33 - WOMEN'S THINGS

 

33 - WOMEN'S THINGS

 

  Grace was worried about her friend. After all, since that morning she had been feeling cramps... they would have to make one more stop, because she knew that her partner was not in a condition to continue... well, it was part of the game, after all, once a month that had to be done. occur... but did the pain have to come so violently, like this? In those days Maria simply couldn't do anything, as she felt as if her body simply didn't belong to her... Graça asked her friend for a little patience, they were close to a village and soon they would be at an inn... about three days of rest that was all Maria needed.... and that's what they would do... damn it, when she had the idea of going after Zé Ferreira she didn't think she would have so much work ahead of her... the worst thing is that they were already on the road more than a month, and they still didn't have a lead on the guy... she was already getting discouraged. Mainly because of this month only two weeks were really used to track down her wanted person... the other two had to deal with her "female problems"... Graça even managed to get through her week, without suffering so much, but Maria was more delicate and ended up collapsing... yeah, things weren't easy for both of them...

Finally they reached the little town and soon looked for the inn there. It wasn't very inviting, the establishment. But it was the only option they had, so off they went. Grace rented a room for a week. The innkeeper was an elderly lady, very friendly, contrasting with the first impression that the girls had of the place. Upon seeing Maria's situation, Dona Malvina - that was the name of the innkeeper - took her to one of the rooms, made her as comfortable as possible and tried to prepare some ginger tea for the girl to drink. Seeing her friend being taken care of, Graça decided to take a walk around the surroundings, looking for anything that could serve as a guide for her search. After some time she got lucky. He discovered that his game had passed through there a few days ago. She was heading towards Cunha, where she would join a delegation that would take a herd to Igaratá, near Jacarei... she wasn't sure if she would be able to intercept the guy before he reached his destination... well, she was sure of it. that she wouldn't be able to, since Maria would stay at least a couple more days until "her period" passed... it wasn't anything that disastrous. After all, they would have the chance to fall into the soul of their hunt, even if it was after he finished his trip to Igaratá... and, come to think of it, leaving it to capture him at the end of the trip would be even more peaceful... after all, , with a full pocket, he would definitely get drunk... and then it would be much easier to capture him...

Finally, the two returned to the road, after four days of recess. They said goodbye to Dona Malvina, who treated them like daughters while they were under her roof. Very attentive, she didn't neglect Maria for a second while she was going through her period... Maria was already in a good mood, and prepared to go to the hospital. end of the world, if need be. But of course she wouldn't have to go that far. After all, from São Bento do Sapucaí, where they were, to Igaratá would be a long journey, but they would advance faster than Zé Ferreira, who was accompanying the herd. Even though Cunha was getting closer to the destination, overcoming the mountains with the cattle required them to proceed at a slow pace, unlike the two who could imprint a little more speed on their mounts... they would have time to plan how they would carry out the capture. Maria was excited, the mountain air really did her good. And the pleasant weather, that smell of leaves that the wind carried, was intoxicating. The sound of the passing made them feel good, as if they were in paradise. Butterflies fluttered all over the place, as if in a magical ballet, accompanied by bees and other flying insects. From time to time, a bird would fly low. Small animals hid during its passage. Yes, nature was beautiful and brought a message of optimism to both of them... everything would work out for them...

They were already in the middle of the journey... between nothing and nowhere... when Graça noticed that her horse started to limp. Worried, she dismounted and went to examine the animal's paw. A dismayed expression came over her face. Her horse had lost a horseshoe. The problem is that they were far from any inhabited center, and the animal would have to continue as it was. Of course, she couldn't continue riding her horse... so the journey would end up taking longer than expected... Maria pulled her into her saddle, and they walked slowly, so as not to force the mount...

It had been a day since Grace noticed that her mount had lost its horseshoe, and they finally entered a village. They went straight to the blacksmith, as they had to put the horseshoe back on the animal. They left the two in the care of the blacksmith and went looking for a place to eat and rest... and take a bath too, why not? After all, they had accumulated dust from about three days on their bodies... the path they took didn't have any stream nearby...

As they weren't in such a hurry to get back to work... even because the blacksmith had already said it would take a while to take care of his animals... the two girls decided to take a walk around the village. They visited some stores, one of them selling women's items, of course. Maria was delighted with one of the dresses that were on display. The price was a bit steep, after all it was a garment made for the ladies of the city's leaders... politicians and farmers. But as a look it was still grace... Grace shrugged... she had already gotten used to the clothes she had been wearing the last few days... she felt more comfortable wearing the cowboy pants than the skirts and petticoats she was wearing. so enchanted Mary. Yes, without a doubt, the clothes he was wearing were much more practical... he didn't need to watch himself when he sat down, for example... but his friend was really delighted with the clothes she saw...

- Never mind, Maria... after we catch Ferreira, you'll have money to buy this whole store...

- Well, I...

- Calm down, girl... I know you liked everything here... after all, these are women's things...

- It's all very beautiful, isn't it?

- Yes, friend... it's all very beautiful... but we'll only have money to see all this beauty after we complete our mission...

- I think it's about time, don't you?...

- I think so... shall we?

And so, bathed, fed, rested... refreshed from the journey there, the two went to the blacksmith to pick up their animals. These too were rested, well fed and ready to restart the journey. They paid for the professional's services, put the saddles on their horses, mounted and left again along the road... they still had a lot of ground to cover...