story

A COMPROMISED CONSCIENCE A story in the Peneda-Gerês National Park, where the impossible becomes possible, nature unites with trash come to life and truth finds its place in the heart of a little girl.

Students: Leonor Cardoso – 5ºE Mariana Costa – 5ºE

Supervising teacher: Vítor Moreira Martins

Agrupamento de Escolas André Soares, Braga.

3º Escalão – 2º ciclo

On a stormy night, in the worst weather ever seen, two young wolves were playing and exploring the Peneda-Gerês National Park, unaware of the danger they were in. The brothers, called Mixa and Negrito, were special, because they were members of the endangered species Canis lupus. They were playing freely, when suddenly one of the pups was hit by large pieces of metallic debris. A power pole had gotten loose due to the tremendous force of the wind. Amid all the fun and games, they weren’t expecting anything bad to happen, and Negrito fainted from the impact. His brother started howling, overwhelmed by the torment, smothering the sound of the trees being shaken by the angry wind. In that precise moment lightning started hitting the ground, and the night became clear as day! It was in that stormy scenery that Mixa was dragging his brother to a spot near a pile of trash, an illegal deposit of urban and industrial residue. The wind became even stronger, lifting trash from the ground, and strong electrical discharges bound the pieces of trash around the poor wolf’s body. Mixa’s anger was so intense that the trash got attracted to him. Suddenly, a giant explosion threw Negrito in the direction of an old oak tree. Negrito tried to stand on his paws, but he couldn’t move, so he just stared shockingly at where Mixa was. Scared, Negrito saw a big shadowy figure emerge right in front of him, one that appeared to be on fire. In panic, he tried to drag himself to some yew trees to protect him from that giant trash creature, result of the hurricane and the storm, but he didn’t make it.

After that stormy night, the sun rose to a clear sky and some eagles flying. Mixa woke up, confused about what had happened. He looked at his paws, which were now hands made of cables and old plastic, and being very confused he went to the nearby river, the Cabril River. In the reflection of the water he saw a human figure. He didn’t understand how he could possibly be a human made of trash. Close by, a girl called Carolina, curious about what lied beyond the trail of the massive Peneda-Gerês Park, ignored the orders of the forest ranger, and followed her own path. As was expected, she immediately realized that hadn’t been a good idea. Lost and scared, she tried to hold on to some leaves, but the wind dragged her to the riverbank of the Cabril River, and her foot got stuck on a small rock. When the pup saw that afflicted girl, who was about to cry, he ran in her direction. With his new hands, he strongly pulled Carolina and was able to set her free. Carolina was frightened by the face and body of that strange animal, made of trash.

-I don’t want to hurt you! I’m still getting used to this new body as well. – confessed the wolf, in a sad tone.

Carolina became more relaxed by the wolf’s sweet voice and said: -Oh, don’t be sad! I’m Carolina, I moved to Gerês a while ago, what about you?

-I’m Mixa, a wolf turned into trash, but fortunately I think I’m the only one. – answered Mixa.

-Very well! It looks like we’re friends! While we’re at it, what if tomorrow you showed me the most beautiful views in Gerês? – asked Carolina, excited.

-Okay! I think that’s a great idea! – agreed Mixa.

-I just need you to do me a favor, Mixa. Will you take me back to the main trail, so I can find my way back home?

-Of course, I’ll go with you. – answered Mixa, satisfied.

Since it was already late, and she was tired, Carolina said goodbye to Mixa and went home. That night, she dreamed about witnessing the most beautiful views ever, but strangely the wolf wasn’t by her side. She woke up and couldn’t fall back asleep, so she decided to search online for “the most beautiful views in Peneda-Gerês” and was amazed by what she saw. By dawn, Carolina went to meet Mixa where he left her the day before. Carolina was very curious, but her enthusiasm was replaced by disappointment, as the views weren’t quite like the ones she had seen. Seeing the place where Mixa’s transformation had occurred made her heart fill with sadness.

Mixa asked her if she had told her parents what they were doing. Carolina answered: -No, when I got home my parents hadn’t arrived yet.

-Do you know what your parents do when they’re not with you? – asked Mixa.

-No! Why do you ask?

-In my opinion, a child’s parents should always be present, to help them make the best decisions.

What if we tried to find out what your parents do when they’re not with you?

-Okay, but we should be discreet! We’ll meet in the early morning by my house. – suggested Carolina.

Carolina’s parents left while the sky was still dark. The plants, wet with dew, made Carolina and Mixa slip a couple of times, but they were persistent and kept moving; they were quite the team.

Carolina’s parents got to a building where they met with a very suspicious looking person, whose face was covered, except for the eyes. They were speaking quietly, so no one would hear them, but Carolina and Mixa were able to make out what they were saying: -So, how much for yesterday’s dump? We want twice as usual, we got spooked by some kind of trash monster. It was very scary! – said Carolina’s parents in unison.

Mixa remembered that, the night of his transformation, he had spotted two people dumping illegal residue. He decided to ask Carolina: -Carolina, do you think there’s a chance your parents are involved in illegal dumping?

-By now everything’s possible, but it’s hard for me to believe that my parents would do that.

-We should keep investigating during the night near the deposit, to find out the truth.

-Okay, I agree. Now I must hurry, I need to get home before them. – said Carolina.

Their curiosity was evergrowing, they were willing to find out the truth about this mystery. As agreed, they met at the deposit, and a few minutes later they saw two people illegally dumping residue. Carolina recognized her father’s big dark mustache and her mother’s high heeled shoes. Mixa noticed their creepy

aspect, and that their black outfit was the same they had used the day before. It was easy to conclude that the dumping was daily and that they were likely highly compensated.

While Mixa waited a while before jumping to conclusions, Carolina was about to cry and couldn’t contain herself. She ran up to her parents and confronted them: -So it’s really you, this is what you do?! How could you fool me like that? You encourage me to love and protect the environment, and the time I spend without you, missing your love, you waste it destroying what God gave us! I want to present to you a very special friend: this is Mixa.

Mixa was behind the trees, who appeared embarrassed and scared of what could happen.

Carolina’s father searched his deep pockets until he found and pulled out a gun. He pointed it to Mixa, but Mixa couldn’t control his anger. Without knowing how, he threw a lightning bolt, and Carolina’s dad’s gun jumped out of his hands and disappeared up in the air. After this, her parents ran away, and nobody ever saw them again. Mixa and Carolina were certain that her parents wouldn’t go back to doing what they did all those years.

By the end of this adventure Carolina was very grateful to Mixa. She wanted to thank him, but words weren’t enough. This cute girl, now an orphan, now lived with Mixa. On a nice morning, she decided to take her friend to meet the population of Gerês. Initially, Mixa didn’t want to go, but he realized that he had to make people understand the importance of a healthy and clean environment. Carolina started by visiting the secret office where her parents worked and requesting to talk to the manager. Mixa stood behind her when the manager came, who immediately called security and told the guards that a huge monster was attacking a girl.

-Such a shame that you care about me but not about the environment. Illegal dumping is wrong!

The consequences are right in front of you. Look at him! He was a pup, but you killed his brother with trash from the deposit you made. A pole fell on him, but the trash was what killed him. My friend attracted the trash to him, with just the power of his anger, because emotions are the most powerful things in the world.

Now he’s here, being judged by the way he looks.

Mixa was emotional, and the workers who were listening were very ashamed, so they decided to stop what they were doing, because it was causing great harm. The boss of the dumping business decided to become a better person and gave Mixa the title of “guardian of the trash”. Mixa’s body never returned to normal, but Carolina made everyone see him as an animal, not a monster. Every day they went to clean the Peneda-Gerês National Park of trash. Carolina grabbed the trash and Mixa used his body to turn it into something new and useful. Suddenly everyone realized the consequences of what they were doing, and that someone’s appearance doesn’t define their behavior.

With this story we want to warn you about our environment and its protection. Carolina and Mixa fought and made a difference, despite being only two out of billions of people! Join them!