Autor:   Henry Andrés Ballesteros Leal

THE NEWS

—Hey, our jungle is already a protected area!

—How do you know?

—I´ve just been notified by WhatsApp, from the Government.

—And they have to go?

—Now!

They hug each other, children, women, men, families. They cry with happiness. They have been years of struggle so that the jungle is not razed.

—This does not end here —the chief of the exploiting company tells them.

—We will be here, and you will never continue —says Catalina with all the strength of his heart.

The engines of the machinery start. They reverse and reverse until the only thing left of them is the deep footprint of their damage.

A monkey approaches Catalina. For years she has accompanied his family. During her researches she cared for them, and they welcomed her as part of them.

Catalina hugs him, takes his head, and says:

—Everything is fine. You are already well.

The monkey smiles at her.

The music of drums and gaita flutes sounds.

The monkey walks back to his home. His family awaits him still with the terror of death that was coming towards them. He shows them that the machines are gone. They look at each other, they can´t believe it. They breathe.

The monkeys jump, dance, their hubbub animate the birds that take flight singing. Jaguars, bears, tapirs, come out of their dens, feel the joy of what is happening.

The water and the air run, still dark with the pain of what happened, but spirited with life, and they go on and on, and they recover their essence, and everyone celebrates them.