Abren Pierre B.

Manalo BSED-ENGLISH III

Mrs. Evelyn Ferrera Creative Writing

Directions: Create your own story showing the techniques and elements of a short story.

Arturo and the Pouch

Balleria, a prosperous city within the heart of Luzon, is home to entities of high statuses. Due to it being
near to the sea, it has become the center of trade within the region: a heaven for merchants. The smell of the sea,
the view of the Spanish-inspired homes, the sound of the ships docking; Balleria is truly a paradise. However, it
isn’t true to all.
At the outskirts of Balleria lies Parias, which literally translates to “outcasts”. Parias is an area at the
boundary of Balleria. Antonymous to Balleria, it is quite surprising to see such a place near it to be home to
people. Parias seems to have been abandoned by the government and has left it to die. The barong-barongs, the
filth, and the lingering depression makes it almost unlivable. However, within those makeshift dwellings lives a
young boy named Arturo. Arturo, 11-years-old, lives with her mother, Elena. Elena is almost already bedridden
due to tuberculosis. Day and night, Arturo worries of how long her mother can tolerate her condition. Still, he
tries to make ends meet by scavenging junk in Balleria.
In order to earn money, Arturo collects cans, nails, bottles, basically everything that somewhat has
value. At the end of each day, he sells it to a local junkshop and buys food with the money he earned. However,
he earns so little, about 35 pesos each day, that it can only barely buy a half-kilo of the cheapest rice and a
couple of eggs.
One day, while poking in the dumpsters in Balleria, Arturo sees a man sprinting towards his direction.
The man bumps Arturo, fell, and got up shortly to again run as fast as he could. Although stunned, Arturo
regained his senses after a brief moment. As he shakes of dust from his clothes, he sees a small pouch near his
feet. As he picked it up, gunshots were fired a couple of blocks away. Arturo quickly ran to hide.
At home, he begins to inspect the contents of the pouch. He quickly found four thousand pesos and a
gold seal ring. Ecstatic, he ran to his mother to share the news. However, his mom has always been a righteous
woman. Elena, even as a single-parent, filled in the responsibilities of both a mother and a father. He raised
Arturo to become a fine gentleman. Even though they desperately needed money for her medicines, her
conscience cannot try and take something that is not theirs. That being said, he reminded Arturo of the reasons
why they cannot use the money.
Tears began falling from Arturo’s eyes. Saddened by the decision, he still understood the values
embedded to him by his mother. He hugged his mother and promised her that he shall return it to its rightful
owner. He then remembered that he has not yet fully inspected the pouch. Trying to find clues of its owner,
Arturo browsed in the pouch and found a picture of a woman. He was dazzled of the beauty of the woman. She
was fair-skinned, her eyes were gleaming, and her lips were rosy. Arturo knew it was a clue of the possible
owner of the pouch. However, he thought just letting the police handle the case. He planned to seek assistance
from them at the afternoon after he has earned enough money.
The next day, while scavenging for junk in the plaza, she sees a woman sitting at the bench, seemingly
anxious. Arturo gets the feeling that she has seen the lady somewhere. As sunlight hits her face, he quickly
recognizes her as the woman in the photo. Arturo approached her.
Arturo drew out the pouch from his pocket and undoubtedly gave it to her. The woman was stunned and
for a second, did not understand what was going on. She shortly realized that it was her lost pouch. The
woman’s gloomy face quickly turned bright. All of her concerns quickly vanished. Arturo introduced himself as
the one to find her pouch. The woman introduced herself as Gabriella. Gabriella was so overjoyed of Arturo’s
deed. She told him that the pouch was stolen yesterday by a man. Arturo was now enlightened. As a reward,
Gabriella handed him the four thousand pesos from the pouch. Arturo respectfully declined and said that it
wasn’t their money for them to take. Gabriella was baffled since she was aware of Arturo’s social status based
on how he looked at the time. He was scrawny, filthy, and his clothes tattered. Really curious of the kid,
Gabriella asked Arturo to bring her to his home. Although having second-thoughts, Arturo accepted.
 As they reached Parias, Gabriella became wary of the truth behind Balleria. It was evident that they have
abandoned the area and its citizens. Gabriella felt enraged. Upon reaching Arturo’s home, he quickly introduced
her mother, Elena, to her. Gabriella told her the whole story and thanked her for raising her kid, Arturo, as a fine
gentleman.
As they waved goodbye at a distance, Gabriella shouted, “Your honesty will change a lot of people’s
lives!” Arturo barely heard her and continued to wave at the horizon.
The next day, a couple of men in a carriage came to their place knocking. They said that they shall
accompany them to the hospital for her mother’s worsening condition. Arturo knew it was Gabriella’s doing.
They gladly accepted their help. As her mother was regaining health in the hospital, word spread that the current
mayor of Balleria was expelled from office.
A few days later, the new local government announced that citizens of Parias shall be relocated and be
given livelihood as part of the area’s reformation. Apparently, Gabriella is the province’s governor and was in
the city to survey the area as reports was sent that Balleria is not the place people thought it was. After learning
the truth from Arturo, she ordered the impeachment of the previous mayor. The seal ring in the pouch was
actually her symbol and was used to seal important documents, including the reformation for Parias.