The Guardian of the Roots | O Guardião das Raízes | حارس الجذور

In the dense jungle near Parintins, where the trees hum with age and the rivers remember everything, a 16-year-old boy named Rafael wakes up from a vision.

He had dreamed of a tree taller than any he'd ever seen—its roots glowing gold beneath the earth, its branches filled with birds that didn’t speak, but recited verses like wind-whispers in his ears.

Rafael’s father, a humble canoe-maker, had always told him:

That day, Rafael walks with his younger sister to fetch water from the stream. On the way back, he hears chainsaws in the distance.

They hide behind a fallen tree. Men in trucks—strangers—are cutting into ancient Samaúma trees, illegally.

Rafael clenches his fists. He feels afraid—but also...something else.

His palm burns.

He looks down.

A jaguar-shaped mark appears on his skin, just like in his dream.

The birds around him go silent.

He turns to his sister.

She runs.

He steps out from the trees—not to fight—but to speak. To witness.

The men laugh.

But then, the ground shifts.

Roots begin to move—slowly, gently—but with purpose. One of the bulldozers sinks halfway into the soil. Vines curl around the tires.

The men panic and drive off, leaving their machines behind.

Rafael falls to his knees, overwhelmed—but not scared.

A jaguar watches from a tree nearby.

It blinks. Then vanishes.

That night, Rafael sits by candlelight, writing everything down in a notebook—not for fame, but for those who come after.

He prays silently:

He doesn’t have powers. He has responsibility.

FIM

🌱 Guardian of the Roots – Quotes

Multilingual Format: Portuguese | Arabic Transliteration | Arabic Script

1.

Portuguese:
“Você é o guardião agora.”
Arabic Transliteration:
Anta al-ḥāris al-ān.
Arabic Script:
أنت الحارس الآن.

2.

Portuguese:
“Você não vai lutar por si mesmo, mas pela terra, pelo povo e pela verdade.”
Arabic Transliteration:
Lasta tuqātil linafsik, bal li-ajl al-arḍ, al-shaʿb, wal-ḥaqīqah.
Arabic Script:
لست تقاتل لنفسك، بل لأجل الأرض، والشعب، والحق.

3.

Portuguese:
“O bem e o mal estão dentro de você. Mas a floresta vê o que você escolhe fazer.”
Arabic Transliteration:
Al-khayr wa al-sharr fī dākhilik. Lākin al-ghābah tarā mā takhtār an tafʿal.
Arabic Script:
الخير والشر في داخلك. لكن الغابة ترى ما تختار أن تفعل.

4.

Portuguese:
“Vai pra casa. Agora.”
Arabic Transliteration:
Irjiʿ ilā al-bayt. Al-ān.
Arabic Script:
ارجع إلى البيت. الآن.

5.

Portuguese:
“Vocês não podem tirar o que não é de vocês.”
Arabic Transliteration:
Lā yumkinukum akhdh mā laysa lakum.
Arabic Script:
لا يمكنكم أخذ ما ليس لكم.

6.

Portuguese:
“Ó Allah, me ajuda a proteger o que Tu criaste.”
Arabic Transliteration:
Yā Allāh, aʿinnī ʿalā ḥimāyat mā khalaqt.
Arabic Script:
يا الله، أعني على حماية ما خلقت.