"I was on that excursion... that excursion changed everything."
We were a group with guides and local porters who helped us navigate the dense forest and avoid its many dangers—wild beasts, poisonous creatures, and unknown diseases.
My goal was to find a giant beetle from the Amazon rainforest. We ventured deep into the jungle, further than any of us had planned. After several days of trekking, the guides admitted they could no longer recognize the surroundings. We were lost.
By the third day, something strange happened: an indigenous man appeared from the forest. Our translator tried to speak to him, attempting different dialects, while the rest of us stood frozen. Then we noticed we were surrounded—dozens of men armed with bows and arrows silently emerged from the shadows of the trees.
Tension rose as the translator tried every dialect he knew until, finally, one matched.
The leader of the group spoke with a commanding presence. "You are in a forbidden place," he said through the translator. "You must leave immediately. You have one day. We are watching you. Do not advance, and do not take anything from the forest."
That night, we set up camp, the warning still heavy in the air. But as I wandered near our tents, I found what I had been searching for: a sample of the beetle. It was extraordinary—a creature I had dreamed of discovering my whole life. Without thinking, I took it and placed it carefully in my net.
It was a mistake.
The next morning, the indigenous men returned, their faces stern, their bows drawn. I realized too late that I had broken their rule, and now the entire group was in danger.
I begged for mercy, desperate to explain. "We mean no harm," I said, showing them my notebook filled with drawings and observations. "We are here only to study, to understand."
The leader took my notebook and flipped through its pages. His expression softened slightly, as if he grasped the purpose of the sketches and writings. Then he asked, through the translator, "Why do you study this?"
In that moment, as if guided by some unseen force, the right answer formed in my mind.
"I study to conserve this," I said.
The leader's demeanor shifted. He paused, then spoke to his men. The bows were lowered. Our fate had changed.
