Julian's Birthday Wish

Julian was so excited. He was turning ten next month and his father just promised to grant his birthday wish, a trip to Boracay, the most beautiful beach resort in the country.

Julian loved beach resorts. He had been to Puerto Azul, Palm Beach Resort, and other resorts in the Philippines. Unlike other children his age, Julian loved to play outdoors. He loved backyards, playgrounds, meadows, hills, and rivers. But he loved beaches most.

That night, Julian had a hard time settling down. He was so excited he felt like his chest would burst. He took his Finding Nemo float to bed with him. After a while, Julian smiled and finally drifted off to sleep.

***

Julian ran as fast as he could. He could see the blue-green water of Boracay Beach from their hotel and he didn't want to miss a single minute out of it. He could hear his mother's voice telling him to slow down but he couldn't.

As soon as he hit the water, Julian flapped his arms. With his face raised up to the sky, he savored the amazing feeling of being out there. He was having the time of his life. If only he could stay on this beach forever. With a contented smile, Julian opened his eyes.

Something was off. The cloudy sky turned dark and it was very quiet. Julian looked around and saw nobody. He looked around some more and saw something on the water coming towards him. As it got nearer, he realized it was a mountainous pile of plastic. Plastic grocery bags, plastic cups, plastic bottles, plastic everything. Julian started to swim back to shore, but something caught his left foot. He swam down and felt for it. It was a scrap of plastic fish net. Julian tugged hard trying to free himself from the fish net but all in vain. He swam up to breathe and saw that the pile of trash was almost upon him. He felt terrified and screamed at the top of his lungs.

'Julian?'

Julian sat up when he heard his mother's voice. He was dreaming.

'I'm sorry, but I have bad news for you,' his mother said.

'What is it?'

'We wouldn't be going to Boracay after all.'

'Why?'

'The president closed Boracay for rehabilitation. It will be closed for six months.'

'What does that mean?'

'It means the government will clean it up. Otherwise, it would be too polluted it might die.'

'Are they going to take the trash away?'

'Yes.'

'The plastics, too?'

'Of course.'

Julian thought of his dream.

'Would it work?' he asked.

'Let's hope so.'

***

That was seven months ago. Today, Boracay opened again for local and international tourists. The rehabilitation worked after all.

Inside a fast food chain, Julian reached out for his glass on the table and drank his soda. No more plastic straws for Julian.

The president did what he could to save Boracay.Maybe Julian could do something, too, to save other beaches. Not using plasticseemed like a good start.    

END