This pastel self-portrait is the materialization of a memory from my childhood. At eight years old I found a small dove fallen from a tree and took it home, I fed it and cared for it until its feathers grew. When it was able to fly, I released it from my balcony, but it would fly a few meters outward and return to me until, after several attempts, it finally left. The following 3 days it returned to my balcony, stayed with me for a while, and left. The white dove appears here as a symbol of that which we protect and love, but which does not belong to us. This portrait gathers memory, innocence, and the silent learning that some of the most valuable things that pass through our hands can only be preserved by letting them go. The delicacy and nuances of the use of pastel allow me to envelop this memory in an atmosphere of nostalgia, thus transforming a personal experience into a universal statement about compassion, care, and above all, the art of knowing how to let go.