Part 2
The technician placed the three samples in front of me and pointed out their differences.
—Look at this one, Vera. It's hardened. The water has difficulty penetrating. Now look at the one from your plot.
The soil was breaking down in a different way. There were small additions and residues of organic matter in different states of decomposition.
—I can't confirm how much it has improved without doing an analysis —he warned—, but there are indications that you are recovering part of the structure that your soil had lost.
I felt a knot in my throat.
—So the fish heads saved my harvest?
He denied it slowly.
—We can't attribute everything to the fish. Composting, vegetable residues, and how you worked the soil also matter. And we still need to check the salts and nutrients.
For the first time I understood that my effort could have an explanation and not just a hope.
Then my son came with a letter from the bank.
The next payment was due in less than thirty days. If he didn't get the money, they could initiate actions to recover what we owed.
The technician read the date and looked at me worried.
—Vera, maybe we need to make another decision before the month ends.
Comment "WATER" if you think that perseverance, accompanied by knowledge, can give hope back to a family.
