3. Hope and Destrouch.

When I regained my breath, I turned to face north again and gazed at the forest for a while.

«That’s the Forest of Adolescence,» the sweet voice told me.

I turned in the direction from which the voice had come; and what a big surprise to see a beautiful fairy, the size of a sparrow, sitting on a twig near my left ear! 

Noticing the amazed look on my face, she laughed out loud. Her tinkling giggle was so charming that it made me smile, and every trace of my bad mood was instantly banished.

«My name is Hope,» she said when her laughter subsided.

«And I’m Destrouch,» another hoarse voice said behind my head.

I turned around again to see who it was. Resting placidly on another twig at the height of my right ear was a tiny dragon with beautiful bat wings, but green. And instead of a dragon’s tail, this one had a long black raven feather. He was the same size as Hope but had a mischievous look and a certain air of rebellion shone in his eyes.

«What’s the matter? Have you never seen a dragon in your life? » Destrouch asked me, pretending to be annoyed by how I kept staring at him.

I did not know what to answer, so to get out of trouble, I told him that the raven feather he had in place of his tail had caught my attention.

«Oh yes, that’s because of a stupid accident I had,» he replied, lowering his gaze. And immediately explained:

“Anyone can have an accident! I used to have a regular dragon tail. But one day, I got carried away by my work enthusiasm and… Well, I had a small accident,» said Destrouch, a little embarrassed.

Hope laughed out loud again, so heartily that she almost fell off the twig she was sitting on.

I then wanted to learn about that accident. So after having me begging for a while, the little dragon gave in and told me:

“My name was originally Destruction, in honor of my mission in life, which is to destroy everything that is no longer useful or good, to leave room for new and better things.

Now and then, there are times when I have too much work, and once upon a time, I was so excited about my task, that in a matter of minutes, from “too much,” I had barely left “some.» 

Carried away by my enthusiasm and driven by my wild instincts, in seconds, I had left nothing at all. But the euphoria prevented me from stopping, and in my destructive desire, I began to run in circles, desperately looking for something else to pounce on!

Suddenly, I saw out of the corner of my eye, that something was hiding behind me, and without looking twice, I threw one of my most withering flares at it, and ouch,  ouch, ouch, ouch, what horrible pain!! What I incinerated recklessly was my beautiful toothed tail!

Since that day, everyone called me Destru, mocking me for my damn accident.

Over time, I got used to my new name, and not to have a tail.

Then, on another of those occasions when there is a lot to destroy, I relaunched myself

enthusiastically to my task, and with a single swipe of my claws -which though

small as they may be, can make cities and even empires disappear in question of seconds-, from “too much” only “uch” remained.

I lunged for it, but “uch” ran to hide behind me and clung to where my tail had been. This reminded me of what had happened before. So I decided to control myself and let “uch” stay there; as a reminder of what can happen if I don’t hold myself in time.

So, from that day on, “uch,” who had taken the form of this black feather, became my new tail, and my name is Destrouch.”

«So, from too much, you just left that raven feather?» I asked him just to say

something and avoid laughing at the absurdity of his story. I feared he would be offended if I didn’t take it seriously…

Destrouch then stood on his twig, displaying his true tail. Beneath the raven feather was a marvelous peacock tail, more beautiful than any tail I had ever seen! I was fascinated with the design of the patterns and the incredible colors of its magnificent feathers.

The small dragon looked at me proudly and said:

“Isn’t it the most beautiful tail in the world? Don’t make assumptions by the first impression because you never know what you may find under an appearance as dull as my raven’s black feather,» he advised me.

I think Hope got a little jealous because at that moment, she got standing on her twig, and with a schoolteacher tone, she said:

“Well, we all know how beautiful your tail is, Destrouch! But we haven’t come here to talk about that. We have come here to talk to this young bug about the far reaches of the prairie of childhood.»

Without saying a word, Destrouch leaned back comfortably on his twig and, with a 

mocking bow, he gave way to the fairy.

Hope, a little embarrassed by her jealous outburst, sat down again, looking for something to say.

To dissipate the tension generated between my new friends, I pretended to be more curious about that landscape than I was about them. So I asked Hope what the Forest of Adolescence was.

«It’s a forest which every bug that wants to become a winged adult must go through,» she answered. “There lives a sage and demanding spirit who has the power of giving wings to each bug, according to their achievements during their journey through the forest. Teenage bugs get their feathers as they find their way through the woods, overcoming the challenges the spirit throws at each one of them at every turn.

When this spirit sees that a bug is ready to take flight and leave the forest of adolescence, it gives them the wings created with the feathers they have found.

Destrouch and I are some of the helpers of the Spirit of the Forest and we collaborate to transform adolescent bugs into winged adults.»

I remained silent, thinking about what I had just heard. Finally, I asked: “And how do you help the teenage bugs that enter this forest?”

Then Hope, miming Destrouch’s ridiculous bow, invited him to answer me:

«I take care of destroying everything that is no longer useful to the young bug, freeing it from childish things that get in the way and leaving room for the spirit to put the wings the bug will need as an adult,» he said. 

And Hope added: “I am in charge of guiding the bugs through the forest so that they find the feathers with which the spirit will create their wings.

The idea that something in me needed to be destroyed did not please me, but having the wings that would allow me to fly free, was what I longed for the most. So I asked Hope if there was another way to get wings other than going through that forest.

«Well, a few bugs can get wings in another way,» she said somewhat mysteriously and added:

“Do you see those mountains that rise at the end of the desert? They are the Mountains of Faith. A great spirit dwells there, which can also grant wings to its chosen ones. But that path is not for everyone. Only those who hear the call of that Great Spirit should venture into those lonely places. If someone headed in that direction without being called, they would never reach the mountains. They would die or go mad in the desert of mirages,» she warned me.

And Destrouch added:

“On the other hand, the spirit that dwells there can create magnificent condor or eagle wings for his disciples. But he doesn’t give them away to anyone either, since the bugs invited to travel that path must also make enormous sacrifices and overcome innumerable obstacles before getting their magnificent wings.» And with a somewhat evil look, he continued: “Bugs do not go there unacompany either. Just as we help the Spirit of the Forest, the Great Spirit of the Mountains is assisted by angels and demons. And precisely because of the latter, no one should venture in that direction without being invited by the Lord of that realm. Compared to those demons, dragons like me are harmless butterflies!”

“Now, if you look towards the East,” resumed Hope, “beyond the dunes, you can see a beautiful beach that borders the Ocean of the Unknown. Once again, that path is neither for everyone nor free of obstacles and dangers. A powerful spirit also grants beautiful seagull, pelican, and albatross wings which, as you might have already guessed, he doesn’t give them away to anyone. This marine spirit is perhaps the least merciful to his chosen ones. If reckless little bugs head towards the coast of that immense ocean without having matured enough, in the best of cases, they will spend the rest of their days wandering among the dunes of indecision, never even reaching the beach,» said the fairy. 

At this point, Destrouch interrupted her, declaring: “And in the worst case, they will die in a storm of terrors or shipwreck on the island of delusions, where all end up crazy! The mermaids, nymphs, mermen, and other creatures that serve as assistants to this merciless spirit don’t share the same ethical values, ​​nor do they have the same considerations that we, the forest or mountain beings, usually have with the bugs we help. The beings of the unknown have no compassion, so whoever ventures in that direction must be guided by a powerful intuition to keep them alert even in their sleep,» the little dragon concluded, with an exaggerated look of terror on his funny face.

I turned to the South, holding firmly to the branches, and sitting with my back to the forest, I pointed ahead with a trembling hand and asked: “And that great abyss where the prairie ends, what is it?”

«It’s the Abyss of Nothingness,» replied the fairy almost in a whisper. “It consists of many levels, each governed by a different spirit.

At the top level, a rather pious spirit rules, and depending on how a bug gets into his realm, it will come out again quite quickly. At this level, called desolation, the sun’s rays still penetrate, and the beings that help there can lend their invisible wings to the unfortunate bugs that accidentally fall there.

Below this first level is another twilight level called agony, and the spirit that governs it is more indifferent than its neighbor above. Anyone who falls there must use all their strength and willpower to climb up to desolation in search of help. In agony, there are no helpers for anyone. So, if one does not give everything, it is probable that they will end up falling to the level below, called death.

The Reign of Darkness is governed by an elusive spirit that few souls claim to have known.

That level is a great mystery for those of us who are alive. However, there are many myths and stories of what it is like. Some say that that spirit crumbles the bodies of those who arrive there and lets their souls out on the other side of the abyss of nothingness, towards other unknown worlds. Others say that with the elements of the bodies that he undoes, the spirit creates the eggs that later mysteriously appear in the nests of the Prairie of childhood and that inside them he puts the souls of those bugs that he had left without a body. But never before have they slept in his kingdom long enough to have their memories and dreams confused and lingering as mere sensations.

One mythical version says that only specific bugs of great wisdom and supernatural power can keep their memory intact, on the condition that they overcome a series of terrible tests. If they succeed, the spirit of death gives them magical phoenix wings and grants them immortality. But nobody knows if this is true or just a legend,» concluded the fairy.

Destrouch sat up straight and, in a very grave tone, warned me: “Never even think about the possibility of leaning over the edge of that abyss because it is true that for the poor little bugs that fall there by accident or imprudence, the spirits that inhabit it may be pious and try to help them. But with those who fall there out of selfishness or stupidity, these beings don’t have the slightest consideration and, in the best of cases, will let the misfortunate bugs try to get out by their means. And I assure you that nothing is more difficult for a bug than getting out of the Abyss of Nothingness without anyone’s help!»

I felt weak and dizzy again, and holding on tightly to the branches, I turned around and stayed in silence for a long time, gazing at the horizon beyond the forest and contemplating the sunset. The sky darkened, and I saw the first star shine. I made a wish in silence. Then I told my new friends it was time to go home, or my parents would worry. Before we said goodbye, I asked them one last question: “Where does the forest of adolescence end? I can’t see an end to it!”

“Like this tree, that forest grows with each step you take until you no longer need it,» Hope replied. And Destrouch added, “And what lies beyond it will depend on the path you decide to travel, the feathers you find after each challenge overcome, and the wings that the spirit makes you with those feathers.”

With these words, they said goodbye, promising we would meet again in the forest when I decided to return that way.

They took flight blending in with the birds returning to their nests, while I descended from the tree, already almost in darkness. It took me less than five minutes to reach the ground but after all I had experienced, nothing surprised me any more. I ran home, where they were waiting for me, with dinner almost ready.