THE ROOFTOP, THE STORM, AND THE BOY
The wind howled like a wounded animal.
It tore through the gray sky over the countryside of Paraná, ripping off roof tiles, knocking down power poles, and turning entire streets in the town of União da Vitória into a muddy, violent river. The flood, caused by Storm Helena, was already considered the worst in more than twenty years.
On the rooftop of a house almost completely submerged, a 9-year-old boy trembled—soaked, barefoot, and holding tightly to a small caramel-colored mutt. The puppy, named Bento, shook so much that Gabriel Santos’s chest vibrated with the animal’s fear.
“Stay strong, Bentinho… I’m right here with you…” the boy whispered, teeth chattering.
The house that was once his home—smelling of fresh coffee and Sunday cornbread—was now just a fragment of roof fighting against the fury of the water. That morning, when the floodwaters rose suddenly, Gabriel and his parents tried to climb to the top of the house, but his parents were swept away by the current.
Gabriel didn’t know if they were alive.
He didn’t know if help would come.
He only knew that Bento was all he had left—and he would never let him go.
The structure of the roof creaked dangerously. A thunderclap shook the sky, making Gabriel crouch even more. The water kept rising… inch by inch.
Waving his arms, he saw a Fire Department helicopter far in the distance.
“Here! Please! HERE!” he shouted, but his voice was swallowed by the wind.
The helicopter disappeared behind the curtain of rain.
Gabriel felt his heart sink.
MIDDLE — THE DRONE, THE RESCUE, AND THE BOY’S COURAGE
When all hope seemed ready to collapse, a different sound broke through the air. It wasn’t a helicopter, nor a boat. It was a light, repetitive hum—almost a metallic buzz.
Shielding his eyes from the rain, Gabriel could make out a small red blinking light between the droplets.
A drone.
The device hovered above the rooftop, approaching slowly as if analyzing the scene. The camera rotated, locking directly onto the boy and the trembling dog in his arms.
“Here! Please!” Gabriel shouted again.
On the other side of town, inside an improvised operations center, Sergeant Almeida—head of the drone rescue team—stared wide-eyed at the screen.
“There’s a child there! And… a dog! Send a team now!”
The image of the soaked boy hugging his puppy went viral within minutes. News outlets began broadcasting it live. The rain intensified, and the roof seemed ready to collapse.
Minutes later, a helicopter finally approached. The wind from the blades nearly knocked Gabriel down, but he held Bento even tighter.
The firefighter who descended by rope shouted:
“We need to go NOW! Hand me the dog first!”
Gabriel shook his head desperately.
“No! He comes with me! I promised!”
The firefighter came closer, understanding the panic in the child’s eyes.
“You’re very brave. Let’s do it like this: I’ll pull you up, and you hold Bento. But don’t let go of the rope, okay?”
Gabriel took a deep breath, his body trembling from cold and fear.
“Okay… but don’t let him fall…”
Seconds later, both were lifted off the roof. The water was already licking the edge of the tiles when they left the ground.
Inside the helicopter, Gabriel collapsed into the rescuers’ arms, still hugging the dog.
“I wasn’t gonna let my best friend die…” he murmured, before fainting from exhaustion.
END — RECOVERY, REUNION, AND THE NEWS THAT MOVED A NATION
Gabriel woke up later in the hospital—warm, clean, and with Bento sleeping peacefully at his feet. Nurses and firefighters were moved by the reunion.
Hours later, news brought tears to everyone in the room:
His parents had survived.
They were found clinging to a tree trunk kilometers downstream and were rescued by another team.
When they finally entered the hospital room, Gabriel ran into their arms as Bento barked as if he understood everything.
The drone image—the boy soaked on a rooftop, hugging his dog—traveled the entire country and became a symbol of hope amid tragedy.
Public figures, volunteers, and citizens mobilized to help the family and other flood victims.
Sergeant Almeida, who coordinated the rescue, said in an interview:
“That day, we saved two lives. But honestly? I think Bento saved Gabriel too.”
And for a long time, the story of the boy who refused to abandon his best friend during the greatest flood in decades lived on—reminding everyone that even when the waters rise, love is the one thing that never sinks.
