THE DREAM THAT NEVES FADES
The days in this world are eternally gray, sad and monotonous, but today, for a few moments, Pedro and Júlio became happy children again. They will continue to anxiously search the steaming piles of garbage for something to make their eyes shine again, for a child's dream never fades.
THE DREAM THAT NEVER FADES
Pedro and Júlio are orphans. They were born in a dump and had to learn from an early age how to survive on their own and become adults on this deserted, barren plain, where the days are just like any other, gray, monotonous and eternally covered in a thick blanket of fog.
In the early morning, silhouettes of men, women and children appear to me, coming out of the flimsy tents where they sheltered from the cold of the night, as if they were ghosts wandering in a desolate and lifeless world. Pedro and Júlio know by instinct that they must be among the first to reach the piles of garbage left by the trucks overnight. Their survival depends on it. They silently rummage through the trash, eagerly searching for scraps of food and old clothes. If they're lucky, they'll find toys discarded by other children, or torn soccer shirts with faded colors that they proudly wear. Someone has told them that this soccer club is one of the most important, and that's enough to bring a smile to their face and make their eyes light up, as if they have been chosen to win a long-awaited prize.
Today Pedro and Julio were the chosen ones! They found a pair of plastic wheels from a toy car that once delighted a boy lucky enough to be born on the other side of the mountains, in the world where everything they need to survive comes from. Today, this mutilated toy, that survived the fire set by the garbage piles, will have a new life and will make Pedro and Julio's day different from all the others. Today, this toy will bring back to life the children that never ceased to exist in them, but who have been obscured by the need to survive, like the blanket of gray fog that covers the sad world in which they live.
But first they had to solve a mishap, as if the car had suffered a flat tire. Pedro's old slippers were broken. Here, a pair of the same slippers is a hard-to-find gem in the garbage heap, so Pedro desperately tries to repair them with Julio's help. But first they had to solve a mishap, as if the car had suffered a flat tire. Pedro's old slippers were broken. Here, a pair of the same slippers is a hard-to-find gem in the garbage heap, so Pedro desperately tries to repair them with Julio's help.
Tired of driving so much, and after giving each other a look of complicity, they decide to try another game. They grab each other's hands and roll around on the ground, messing up the dust they kick up with clumsy movements and somersaults. It's called "Joint Fighting," a game that mimics hand-to-hand combat, but it's not about winning or losing, it's just fun, and it's hard to tell whose arms and legs are tangled in the bodies rolling around in the dust.
Soon Pedro's friends and Julio join them, as if drawn by an irresistible call to play. Suddenly, the deathly silence of the dump is broken by laughter and shouts of joy, as if the gray plain were suddenly flooded with a torrent of life and color. The blank stares and sad faces that used to wander like ghosts in this silent, gray world have now been transformed into lively expressions and open smiles.
The days in this world are eternally gray, sad and monotonous, but today, for a few moments, Pedro and Júlio became happy children again. They will continue to anxiously search the steaming piles of garbage for something to make their eyes shine again, for a child's dream never fades.