In a beautiful meadow, on a gentle hill, there was a patch of dandelions that had just recently bloomed. Despite their young age, they were already eagerly anticipating their journey, eager to discover new worlds.
One afternoon, like any other, with the sun shining brightly and a few scattered white clouds staining the beautiful blue sky, the leaves of the trees began to sway with a gentle breeze, rocking them from side to side. The grass surrounding the dandelions also swayed as if on a hammock, until it suddenly stopped… and then continued. The clouds that had been racing across the sky began to gather and move, turning a little grayer but not covering the whole sky. Every now and then, one would playfully block the sun, casting its shadow across the ground. And right there on the ground, the dandelions saw their moment approaching. Their petals moved more and more, feeling the push of the moving air, which was now stronger, at times combing and disheveling everything in its path. Until, unexpectedly, a stronger gust detached the dandelion flower, giving it the first push to begin its journey and live this adventure. How far would this momentum take it? Would it be a short trip or one of days? What would it encounter on this path? What would its fate be?
The dandelion didn't know the answers to these questions, but it had a mission to fulfill and, above all, it was willing to enjoy this adventure from beginning to end.
This first push of the wind was gentle, barely lifting it into the air, and it seemed its journey would end very quickly as it only spun over the grass, down the hill. The leaves caressed it and tickled it – wow, how fun! But its movement was slowing down with each turn, and it was already seeing where it would land, until something unexpected happened… it felt a force that made it flutter… it bumped a couple of times against the grass, and was propelled into the sky! It couldn't see what happened, but it thought it saw a dog running at full speed, so fast that without even touching it, it caused all this disturbance that filled its journey with greater adventure, lifting it higher and higher.
It was high up, it could see the roofs of some houses at its same height, and it felt like it was traveling a bit faster. It seemed the wind moved quicker up here. For a while, it traveled straight, without losing altitude, amazed by everything it saw. The colors of the roofs, houses much taller than itself, and others smaller, cars rushing by, so fast. It was all magical! What would its destination be? Where would it fall to fulfill its mission?
Again, an impulse made it flutter intensely, a gust of wind caused it, many spins and turns, it lost its orientation, but it was so much fun, something new was happening again! Another surprise! It even thought it saw leaves accompanying its journey, following it, and that smell of earth surrounding it, as if the wind had detached a part of the ground.
When it could focus again, what it saw was the blue sky, with clouds moving fast, and it felt like it was getting closer and closer. Its destination was going to be the sky, incredible! It would never have imagined it. This journey was turning out to be much more surprising than it ever could have expected.
So it continued its journey for a long time. Every now and then, a bird would pass by, buzzards even further above it, a woodpecker below. Now everything looked so small. Those houses that seemed so big now looked like pebbles on a vast ground; it could barely distinguish any wandering animal or vehicle.
It continued its journey with a sway and a serenity that calmed and lulled it to sleep – what a wonder! The breeze caressed its petals, the sun warmed its surface, the clouds painted figures in the blue sky, the orchestra of movement on the ground paraded back and forth, in a routine that always surprised with something new. It was already far from its meadow.
Until something caught its attention, something green passing so close it could almost touch it. It leaned in to see what it could be, and it couldn't believe it! They were the treetops! And there were so many! They were very, very high! It had never imagined being able to have them as close as it had the grass when it was so close to the ground, waiting for this grand day. They were majestic, they looked like eucalyptus trees, so tall, a forest perhaps or a park.
It continued to marvel as it moved until a leaf caught its journey, caressing it and slowing its pace. It felt like it had reached its destination; it was floating but not moving anywhere. Among all those leaves in the treetops, with nothing touching it from above, below, or the sides. Was it a cloud where it was? Until little by little it began to feel itself falling, veeery slowly. It was like lying on a bed so soft that it slowly sank into it. As it passed by a branch, it tilted and fluttered a bit to move away from its trajectory, then the leaves it caressed and that caressed it, molded its journey. More this way, a little that way, slower. Sometimes it even took a rest on a branch that offered itself as a bed, until it slipped off an edge and began to descend again.
What a beautiful, relaxing journey! It could see the different greens of the leaves, some yellow, others brown, insects going up and down, and others watching it on its journey, astonished.
At one point, a bee approached it, seeming shy but curious. It looked at it from different positions, first far away, and then closer and closer. It was as if it wanted to understand what was happening, what it was. At one point, it couldn't resist its curiosity and decided to get closer, as if it wanted to help. It fluttered from one side to the other, moving it away from the trees so it could continue its path. It was as if the bee was amused by how the dandelion rolled with each impulse, and how unpredictable its movement was when pushed – it could go in any direction. This went on for a while; the dandelion was also having fun, until the bee saw a companion waving to it and had to leave.
With that gentle impulse, it continued to sway for a while and slowly descend towards its destination. It could see the trees, with their thick trunks and few thin branches at this height; the leaves that had previously caressed it were now very high. On the other side, there were houses again whose roofs it couldn't see. It was almost there, so little left! It prepared to arrive, but again something unexpected! First, it heard a flapping, getting closer and closer at full speed. As if something was sucking it in, it felt a very strong backward impulse and then fluttered around the wing of a rufous hornero bird, which decided to flap its wings faster to stop the tickling the dandelion was giving its feathers. It spun and spun and spun for a good while, gained a little altitude again, and was traveling faster than before. Its journey wasn't over, but its destination was near, it could feel it. If it concentrated, it could hear some very faint voices, getting closer and closer. They sounded like little girls chatting and laughing. It liked that; those laughs made it feel warmer than the sun itself.
It was so concentrated on the voices that it didn't even notice the moment a wall suddenly stopped its journey, and that collision caused it to begin to descend. Just in time, it said. The voices fell silent for a moment, until one said, "A dandelion!" The other said almost immediately, "Grab it!" At that moment, it knew its destiny was about to be fulfilled and another mission was about to begin. It felt everything darken as the warmth of small hands covered it, it heard a whisper that filled it with courage and joy, then everything lit up again, and with a strong blow, it embarked on a journey with a new purpose and a wish to fulfill.