Marcelo in the garbage dump

A story I wrote after visiting the Las Vacas River garbage dump in 2021.

Nothing like before, Marcelo was playing marbles lying on the floor. He had calculated that he would win this last game because he had been practicing for quite some time.

Amidst the dust and with grime between his nails, he'd bet anything to catch Carmela's attention, as she headed off to collect the day's earnings. That impossible love lay in the mist, the scent, and went beyond those who sent their waste there.

Between the marbles that turned out to be bottle caps, between the profits that turned out to be trash; love brewed in their minds, just as it does for everyone, only this time it was impossible. Not because they were in a garbage dump, not because Marcelo was a child and Carmela a scavenger; but because they had both stopped believing in themselves and looked at each other like amulets for a long, certain death.

Amidst the rubble, there was no future. Amidst the waste, Carmela couldn't be Marcelo's mother and watch her son win the game. Amidst the despair, Marcelo couldn't be a child and make his mother smile. Only a miracle made them look into each other's eyes for a second, and they realized they were more than what they were living. That's when Marcelo realized he had everything and didn't need more. As if nothing had happened, Carmela approached him and gave him a motherly kiss.