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Colibrita

Dedicated to the migrant farmworkers, who put food on the nation's plates—the true heroes.

By Gina C.Published about a year ago Updated about a year ago 1 min read
Image created with Midjourney

As a niña, nature was my companion. I was nicknamed la colibrita—“little hummingbird”—for I loved to sing-song in the orchards. There, the crops were my siblings—the insects, my audience.

So when the bees died, I was the first to know. The farmlands fell silent. My hums lacked their usual backup chorus. Suddenly, I was the only bug buzzing.

I still remember the sound of mamá’s sobbing—the smell of tortillas scorching on the stove—when the broadcast aired.

Papá’d rushed to la cocina, spanking a rag at the smoke detector.

Maldita sea, Mariluisa, flip the tortillas!”

But he, too, fell mute at the news.

This was when the silence truly began: the sound of devastation—of fear.

At six, I barely grasped what the extinction meant for my family—what it meant for the Earth. No bees meant no crops—no food.

“Will you have work?” I asked papá.

Papá looked at me—eyes saddened—and smiled.

“Promise me something, mija—that you'll never stop humming.”

I promised. Then, like a colibrita, I hummed off to play.

Meanwhile, the gringos—who worshipped vain heroes like Batman—had created a “solution”: the pollination drones, which formed onyx clouds in the skies.

But nature, my friend—tired of being mistreated and insulted—outlashed, manipulating the robotitos.

Humanity'd never seen villains born from Earth's fury. Now, years of neglect spawned environmental demons: spiteful, charred forests, cyclone hurricanes, and raging, seismic hellions that battered the ground.

But amid the planet's revenge, I remembered my promise.

As I hummed, my voice became the vibration that soothed Earth's tantrums—my breath the molecules that mended her ozone. Spinning in circles moderated the climate—re-crystalizing glaciers...de-escalating seas.

Soon, I made headlines: This SuperHeroine Siphons Earth's ElementsAND Heals Them!

(And papá—he was proud.)

Mi nombre es Colibrita—with my hum, I recreated the bees.

What environmental emergency do you believe I’ll fix next?

Microfiction

About the Creator

Gina C.

Poet | Author | Architect of Worlds

Sowing stories rooted in culture, origin, metamorphosis, resilience, language & love via fantasy, myth, magical realism & botanical prose

Writing my novel!🧚🏻‍♀️🐉✨

Moon Bloom Poetry

Gina C.:writes:.Fantasy

Reader insights

Outstanding

Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!

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Comments (15)

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  • Antoni De'Leon4 months ago

    My high school Spanish helped a lot here. Very beautiful advice to care the land,

  • ThatWriterWomanabout a year ago

    Gosh I ADORE this story! The thought of a superhero who can heal the world! I think you picked exactly the right person to get those powers! Brilliantly written Gina!

  • Veronica Stoneabout a year ago

    Really thought provoking story. I like the balance of destruction and redemption; it feels like the reader is being presented with a choice of how the story ends, whilst prompting thoughtful action in real life

  • Gina C. (Author)about a year ago

    Spanish-English Glossary: niña: girl la cocina: kitchen Maldita sea: damnit mija: contraction of “mi hija”—my daughter robotitos: little robots Mi nombre es: my name is

  • Heather Hublerabout a year ago

    Gorgeous and full of beautiful hope! Incredibly original and so well written. This should definitely place!!!

  • D.K. Shepardabout a year ago

    Fantastic work, Gina!! This is such a heartfelt and beautiful origin story!

  • Cathy holmesabout a year ago

    Beautiful take on the challenge. This little darling is the superhero we need.

  • Mariann Carrollabout a year ago

    Gina, love this cute little Colibrita. She hold the world on her shoulder. She maybe small. She have a big responsibility

  • Please ask her to fix anything and everything 🥺 Loved your story so much and thank you so much for the glossary!

  • Cindy Calderabout a year ago

    Oh, but I adore this story so much. Such an ingenious response to the prompt! 🩵🩵

  • Babs Iversonabout a year ago

    Magnificent!!! Love your fabulous story!!!💕❤️❤️

  • Amy Blackabout a year ago

    Beautiful, original idea. I Love it!

  • Mackenzie Davisabout a year ago

    I really love this, Gina.

  • Wonderful unusual take on the challenge and a definite Top Story

  • Veronica Coldironabout a year ago

    Gina, this is amazing! I could almost hear her little voice telling the story, feel the humming in my heart. It's so hard to evoke emotion in a microfiction piece but you certainly pulled that off. BEAUTIFUL work!

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