Today we leave you a story written by our journalist friend Josep Maria Serra, creator of the blog https://webviajes.com and partner for 40 years in different Spanish newspapers
He was 7 years old and had just got a snack when he saw his father come in with a huge cardboard box. Rodrigo asked him what that box was. “A TV,” he replied. With great enthusiasm, his parents opened the box, took out the television and placed it on a small table they had bought two days ago.
“Can I keep it?” Rodrigo asked, pointing to the box. And why do you want a box?” his father answered. “Leave him,” said the mother who saw a special glow in her son’s eyes.
Rodrigo took the cardboard box to his bedroom while his parents anxiously struggled with the television's instruction manual. He put the box in the middle of the room and climbed inside. It immediately turned into a stagecoach. He looked behind him and saw a large group of Indians following him, shouting and shooting arrows. Rodrigo urged the horses to run faster as he turned and fired: “pew, pew…”. The road was treacherous, but he had good horses and was a very good stagecoach driver. A couple of passengers helped him keep the Indians at bay. Luckily, they were near the staging post, where he knew there would be a detachment of the Seventh Cavalry. Soon he heard the bugles and knew they were saved. He stopped the horses and climbed down from the driver's seat. “What are you doing?” his mother asked as she entered the room. “Playing,” he replied. “Come and watch TV.” “No, I'd rather stay here and play.”
When he turned towards the cardboard box, he saw that it had become a spaceship and was about to take off. He climbed aboard and took the controls. He directed the take-off manoeuvres. Destination: Mars. Mission: to save Earth from the Martians who wanted to invade it. He watched Earth growing smaller behind him. He ordered the crew to remain at their posts because he was going to accelerate the ship. At that speed, they would reach Mars in just a few hours and would have to engage in battle immediately. The element of surprise was very important. The battle was long and intense. Rodrigo and his crew had saved Earth.
“To dinner!” he heard his mother screaming. He descended from the ship and parked it in a corner of the room.
The next day, when he came home from school, he had a snack and ran into his room. The cardboard box was a brigantine sailing ship full of cannons. He found a hat from a pirate captain costume the Three Kings had brought him, put it on and boarded the ship. He ordered the sails raised and a course set for Mompracen. They would learn who Sandokan, the Tiger of Malaysia, was. "Sails ahead!" he heard the lookout shout. "Battle stations!" he shouted. "It must be a cursed English ship." The battle was epic. Tired, he climbed down from the ship, took the cardboard box and stood it upright. It became a woodcutter's cabin. He went inside because it was snowing outside. He had not been there five minutes when dinner interrupted him again.
Rodrigo looked forward to his arrival home every day to see what the cardboard box had become. Besides, since there was television at home, his parents didn't bother him at all.
He liked it a lot better. cardboard box That's what was on TV.
After a few weeks one day she came home and didn't find her. She asked her mother and she told her it was all broken and that she had thrown it away. Rodrigo missed a tear.
