Universidad del Rosario

Escuela de Administración

Ana Sofía Pérez

8 of March of 2021

One little mistake…

Long ago, people who lives in the desert had never even seen the sea, they were so comfortable
on their villages that they did not have the necessity to leave it. They had everything they need,
the water from the qanats by their underground tunnel network, the food from the cows and the
money from the visitors. But, there was a punishment for those who decided to act against the
word from the mayor, and since the village was made no one had ever acted against him, at least
not until one day in which the main cowboy with a few drink on it, decided to start shooting his
gun against the air without carrying if someone could get heart, not until one lost bullet impact
the mayor´s daughter in the chest living her in a very critical state of health. Even though the
cowboy had an impeccable profile due to his excellent behavior, an small mistake caused him not
only the mayor´s contempt for him, but the strongest punishment anyone in the village could
experience; the cowboy will have to leave the village and travel though the sea for 5 days and
return, since only if he return he could be forgiven for having overcome his greatest fear as proof
of his regret for the damage he caused in the past.

For this journey, the cowboy could only choose between having good food or having a good guide
to learn how to survive in high sea; he prefers to learn properly how to survive, causing him that
his only supply for food were the cans of food that people give to horses, cows, and dogs (not
something very appetizing). Once he was kicked out of the village by the local people, he had to
walk for more than 12 hours to get into the nearest sea, there he will have to purchase a boat to
be able to sail in high seas. The problems began when he entered the ocean without knowing how
to swim properly, because even though he read a lot to gain knowledge about the ocean and how
to survive, he couldn´t practice properly how to swim, but swimming would become his least fear
now in which he had to face the creatures of the sea or the strong heather that lashes the waves
on the high seas.

The days passed, and the cowboy was every time more insecure about how he was going to return
save to the village to claim the forgiveness from everyone, he felt that he was not in his comfort
zone, the foo began to be scarce, he began to hallucinate the only thing that kept him on the edge
of sanity was the book that instructed him to know how to survive. The thing is, that time passes,
and he began to be tired, he had less and less desire to survive, he began to give up and assume
that he understand the reason why the locals of the village had really sent him to the sea, in order
that others would learn what happens if someone dares to challenge the word of the mayor.

At the end, the cowboy going crazy and thinking that he was understanding his purpose on the
journey decides to jump into the water and put an end to his suffering so people in the town can
understand the message given by the mayor. Hours later, the boat the cowboy once bough returns
alone to the shore, where the mayor was waiting for it to receive it, a once he did, he said: “guilt
and remorse are the worst punishments for those who seek to survive” only to later look for his
daughter and bathe happily together on the beach while the people in the village is still waiting for
the return of their cowboy.
 Universidad del Rosario
Escuela de Administración

Ana Sofía Pérez

8 of March of 2021