Plastic girl

Plastic teen

I had to knock seven times until the door opened.

Mister Manule, our mayor, appeared in the doorway. He had the face like a turtle. "What do you want." His voice reminded me of a cranky seagul. I definetely would prefer a bird. They could be funny and witty.

"I'm here because the plastic polition on the beach. It needs to be improved."

Mister Manules face scrunched even further. His eyes were almost hidden now.

"We need them and they need us. There is no way I would disturb that. And we have enough trash cans." Them. The rich white man from Europe. Or men from China.

"Not en-"

The door slamed close.

I knocked again. The knuckles started to burn. They were slightly pink. Damn heavy door.

"Mister Manule?"

It stayed quiet. Stupid man. Why can't he see that the beach is poluted? Is money so much worth it?

The thoughts followed me on my way back to the beach.

Warm water splashed around my legs as I hummed a melody my mother used to sing to us. I only felt the warmth on the right leg but that was okay. Time was an effective teacher. It also helped to get used to the starres. And boy, people tend to stare at unusual things. I was like a pink dolphin.

I lift my trash bag as a bottle bumped again the fake leg. People stared at me a lot. Not only because my leg but because the sack. They never say something but it's painfully obvious.

The bag is almost full again. And the tide brings more and more. It feels like a boomerang. The plastic I find will go to into every trash can on this island. But it's too much. Honestly I should bury it in Mister Manules garden. Who did even design the trashcans? It's like trying to squeeze a whale into a bath tub.

If there is something good, I keep it. Mostly for my siblings. Boupha still had that yellow digger I gave him years ago. Plastic is a curse but it also has some good sides.

A sea gul jumped in the water, probably having spot the shiny peace of plastic that drifted in the waves. Maybe it thought it was a fish. I threw a pepple next to it. A high pitched scream filled the air as the bird flew away, soon disapearing in the sun. Would it reach one day the land where the tourist came from? Were the land covered in trash like ours? Was it even worse there?

It had to be.

The beach was quite filled today. Many people laid under colorful sunshades. The air reeked of sunscreen and warm flesh.

A small boy with a ridicioulously big hat build a sand castle with two women. They looked like a couple. But two women? Was the child adopted?

I shook my head.

Something shiny caught my interest. It looked like a tiny silvery snake. It was a necklance with a dolphin on it. I put it in my pocket. Chanthou would love this. Her birthday was soon anyway.

"Could you please put the trash in the bucket?"
The woman with the giant-hat-boy had her hand on the hips, glaring at a walrus like man. A plastic bottle laid between them. Coke. I almost rolled my eyes. Once I had tried this beverage. It was to sweet and the bubbles were annoying. Too much air in the belly. And why was it dark brown?

I walked over. Time to put out the poor invalid act. Not my favorite but it worked wonders. "Sir, if you want to end up like me-" I tapped my leg. "poisoning due a plastic splinter, on the beach, I highly recommend letting that bottle there."

That wasn't the real reason I lost the leg. But after that they usually were a bit more careful to clean the beach. Nobody wanted to leave with only one leg.

He grunted, eying my leg with a frown. Every step seemed to be out of his dignity. Finally, the bottle plopped into the trash can.

"So ein Arsch." The woman muttered, in a foreign voice. It sounded harsh.
"Thank you for helping. I'm Mona by the way." The english still sounded a bit harsh. Maybe it was the accent?

"I'm Renée." The other woman said with a smile, shaking my hand. She had tiny dimples.

Mona looked at the beach. "So you are a ranger here?"

I shook my head. "Voluntary."
Getting money for this would be cool. But even without it, the work was fullfilling. Without it I would have stayed in the house after the bomb accident.

"That's great."
Her gaze turned somber.
"Was it really an infection?"

"No. A bomb in the forest there." I pointed at the forest. "Don't worry it is closed. Just don't go behind the red ribbons." I really hoped that their boy wasn't so stupid like I had been few years ago. But they would watch over him so it wouldn't happen. Both looked like good parents.

Renée went pale. "There are still bombs? Why doesn't the mayor do something against it and the plastic?" She seemed honestly confused.

"Money. Mister Manule wants a tourist center here on the other beach on this island. But to do this he has to chop down the trees. And why spend money to find bombs if there is a barrier and a hotel to build?"

Mona pulled a face. "Such an arse. At least you are helping a bit. Do you do it everyday?"

I nodded, lifting my fake leg a bit. Standing on it too long hurt.

"Simon! Beiß nicht in den Sandhaufen!" Renée suddently yelled, glaring at the boy.

"Aber es ist ein Sandkuchen, Mama! Oma hat gesagt, dass sie immer welche backt. Bäh! Der Schmeckt nach Sand." Simon whined, wiping the sand of the mouth.

"Willst du helfen Müll zu sammeln? Vielleicht finden wir einen Schatz!"

"Einen Schatz!" Simon's eyes glowed.

I looked from one to the other. What were they saying? Something about sand? And what the heck was a "schatz"? It sounded weird.

"Does it bother you if we collect trash with you?" Okay, they were officially great people.

I grinned. "Off course not. Every helping person is welcome."
Mona and René held hands while they helped me. So they were a couple? The thought didn't disturb me that much.

Simon was adorable. He reminded me of an cheery langur as he skipped over the sand to collect trash. From time to time he squealed: "Ein Schatz!" and put it in his pockets or showed it to Renée and Mona with a wide grin. They looked like a great family.

Mona had a tiny frown on her face. She looked pensive like a problem was in front of her. Honestly it was. The whole beach was a problem I
wasn't able to fix alone. Even with the help of my siblings sometimes there was too much trash. It was one girl against many.

Mona suddently grinned at me. "Do you want to change something?"

I couldn't help but grin back. Whatever that woman had in her mind, I was sure that it was something good.
"I'm born ready."

"So, there is this website..." Reneé began.

____
And here are the translations of the German sentences:

"So ein Arsch!"
"Such an arse!"

"Simon! Beiß nicht in den Sandhaufen!
"Simon! Don't bite in the sand pile!"

"Aber es ist ein Sandkuchen Mama! Bäh! Der Schmeckt nach Sand."
"But it's a sand cake mom! Granny always said that she bake them. Bah! It tastes like sand."

"Willst du helfen Müll zu sammeln? Vielleicht finden wir einen Schatz!"
"Do you want to help searching for trash?
Maybe well find a treasure!"

"Einen Schatz!"
"A treasure!"

"Ein Schatz!"
"A treasure!"