Matias was sitting in his dad's old red truck, going up the slope from the city of La Paz to the highlands at the top of the hills. His window was open and he could feel the fresh, cold wind from the mountains kissing his chicks. His dad, Ricardo, was wearing a thick leather jacket and a cap with “Heladeria Collana” (Collana ice creams)  printed on it. They were going by an eucalyptus forest when suddenly they saw something getting closer to the middle of the highway. Ricardo stopped the truck. Matias got down of the car and saw a hurt fox in the road. It was a baby fox, a fox from the highlands called zorro altiplanico, way smaller than the ones you see in North America and Europe. Matias took the small fox and put it inside the truck. Ricardo decided to take the fox back to their dairy farm that was a few miles away. Matias could feel the fox respiration on his lap and suddenly he noticed that his hands and his pants were full of blood. Matias was worried about the fox's life, but he was determined to do everything in his power to save that little Bolivian animal. They drove through the city of El Alto and they decided to stop in at veterinary. It was too late. The beautiful altiplano fox was dead in Matias's arms. Ricardo put the fox in the back of the truck. They decided to bury the fox at their farm.

The sky was red above their heads. Many adobe houses with no electricity and some shepherds  with their llamas were Matias and Ricardo's company. The highlands of Bolivia are like a huge desert, dark and majestic like the stars that were starting to appear in the red sky, calling for the night to come and take everything into complete darkness. With the little light that was left, Matias could see the eastern cordillera arising from the flat surface of the highlands, and the top of mountains, covered with snow, was calming Matias from his previous experience with the little fox. “ I hope we arrive soon. I am starving”, Ricardo said. Matias just nodded with sadness in his eyes. Matias could only think about that little fox.

Matias's family had an ice cream factory in La Paz City and a cow farm in the highlands, a couple hours from the city. This farm had been part of his family for generations. It was a big farm, with more than 300 cows. His family had put a lot of effort into maintaining the farm and ice cream factory going after Matias's grandfather was murdered in their farm by one of the workers. Ricardo was in charge of the factory in La Paz and once a month he went back to the farm to see how things were going. Matias's grandmother live in the farm and his uncles and aunts too. But now times have changed. Matias's life was never going to be the same after this.

Matias could not believe what he was seeing. His dad came out of the truck, holding his gun. They both went running to the adobe house where Matias's grandmother lived. The barn on the left was burning to the ground and Matias could see the corpses of the cows, piled one of top the other. Some cows were still alive trying to escape from the dead bodies of their brothers and sisters. A smell of blood, fear and death covered the farm. Matias just wanted to lay down on the floor and start crying, but no, he couldn't. His family was more important. His grandmother was the only thought he had on his mind. He was feeling angry, sad, desperate.  A hundred feet in front of him he saw the adobe house. It was on fire.

Ricardo ran towards the house shouting for his mom. Matias, following him closely, didn't know what to do. They didn't hear any answer. They decided to search the farm for their family. While they were walking around the house, all they could see was destruction. They saw their two tractors broken and some important parts of them were stolen or missing.  Matias was trying to realize what was happening. How could someone do this to them? How could someone kill and pil their cows like that? What is it that his family had done wrong for all of this to happen? He was trying to put together a puzzle in his head that didn't have a solution. He could only think about the future of his family and how his life would change. In the borders of his mind he could only see sadness in his future. He felt how one of his tears started going down his cheek. But, something brought him back to reality. His dad was shouting at him. Ricardo knew what was happening.

Ricardo told Matias that their family wasn't at the farm. They had left to Santa Cruz in case things went to h---. He told Matias to get ready that they were going to Santa Cruz that same night. Matias didn't know what his dad was talking about. What did he mean “in case things go to h---”? He asked. His dad didn't reply. It was too dangerous to stay on the farm for much longer. They got everything ready in their truck and were ready to leave. Ricardo, now more relaxed that before, told Matias to take the fox out of the truck. In the panic of the situation, Matias had completely forgot about the fox. Matias jumped to the back part of the truck. The little fox was covered in an old, gray blanket  and Matias could only see the fox's face. There was an expression of peace on the fox's face, and his white fangs where shining in the light of the moon. Matias thought that the fox was smiling, and that made him feel better. He grabbed the fox and took it to the middle of the destroyed farm. There he found Ricardo that was digging a hole for the dead animal. Matias helped his father finish digging and when the hole was deep enough, they both placed the fox in there. Matias pet the fox's face before saying goodbye. He was looking at how the fox's body was disappearing little by little between the dark and fertile soil of the farm. Before leaving, Matias planted a white flower that he found near the ashes of the adobe house. He was ready to leave, yet he didn't want to say goodbye to his farm. He said “farewell” in his head while he was getting inside the truck. It was going to take a long time until he came back to his farm.

Ricardo told everything to Matias. Everything that had happened to him, to his family, was a political move. Matias's family had always been involved in politics in the country, and they have had several presidents in the family. But now times were changing. A different type of government was now taking the power in Bolivia and they didn't want competition. When Matias and his dad arrived in Santa Cruz, they found that their entire family was there, even Matias's mom with his little brother. Some family members decided to run away to another country. Some of Matias's uncles and aunts went to the US and others to Argentina and Singapur. Matias and his family decided to go to Guatemala because they had friends there. The only person that stayed in Bolivia was his grandmother. She loved Bolivia too much to leave.

  Now years after the tragedy of the farm, Matias ( now an adult) is back in what used to be his land. Matias has traveled around the world and he is a recognized journalist. He is coming to Bolivia after many years of being away from his homeland. Matias looked at the little adobe, and some llamas eating the short yellow grass from the highlands. He felt a cold breeze passing through his shirt. The nostalgia attacked his mind. He just realized at that moment that he was in what he used to call his home. It looked like life was back in a place that was once destroyed to the ground. Matias found the place where he had buried the fox. It was full of white, small flowers. Matias realized at that moment that life goes on, no matter how much destruction and hate there can be in the world, simpleness and life will always overcome all the bad feelings. Matias will remember that little fox his entire life. Not because the animal died in his hands or because he found it on the highway. He is going to remember the fox as the fight for life and the message of moving on. Gracias amigo zorro, siempre te recordare ( Thanks fox friend, I will always remember you). Matias didn't go back to his farm ever again.