FOREVER FREE

Today I woke up and remembered “The Third World War”. My father used to tell me it had begun on the year 2014 and finished on the year 2018 when one of the most powerful countries in the planet, the Government from the United Nations, had an intense fight with an association of countries called The Allies of South America. When the war finished and the United Nations conquered, I was 10 years old. My two brothers wanted to leave our country and look for a change of life. However, all the countries from South America  were held to slavery, and all healthy men in the families including my brothers, were forced to leave their homes and get ready in the Army. In fact, there were many things said about the job people were forced to do and how badly they were treated.

For the following 5 years we received one letter from our brothers every three months, then, we waited for four months,  for five, and after six months we received one that said: “We are having a very difficult time here. I am really sorry to tell you that Albert and Daniel died of starvation. They were close friends of mine. The government doesn’t want people to know that the war caused lack of food. We are being forced to work creating something new that will bring a change for mankind but we still don´t know what it is, it is not a weapon, it is kind of a pill. I am afraid, I am not sure if I will be the next one who will die”.

Some months after my brothers died, the lack of food became evident to the whole nation, this also brought consequences to the world. The lack of food changed people´s mind, they became disrespectful and felt hostility towards each other, but then people began to do something really disgusting that had never happened, they started eating their pets in order to survive, starvation was so evident that I had the crazy idea that someday animals would disappear.

All animals became wild to defend themselves from humans. Years passed and animals that were considered as loyal friends were eaten without regrets. Soon, there existed the trade of animals between countries and there started a big extinction of all species. They were disappearing, as well as people feelings were incredibly dissapearing.

The government from the United Nations was so powerful in technologies and weapons, that after some years they got complete control of the World. One day, they created a terrible weapon for humans. For me, this was a lethal weapon, although it was far away from being a bomb or an explosive. They created  pills to offer poor people like us in order to survive, pills that changed the human aspect and mind very fast, making people stronger and younger, with the consequences that after sometime they would have no feelings, they would feel no pain, no hunger, and finally forget what was like being a human.

After 2018, Years passed, men became stronger, and this pills started to have secondary effects. In animals, they became stronger and more wild, and humans, they had forgotten how to communicate and they could not procreate. The Government around the World was led for only one nation, the one who won the War, and they were the ones who provided the pills, of course, with no food at all they had to accept it, and the price was really high. Families would offer their children under 18 years old to work for the Government.

I never accepted to drink a pill to change my body, that´s why I look very old. Many people of my age seem really young, and in this cruel world, and in this cruel country, people disagree old people like me.

Year after year I was more interested in the animals and how important they were in the World. When animals started to disappear, I understood I had to study how their disappearance would change the world.  I taught to my grandchildren everything I discovered, they loved animals very much. From time to time we had conversations of how they were. In fact, I could take pictures of them and save them. So, they knew most of them only by photographs. Studying each one of the animals´ life I found remarkable that bees were the most important animals in life. If they disappear, the world would disappear.

My Grandchildren are my life. They are 8, 10 and 12. But I am tired, I am now 82 years old and everything I have seen in life is pain. My husband, my son and his wife tried to leave the country eight years ago, when my last grandchild was born. They wanted to leave because life was really hard, and even though the situation was hard all around the world, they had heard there were save places where to go. When they went out of town, they found a place where everything was abundant, and they started working and sending money for me and my Grandchildren for some years. When my family had saved a good amount for us to leave, they sent the money but the government  inmidiatetly blocked my account. They were discovered to be illegal and were forced to come back here. When they arrived, they were forced to take the pills, and after some time we didn´t know anything else about them. They forgot everything. They forgot us. I understood it was not their fault. They also punished me, they told me that there would come the day that they would take my grandchildren away from me. And that day was today, in the commemoration of the War.

I don´t want my grandchildren to suffer, so I dedicated my life to teach them about the two most important things in the planet. Men and animals. I wanted them to see things different, but I had to face reality, and today was going to be the worst day of our lives, the Government would come for them and I had to change that. This morning, I took a decision; I gathered my grandchildren –Dorothy, Mike, and Steven – and told them there was time to leave this place.

Granny, are you going to tell us another great story of the war? said my sweet Dorothy.

Yes, grandma! Tell us about the animals that helped to carry the soldiers!, said Mike, always curious.

Today -I said to them- is a very important day. Today we are travelling to a different world, but first let me tell you what you will find there.

Animals, grandma?—said Steven. If there are animals I want to go there!

Yes, there are!, I said.

Talk to us about a new animal, grandma! Show us new pictures!

All right, I said. I think it´s time for you to know one of my favorite animals. The bee.

The bee?? What´s that?—said Dorothy.

Does it fly like a bird??- said Steven.

Yes, it flies! But it is really really small. – I said.

So, it is an insect, said Mike!

Yes, that´s right! I stood up and looked for an album in which I saved many pictures of this impressive animals.– I am going to show you what they are like. First, you need to know the way bees communicate.- This was a little hard for me to explain since they were children, but I tried to make it very simple. So, I said:

Bees were the most important animals in our planet, because they kept plants and crops alive, but after the war the use of pesticides had an impact in the health of bees. In fact, these pesticides would make them go insane and don´t know how to return home. People were careless about taking care of the planet, until they finally destroyed the animals that kept everything in order and make possible to get most of the food in the planet.

So, we don´t have enough food because there are no bees? asked Dorothy.

– The truth is that now, we have nothing. We only eat strange food that comes in cans everyday because there are not more vegetables on our planet. We don´t know what we are eating. People are surviving because the government gives some pills to every family so they don´t even feel hungry. They are different from us because they drink those pills, we don´t drink that because it´s not good for our health. But today, they wouldn´t be forced to drink those pills anymore, because that will change.

I started showing them the pictures while I was explaining—Listen, this is a bee hive, this is their house, and here there can be around 60.000 bees living together.

Together?—How can they live together? Said Steven.

Well, bees like working in groups, and every bee is dedicated to the great purpose of surviving.. to survive they need each other. The spirit of cooperation is more important to bees than the spirit of competition.

How can they know what they have to do? Said Mike.

They know because they communicate with each other in different ways, every bee has a role to play in its community. The queen bee lays the eggs while worker bees clean the home and keep the home temperature cool. Some bees protect the hive from the enemies while others fly for miles to collect nectar. When they find food or even a great new home, they tell the others. And they do it in a particular way, they go to the hive and dance, in that way they say exactly where the new food or place is.

What do they eat, granny? Asked Dorothy.

Aha! That´s a very important question.—I said- They prepare their own food, todo this, they visit many flowers! They collect a sugary juice called nectar from the blossom by sucking it out with their tongues, When they have a full load, the bees fly back to the hive. There, they pass the nectar on through their mouths to other worker bees who chew it. It’s passed from one bee to the other, until it turns into honey.

Why can´t humans work like bees to produce food, grandma?

Steven asked.

– Because there is a lot of competition, and selfishness. When humans had the bees they did not notice how much they could have learnt from them. But now there is nothing, now humans don´t even have feelings, and now they won´t need them anymore because they are like robots. We are the only family in town that has not taken the pills and today they will force us to take them. That´s bad news for us.

I don´t want to be like a robot, granny! I want to be like you when I gel old! I want to have wrinkles and live forever like you! Because, you will stay with us forever, right granny? said Dorothy.

Of course my dear, we will be tgether forever, the three of you and me. Nobody will come for us to give us pills, because, today, we are secretly leaving this town! We are going on a trip!

Yeaah! They all said.

I was so sad to leave everything I owned. But I didn´t have choice. If the Government men came they would offer me pills and they would take my three grandchildren, they were condemned to die of starvation or live like robots forever.

-Well kids, I have something to show you. Something that will help us to arrive save to our destiny. Wait for me here!- I stood up in front of a drawer and opened it with an old key I had kept since I realized this day should come. I took out a very small glass jar with honey inside of it. -Let me tell you that I have kept this saved for you and I. This is honey. And now you will know how sweet it is.  This will help us to arrive to our destiny, tonight! But first, let me hug you and tell you how much I love you!

-We love you granny! They said.

-At least, our last thought would be a happy one- I said in my mind.

I put a little bit of honey in each of their small hands, and they took it, they felt the sweet flavor, they smiled and the three of them watched me, with their happy faces. I was happy to see them, so joyful, so full of peace. And I said -My children, for the world it is late to understand that one of the answers for a better life was right in front of us, animals were here to teach us lessons that most people never saw, and now we are all paying the consequences. I also took some honey in my hand, drank it, and told them.. -let´s rest a while before our trip. -Yes, granny! All of them said. -I am feeling dizzy, said Mike. -Me too, I said. Let´s just rest a while more. Finally, our trip was starting, we would live a better life, resting forever, we would be forever free.