind; sleep on boards, on the floor; sit
on half-broken chairs.

4. THE COLON (:)

A space is never left before the colon.
Colons are used in the following cases:
 In front of an enumeration announced with a verb.
Ex.: The cardinal points are: north, south, east and west.

5. THE ELLIPSIS (...)

They represent an interruption in the sentence or an imprecise ending. They are used in the
following cases:
 At the end of an enumeration when it has the same value as the word etcetera.
Ex.: Everything bad was to come: the annexation of Czechoslovakia, the surprise assault on Poland, the attack
on Russia, the Holocaust...

6. QUESTION MARKS (? )
They delimit interrogative statements. In Spanish it is necessary to use the opening sign because we
do not have grammatical marks to replace it.
A space is never left after the opening question mark or before the closing question mark.
Periods are never written after question marks.
Ex:
How are you?
 The final question mark in parentheses indicates doubt or irony.00
Ex.: Mr. Botín is the director (?) of Banco de Santander.
7. EXCLAMATION MARKS (! )
Delimit exclamatory statements or interjections.
A space is never left after the opening exclamation point or before the closing exclamation point.
Ex: Hello! What a surprise!
 The final exclamation mark in parentheses indicates surprise or irony.
Ex.: A 70-year-old man (!) has been the winner of the New York Marathon.