Have you ever felt that ache in your chest for somewhere you can’t quite name?

A pull in your soul toward a life you haven’t lived yet, or a moment that never happened… but somehow feels like it did?

It’s not a memory.

It’s not nostalgia.

It’s something deeper. Stranger. Quieter. A kind of homesickness for something you’ve never seen with your eyes, but feel deeply with your heart.

Where does that longing come from? And why does it feel so familiar? Let’s find out.

The Word We Didn’t Know We Needed

There’s a beautiful Portuguese word for this ache: Saudade.

It’s hard to translate fully, but it speaks of a deep emotional desire for something that’s missing. Something that may never return, or maybe never was.

It’s that feeling Dua had when she first found herself far from home in Squawkadoodle: The Adventure of Dua and Oliver by Robert E. Miller. She wasn’t just missing her family. She was aching for a sense of belonging, a place where her heart could rest.

Oddly, she began to sense that home wasn’t behind her. It was somewhere ahead. Somewhere she hadn’t reached yet.

And that’s the magic of saudade.

It tells us that home isn’t always a place. Sometimes, it’s a feeling. A connection. A moment of recognition in a completely unfamiliar world.

Unfamiliar Places Lead to Unexpected Belonging

Sometimes, you step into a new place or meet someone new and feel something exciting.

It’s like your soul remembers them even if your mind doesn’t.

Dua’s bond with Oliver wasn’t just a chance. It was one of those connections that feel written in the stars as if they were meant to cross paths. And while the surroundings around them were foreign, the feeling of being seen, understood, and safe gave Dua something she hadn’t felt in a long time: Belonging.

That’s what happens when we follow that strange ache.

When we let ourselves feel homesick for things we don’t yet understand, we open ourselves up to finding home in new and beautiful ways.

Maybe You’re Not Lost, You’re Being Called

If you’ve ever felt out of place in your life, like you’re searching for something more, that longing is not a weakness. It’s a whisper.

A call to something real.

Something you can’t see yet, but are meant to find.

Just like Dua, you don’t have to understand it all at once. The ache itself is part of the path. It leads you to the people, places, and pieces of yourself you didn’t know you were missing.

Let Your Heart Wander, It Knows the Way

Feeling homesick for a place you’ve never been? Don’t rush to bury the feeling. Let it rise.

Sometimes, your heart remembers where you’re going before your feet ever get there.

Ready to Follow That Feeling?

If Dua’s journey in Squawkadoodle made your heart ache in that soft way, you’re not alone.

This story isn’t just for kids. It’s for the inner child in all of us who still believes in magic, in hope, and in the quiet calling of a dream we haven’t lived yet.

Let Squawkadoodle: The Adventure of Dua and Oliver by Robert E. Miller be your reminder that sometimes the places we’ve never been… are the ones that feel most like home.