Last night I found him crying in the garage. He was holding an old photo of himself with short hair and a tie—from when he wanted to be a lawyer. “Papelucho,” he said, “do you think I’m crazy?” I thought about it. “Yes,” I said. “But you’re also my brother. And you smell better today. Less forest.” He laughed. Then he taught me a song about peace and a river. It was kind of nice. Until his friend “Tierra Libre” tried to hug our refrigerator because it was “humming a lost melody.”

Here’s an original short piece inspired by the title Papelucho, mi hermano hippie , blending the classic Chilean character’s voice with a 1970s counterculture twist. (As told in his secret notebook, the one with the flower on the cover.)

Mamá almost fainted when she saw him. He had a feather in his hair, sandals made of old tires, and a necklace of dried beans that he swore was “medicinal.” Papá just looked at him over his newspaper and said, “Javier, you smell like a forest after a rainstorm. A strange rainstorm.” Sol Naciente smiled and said, “That’s patchouli, Dad. It aligns the chakras.” I don’t know what chakras are, but I think one of them got aligned onto the couch because now it smells forever.

Well, excuse me for wanting breakfast.

So now I have a hippie brother. He doesn’t wear shoes, he talks to birds, and he thinks money grows on—well, not trees, because that would be capitalist. But he also shares his cookies and told me that being different is just another way of being brave. I still think “Sol Naciente” is a silly name. But when no one’s looking, I call him that. Just to see him smile.

I never thought I’d say this, but my brother Javier has turned into a walking herb garden. Last week he came home from the university—the one where they let you sit on the floor during class—and announced that from now on, his name is “Sol Naciente.” I told him that sounded like a brand of orange juice. He said I have a materialistic soul.

Now I have to go. Luna Marina is trying to teach the dog to meditate, and he’s just sitting there confused. Poor guy. I know how he feels.

I asked Sol Naciente if being a hippie meant you couldn’t bathe. He said it meant you respect water as a sacred element. Then he put a flower behind my ear and gave me a bracelet made of yarn. I wore it to school and my friend Rodrigo said I looked like a curtain. But I didn’t take it off.

The worst part is, he brought friends. They all have names like “Luna Marina” and “Viento Azul” and they sit in our backyard playing flutes that sound like sad llamas. They don’t eat meat. They don’t eat sugar. Yesterday they tried to eat a rock because “it had minerals.” Mamá made them soup anyway, but they asked if it was made with love. Mamá said, “It’s made with potatoes, now eat.”