Pepe Uca To the Rescue!

Delmis del C. Alicea Segarra

Jorge I. Casillas Maldonado

Megalo’s verses: Cristina D. Olán Martínez

Illustrated by: Daniel Irizarri Oquendo

English translation by: Wilmarie Cruz Franceschi

English editions: Lynne Hinkey, PhD

Credits

© 2021

Authors

Delmis del C. Alicea Segarra, EdD; Jorge I. Casillas Maldonado, MS

Collaborators

Ruperto Chaparro, MA; Cristina D. Olán Martínez, MS

Editing

Delmis del C. Alicea Segarra, EdD; Jorge I. Casillas Maldonado, MS; Ruperto Chaparro, MA; Cristina D. Olán Martínez, MS

Illustrations

Daniel Irizarri Oquendo, BA

Graphic design and layout

Daniel Irizarri Oquendo, BA; and Delmis del C. Alicea Segarra, EdD

Printing

Rául Omar Ortiz Arroyo, MAG and Delmis del C. Alicea Segarra, EdD

English translation

Wilmarie Cruz Franceschi, MA

English editions

Lynne Hinkey, PhD

Publication number: UPRSG-E-315

ISBN: 978-1-881719-97-7

Spring had come and gone, and it had been a long time since Pepe Uca had returned home to La Parguera. With his usual restless nature, he roamed around the mangrove roots and remembered all the fun he had with the young trunkfish, tarpons, lobsters, conchs and grunts that lived for a brief time within the mangrove roots.

These animals had spent part of their juvenile life stage in the mangrove forest and, once they grew, migrated towards the seagrass meadows looking for food and shelter.

It had been a year since they had left, and Pepe asked himself:

—I wonder how they are doing. Did they get used to their new home? Do they have new friends? Have they seen any amazing things? Do they remember me?

While all these thoughts circled in his mind, he heard a happy but anxious voice calling him:

—Pepe! Pepe!

It was Lulo, shouting from a distance.

He was here for a visit, and Pepe was very happy to see him, although Lulo looked dirty, scruffy and a little disoriented. Pepe ran towards Lulo, gave him a big hug, and told him how happy he was to see him. Lulo stumbled and nearly fell.

Pepe asked Lulo what had happened to him, why was he in such shabby condition.

—I was hitching a ride on our friend Boba, and when we were nearly here, Boba hit a branch and I fell. And I’ve had to come all the way here walking, all by myself! —Lulo cried.

After this dramatic tale, Pepe calmed Lulo down and they began walking and reminiscing about their adventures crossing Puerto Rico. They laughed about their experiences and yearned for those amazing adventures they shared.

Before they realized it, they were walking on a dock on the edge of Pepe’s mangrove forest and heard other voices talking and laughing. Lulo, still upset about his violent arrival, ran away in terror and hid behind one of the dock pylons.

Pepe walked towards him and said:

—Don’t worry, Lulo, these are the fishermen who use this dock to go out to sea every day to look for food for their fellow humans. When they get back, they stay for a while and clean their catch.

While they hid, they overheard one of the fishermen ask the other:

—Did you hear? They’re thinking of eliminating a big part of the seagrass beds in southeast Puerto Rico to make an artificial beach?

— But how? It they rip out the seagrass beds, the fish and the animals there will not have a safe place to grow.

There will not be any good fishing there, and some species could disappear. We have to stop this from happening! — replied the other fisherman.

When Pepe heard this, he started to get frightened for his friends who played with him in the mangrove forest when they were young. They were all now living in the seagrass beds.

If this happened, his friends could lose their homes or even die.

—Oh no! That cannot be happening! —Lulo yelled.

—This means we will not see our friends again. We need to warn them, so they can save themselves. —Pepe replied.

—Well, how are we supposed to do that? We cannot swim over there! It is too much far— Lulo asked, looking worried.

Suddenly, they heard a strange noise in the water behind them, and Lulo started screaming:

— Mommyyyyy! What is that over there!?

—I don’t know, but we can find out. Calm - down - al - ready! —Pepe said.

—No, NO, NO NO! We’d better get out of here, because they might want to eat us too! —Lulo yelled, nervously looking around.

—Easy, easy, easy! Peace, peace! I will not hurt you. In this green meadow, I’ve lived long.

You wish to know my name? I will soon tell you I am called Megalo stealthy tarpon of shallow seas, majestic fish of the seagrass.

Bluish green on top, silver on the sides

Megalo, Megalo, stealthy tarpon.

—What is up with this fish, talking so strange?—thought Lulo. Stepping back, he asked the fish: Are you sure we can trust you? You probably want to eat us.

—While I do eat crab, do not be scared on today’s struggle we must all unite.

I heard the fishermen talking about an artificial beach. We must be united This could be fatal to us. We will be homeless

there will be no family or joy. Protecting our food and home should be top priority. Tell me, What should we do?

If you wish, I could take you. Sail the waters, I could help you Come with me and see your friends.

Lulo looked at Pepe and asked him what should they do; would they trust this enormous fish who spoke in such a peculiar way?

—Yes! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. We have to trust him, he’s the only one who can help us find our friends.

Pepe and Lulo climbed onto the fish. Megalo agreed to swim near the surface, so that the fiddler crabs could travel with most of their bodies out of the water.

Megalo began swimming slowly. It was summertime, and the waters were calm. They would have to travel to several places around Puerto Rico in order to find their friends.

When they were close to the seagrass meadow, the water suddenly became agitated. There was a loud noise and Megalo had to swim almost all the way to the bottom to keep from being struck by a machine traveling at high speed.

Lulo screamed:

—Mommyyyyyy!!! We will drown!! Help us! Megalo tried to handle the situation as best he could and manage to get back close to the surface quickly. Lulo shivered all over and Pepe tried to explain to himself what had just happened.

A jet ski drove through and torn up the seagrass below as it sped over it. Pepe got sad and asked Megalo if this was something that occurred frequently.

—I see them all the time. You haven’t seen anything yet. The boat propellers and the heavy anchors hurt the meadows. They leave us without food. They destroy our home.

While they got over their fright and talked about the situation, Lulo observed a head pop out of the water and screamed:

—There’s a monster over there! Swim quickly, get away from it!

—Don’t be scared, I’m not a monster. The monster already left, and it nearly killed me. Those machines, driven by people who ignore the signs and go over the speed limit, can hit and hurt us. My name’s Lola, and I came to the surface to breathe. Where are you headed?

The fiddler crabs got closer and saw a friendly-looking green turtle.

—We’re looking for our friends in the seagrass meadows, to let them know that they need to protect themselves, since humans will tear part of the meadows to make an artificial beach

—said Pepe.

—Who are your friends? I might be able to help—asked Lola.

—I roam the seagrass meadows frequently, since I feed on them. I love eating turtle grass, in particular.

Pepe described his friends, in case Lola might be able to help: there was Dorotea, a mischievous grunt, a snapper named Luja, and a trunkfish affectionately known as Chelo. Lola thought she’d seen them in a seagrass meadow just off the shores of Patillas, and offered to go with them.

When they got closer to the seagrass meadow, they were stunned by what they saw. Pepe and Lulo had never been to the seagrass meadows and had no idea of how many species lived there. The first thing they saw was an enormous manatee calmly eating manatee grass. Among the grasses, they also saw sea cucumbers, colorful sea stars, large sea urchins, pufferfish, clams, anemones, jacks and rays gliding through the water gracefully.

They were happy to just observe their surroundings, but Lulo sensed that something wasn’t right.

He felt someone was looking at them. He could also hear a soft sound behind them. He slowly turned his head and saw large, pointed fangs.

—Mommy! Mommy! Mommyyyyyy! Now we’re doomed! Nothing can save us now! —he screamed.

When he heard Lulo’s screaming, Pepe quickly turned to look and saw a barracuda stalking them. Megalo swam as fast as he could and the barracuda lunged after them.

The crabs held on tight to Megalo, but were slipping. Lulo thought he wouldn’t be able to last long, since one of his legs hurt. Pepe tried to help him, and Megalo kept up his fast pace.

The barracuda was gaining on them and Megalo could not keep up this speed for much longer.

Then they saw a river delta up ahead. The river water mixing into the sea was murky, and Megalo thought he could lose the barracuda in there. When they got to the delta, the barracuda lost sight of them and began chasing after other prey. Megalo slowed down and they all had a rest. They noticed that the seagrass in this murky area was in bad shape.

They were sad-looking, sparse and pale, as though they might be dying. There were also very few animals. Still, Lulo was glad to have found a place in which to hide.

As they crossed the area and the water became clearer, Lulo jmped and danced for joy, glad they had survived the ordeal. However, a group of green sea urchins spoke up:

—Did you know that the murky water that saved you is destroying our home? The sediments pile up and won’t let the sun shine through, which means that the seagrass cannot produce their own food.

Lulo was embarrassed and apologized for his celebration, while Pepe added: —I hope humans realize this and manage their inland activities better.

Pepe also took the chance to ask for directions to the seagrass meadows near Patillas, where his friends were.

When they got to the right place, they marveled at how healthy and wide it was. Animals began to gather, curious and wanting to see the newly arrived visitors. Megalo noticed some friends of his and darted towards them.

Caught of guard, Pepe and Lulo fell into the water. Lulo screamed again and fell to the bottom. Immediately, three big, fat fish got closer and Pepe hugged Lulo tightly and screamed:

—A A A A A H H H H!!! —Lulo was trembling and crying, yelling —Now we’re in for it! Mommyyyy!

They closed their eyes in fear.

When they opened their eyes, they saw they were once again on Megalo’s back. Lulo screamed:

—It’s a miracle!

One other fish said: —What’s up with you? It’s me, Chelo, your friend from the mangrove forest.

Pepe, amazed, said:

—Look how big you’ve gotten! You look so different. And our others friends?

—What, are you blind? —Chelo answered. —Hi! You didn’t recognize us!— the other fish exclaimed.

After happily greeting each other, the crabs warned them about the destruction the humans were planning, in order to build an artificial beach. At that time, Giga, a conch who was accompanied by her youngs, told them:

—There are already humans trying to prevent that from happening. They do much to help us, like putting fish closures in place that let me grow up and have lots of young so that there will be fish in the future. There are also several governmental agencies, universities and environmental groups that have stood up for us. I hope the rest of the humans unite and respect the closures, other environmental regulations, and learn to respect and value our home just as it is.

Pepe and Lulo were happy because they had managed to find and spend time with their childhood friends and had warned them in time about the danger they were in. After celebrating their reunion, Megalo reminded the crabs that it was getting late. The sun was going down, and the sky was darkening. They had to return to their home. With tears of both happiness and sorrow in their eyes, they said goodbye to their friends, hoping to see them again. -END-