Hope in the Blink of an Eye
By: Valeria Ascanio
San Roque is a town in Colombia known for its bananas and beautiful people that illuminate its streets with red and green lights during Christmas in order to forget what they have faced during the year. Daniela was a young girl who worked at a school where she would go every day to teach students outside of a small town near San Roque. She always came across people she knew on her way. Green people were hidden behind the bushes, but Daniela always acted as if she did not see anything and continued her trip by donkey. It is said that many teachers have been threatened by war, but, fortunately, she was not one of them that day. Daniela thought there were groups that stopped tankers to steal food and give it to the town's inhabitants so they could overcome poverty. They also enforced rules in order to turn the town into a better place and to do what people in control could and should do, such as arresting people who stole from others. However, sometimes they were very tough.
Daniela, the eldest sister in her family, was still living with her mother, two sisters and one brother, because their financial situation was difficult. Daniela helped her mother with household expenses. One day she decided to go to Curumaní, a bigger town near to San Roque, to buy things for the house. When she was returning home, she met her uncle, and he invited her to get into his car. She was happy to see him and without a moment's hesitation got into his car. They were talking away when, some minutes later, they were stopped by a group of green people from that zone. She did not understand what was happening, but she and her uncle were blindfolded. They were forced to
get into a car and were taken to a place far away. It felt like an eternity for Daniela. When she and her uncle arrived, unknown people started to ask them questions. As if he were hiding something, Daniela saw how her uncle looked skyward as if he were hoping to escape to the heavens above. Later, Daniela returned to San Roque in a car to tell her family the news. Suddenly, she saw a white pigeon flying around her, and she remembered how her uncle had won awards because of the great work he had done in the town.
These days, things seem to be getting better in San Roque. People like going to parties on weekends. There are more foreigners around, and new stores have been opened. Daniela's favorite plan is going to the new ice cream shop, eating strawberry ice cream or a strawberry milkshake and going to the central park to see how beautiful life is. Lights on the sidewalks have not stopped shining and people remain as beautiful as they have always been.