Rosalía was just a normal girl. She loved her school, loved her family, and loved to play. She was pretty much as normal as it gets for a second grader.

That is why it was such a shock when Rosalía started hearing things talk to her. That’s right, things. Not people, but objects.

 It happened slowly at first. She was at school the first time that it happened. She had gone to throw away some scrap papers that she had found in her desk, but something happened as she reached down to put them in the classroom trash can.

The papers spoke softly, “Psst. Could you pleeease not put me in there. Give me another chance! I know that somebody else can use me, just put me in that green bin over there with the triangle.”

Rosalía had never even noticed the green bin. Curious, she asked her teacher what it was. Her teacher, Miss Susie, replied “That is called a recycling bin. You can put raw materials like scrap paper in there and they can be used to make new products.”

 Rosalía took interest in the fact that her old things could become new and put her scrap papers right into that green bin! Though she had experienced something odd that day, she figured she was just a little tired and went on with her day.

After school, Rosalía waited for her mom to come pick her up in their car. Rosalía lived pretty close to the school, but she thought that taking the bus was lame. Nevertheless, Rosalía’s mom drove those few minutes every day to pick up her daughter and take her home. As Rosalía got out of the car, she could not believe what was happening to her. 

Just like earlier at school, she was hearing things again. The car whispered to her, “You know, I feel bad having to breathe out my gases just to go down the road. I wish I didn’t have to make such little trips and risk hurting the environment.”