Life is a grand adventure and things are rarely as they seem. When the smallest and seemingly least capable inhabitants of the world think they have a handle on their destinies, the fates tend to give them a reroll, a do-over. The hopeless are often redeemed, the famished are sometimes renewed, and on some rare occasions, the characters in the background are lifted up into key, career-defining roles. This is one such story of an unlikely hero, overlooked and underestimated by everyone except for a true friend who appeared when he least expected one.

He was never given a name, but his new friend Jimmy had been calling him Diego in honor of the young ranch hand who gave Jimmy such a fair market price for the young pig. “Não tem muita carne neste,” human Diego had said with a chuckle, just before selling pig Diego to Jimmy for the last of his euros.

Now as Diego’s tiny body was nestled behind Jimmy’s protective arm, he squealed with delight, feeling safer than ever before and not knowing what adventures awaited the unlikely duo. Diego was the runt of his litter. He was not especially young, but had strangely stopped growing several months ago. The tiny pig had fought for everything he ever needed to survive: Mother’s teat, a place at the water hole, every single meal. When one by one his brothers and sisters were taken from his sight by hungry humans, Diego was glad to finally have space at the trough, but only until he realized the brutal end to which they were headed. When finally he was the last that remained of his litter, Diego had adamantly resolved to never become a meal.

When he met Jimmy, Diego knew right away that his immediate destiny was not to become a salty snack. Their companionship grew quickly and strongly, like two bullied children finding each other in the school cafeteria then becoming lifelong friends. The little pig felt strong and important at Jimmy’s side, as though together they could accomplish anything. He tried to maintain these feelings of strength as Jimmy carried him onto a medium sized airplane amid several shady-looking men, each armed with blades and guns.

After Jimmy strapped Diego into the seat next to his own, the last of the smuggling party settled in as well, then the plane began moving. At first it creeped along, but then rapidly picked up speed until finally with an exhilarating lift, Diego felt the airplane leave the ground. “If my brothers and sisters could only see me now,” the little pig thought to himself as the impossible happening described in the phrase when pigs fly became a reality. He desperately wanted to look out the window, so he squirmed and squealed to get Jimmy’s attention. As if reading Diego’s thoughts, Jimmy quickly unstrapped him and held him close to the glass. Diego watched in stupefied wonder as the ground flew away and the plane climbed higher and higher into the sky. Before long, the vast Pacific Ocean and the horizon was all Diego could see.

One of the smugglers cracked a quiet joke in Portuguese, a language which Jimmy understood very poorly. The rest of the men laughed heartily, with one in particular catching Diego’s attention. His mouth was full of shiny gold teeth, and his face wore a massive sickle-shaped scar from forehead to chin. Diego guessed that this must be the leader of the smuggling outfit. The little pig had no trust for these men, but he believed in Jimmy’s protection. “Uma bebida para meu amigo.” the gold-toothed man shouted louder than necessary, snapping his fingers and staring at Jimmy with a suspicious grin. Within moments, a few fizzy drinks adorned with colorful umbrellas were distributed by another of the smugglers.

“Para sua aventura!” the leader shouted to Jimmy, raising his own glass and gesturing for Jimmy to drink with him.

“Saúde,” the men shouted in unison before drinking together. Jimmy didn’t seem to enjoy the taste of the strange beverage, nor did he notice that all the smugglers’ eyes were on him as he drank. Once the drinks were gone, everyone settled in for a nap to pass the time during the long flight. Seeing that Jimmy was relaxing himself, Diego decided to get some shuteye as well. He wanted to be well rested for whatever adventure would come next.

Diego was the first to wake, and he knew immediately that something was wrong. Jimmy was sleeping soundly (a little too soundly), but the smugglers were all gone. His first reaction was relief to be rid of these strange men for whom he had no trust, but with further consideration, he began to wonder where the men might have gone. Diego suddenly smelled smoke and his curiosity quickly turned to terror. Still strapped tightly into his little seat, his only hope was to wake Jimmy. Jimmy would know what to do.

Diego summoned up every ounce of energy in his tiny pig body and mustered up his loudest roar from deep within. Jimmy was completely out, with a thick stream of drool falling from the lower corner of his mouth. The first mighty squeal was enough to make Jimmy stir, but he did not wake. Knowing that Jimmy would do the same for him and that their lives may depend on it, Diego dug even deeper, summoning an unknown force from the very depths of his fighting soul. He let loose a majestic squeal that would have made a lion quiver, causing Jimmy’s eyes to suddenly shoot open.

Many things happened very quickly in the moments that followed. Turning and looking toward the rear of the plane, Jimmy gasped and leapt to his feet. He then staggered toward the cockpit, shouting in horror as his greatest fear seemed to be confirmed. Diego was frozen in fear, and helplessly trapped beneath his safety restraints.

Rushing back and checking his pockets, Jimmy frantically cried, “They took my phone! The map!” He disappeared for a few moments somewhere in the back of the plane, where he could be heard making quite a commotion. He returned moments later with a funny-looking backpack, just in time for a deafening noise and a jolt to rock the whole plane. “We lost an engine! We’re going down,” Jimmy shouted to Diego as he released him from his seatbelt.

Wrapped up once again in Jimmy’s protective arm, Diego saw through the window that smoke was billowing from the wing where an engine had exploded. Perhaps the smugglers had cut a fuel line, causing hot gas to infiltrate the engine, then escaping quietly before the inevitable explosion that would crash the plane. But what did Diego the tiny pig know about the inner workings of airplanes and treasure-hunting sabotage? Pretty much nothing, but luckily the smugglers had somehow left a single parachute, which Jimmy was now wearing.

Diego could feel it now. The plane was going down, and fast, but Jimmy knew what to do. Diego held on tight to Jimmy’s forearm as Jimmy found and opened the emergency door, which was suddenly whipped out of sight into a blast of biting wind and noise. Jimmy shouted, “Hang on Diego,” and before the pig could utter a single squeal, the pair jumped from the open emergency door and careened wildly into the sky.