Generación / generation

By: Javier Leonardo 

The legendary mountain rises in front of the small villages of the valley like a giant arrow pointing to a sky, with its point way past above the clouds, and with a sky that can only be imagined to be blue past that dark gray layer. The mountain is dressed with a thick forest, supplying the townspeople below with unlimited spring waters and animals to hunt. All living creatures on the mountain and at its feet know about the fierce dragon that sleeps at the top. In one of the villages, the most populated of them, a soldier faces the mountain. The dragon’s snores echo over the village while a group participates in their hero’s sendoff. The soldier’s family, friends, neighbors, and the village elders wish the brave young soldier good luck, for he is about to climb the mountain and slay the dragon before it wakes up at sunset. The nights the dragon wakes up, it goes town to town burning the crops and eating the cattle for a week, and then slumbers again. The soldier has decided he will put an end to this horrific cycle, and he gathered all his courage and strength for this important task. The soldier waves goodbye, and the villagers respond with smiles, hopeful tears and doubtful grins. 

Off he goes! 

Taking a few steps into the skirt of the mountain, the soldier immediately notices the thorns, the ferocious biting bugs, and the muddy soil that will make his journey all the more uncomfortable. Luckily, he was prepared. He’s wearing an impenetrable armor: a shiny shield and an even shinier sword to face any obstacle that might cross his path, and to aid in his battle with the dragon. He climbs the mountain with a hurried step and without pause. 

A few miles into the forest, the soldier hears a cry for help. A family of squirrels holds on to a branch while a ferocious creek tries to drag them away. The squirrel dad holds onto the branch and the squirrel mom, who holds onto the squirrel dad and the squirrel baby. The squirrel baby screams for help, and this has proved worthwhile, for the soldier has heard him and rushes to help. With his sword, the soldier strikes a nearby tree at the edge of the river until the tree falls over. With all his strength the soldier moves the fallen tree so that the squirrels can reach it on the other side of the river. The family of squirrels hold on to the fallen tree as the soldier pulls them to safety. The squirrels reach the land mostly dry, thanks to the kind hero who got out of his way to help. The soldier feels good. He saved lives and now he truly feels like the hero his village thinks he is, and he must continue with his journey for their sake. 

He starts to walk again, but the family of squirrels still needs help. Their house is at the other side of the creek, and now they don’t have a way to go back home. The soldier thinks for a while. He invites the squirrels to sit on his shield, as he will carry them to their house. He will walk upriver until they find a path to cross the creek safely. The dragon’s snores are slowing down, and as soon as the sun sets, it will fly and look for food in the nearby villages. The soldier goes as fast as he can, sweating and feeling cuts from the thorns and angry bugs that are now all over his body after finding the few miniscule crevices in his armor. The soldier finds some big rocks that help him cross the river and asks the squirrels to take it from there. The family of squirrels take the easy way downriver to their house after thanking their hero. 

The soldier goes on. Nothing can stop him feeling like a hero, invincible. He’s past the halfway point when he hears another call for help. A giant snake has pinned down some baby birds. They chirp and chirp for their mom, because they are still too young and their bones too weak to be able to fly away from this danger. The soldier looks around at the top of the forest foliage and finds no sign of the bird mom. The soldier quickly begins climbing the tree that houses the birds and rushes to get in the way of the snake and its meal. The snake is not evil, and the soldier knows this, so he doesn’t raise his weapon. Instead, he raises his shield and tries to convince the snake to find another meal that does not consist of some scared baby birds. The snake has no reason to listen to the oddly dressed figure and decides to attack. The snake tackles the shield, spits poison that doesn’t reach anything and tries to bite the impenetrable armor. After a few minutes, the snake gets tired and slithers away, angry and hungry. The baby birds are grateful, but they ask the soldier to stay close until their mom returns. The soldier looks at the sun coming down at the other side of the mountain, and worries about time, but he cannot abandon the baby birds after taking responsibility for their safety. The soldier waits a few hours, wondering if time will be in his favor. The soldier hears the dragon yawn, and the soldier is now scared. Luckily, some flapping indicates that the bird mom has arrived. She brings meals for the babies and the soldier rushes to say his goodbyes, get down from the tree and run to the top of the mountain. 

A couple steps away from the top, the soldier can see the massive figure of the dragon, still sleeping. The soldier takes out his sword and approaches the beast, when he stumbles with the legs of a tortoise that are sticking out of the mud. The poor creature is half buried and trying to come out. The heroic nature of the soldier makes him rush to use his sword as a lever to take the tortoise out of the mud and put its four legs on the ground. With the turtle’s first breath of fresh air in a long time, it thanks the soldier. The hero turns his eyes to the dragon, and meets with the dragon’s open eyes. Oh no! The soldier raises his sword and announces himself as the dragon’s foe. The dragon smiles and spreads his wings. A strong gust of air pushes the soldier away, who can only watch in horror as the dragon ascends to the air. The horrible screech of the dragon is heard throughout the mountain. All animals and critters hide away. Even the tortoise has found safety in its shell. The dragon soars higher and higher away from the mountain, as the sun sets behind him. 

Another week will pass until the dragon falls asleep again. The soldier must now go down the mountain, hoping he won’t find his village in ashes, and hoping the villagers are alive even if just to shower him with their shame and disappointment. The “hero’s” journey comes to an end, but the mission is incomplete, unfinished. 

The world goes on being the world, and the soldier wonders if his path should have been different. He asks himself if he could have done more, and if he will be lucky enough to have  another chance to fulfill his heroic destiny — or what that destiny is, after all. The animals and critters he encountered on his journey can call him their hero, but now the soldier is facing the question: can he himself, call himself a hero, when the dragon keeps terrorizing the villages under the mountain’s gaze? And what about the fact that there will always be more dragons to come?