The Return of A Sparkling River

 

In the quiet village of Lumina, nestled between rolling hills and a sparkling river, lived a 12-year-old boy named Arka. He loved nature – the trees, the chirping of birds, and the gentle flow of the river near his home. But over the years, something had changed.

The riverbanks were littered with trash. Arka asked the elders why nobody cleaned the river, and they said that it was a big job to make it clean. But Arka didn’t believe that.

One Saturday morning, with gloves on his hand and some sacks, Arka began to pick up trash. Alone, he worked for hours under the sun. People watched him from their homes, no one helped him. But a week later, his little sister and a retired teacher, named Pak Rudi, helped him. Within a month, almost the entire village was out every Saturday to clean the river.

The river slowly transformed. The water began to run clearer, fish swam between rocks, and birds returned. The sparkling river was back. Arka was very happy to know it. News of Lumina’s transformation spread across the region. Nearby villages started their own clean-up movement, inspired by Arka’s simple idea.

Arka had learned that small ripple could grow into a wave and that change always begins with the courage to care.