12 - JUCA

 12 - JUCA

No one knows exactly where he came from, or what his real name is. From the day he set foot on Santa Helena, they "baptized" him Juca. And even that didn't have a clear reason. They simply looked at the boy and called him by that name. He adopted the name, not because he liked it, but more because he found it simpler than saying his given name... oh, it's good to clarify that he only became Roman Catholic apostolic some time after he already lived on the farm... until then, his creed was another of the mysteries that involved him... when he arrived, he couldn't have been more than fifteen, sixteen years old. A strong young man with an athletic build, he soon fell in with Zacarias, who practically adopted the boy for some time. Yes, they shared their bread with Juca, until he managed to straighten up in life, as they say. And he was always grateful to his friend and family, who treated him as an equal. The spirit of camaraderie that existed there was something so special that it seemed that it had always lived within that family. So much so that, on the day she moved into her little ranch, which she had achieved with great difficulty, after hours of work after the daily chores, she felt as if she were leaving her family for a second time... yes, Dona Rosário was a very good mother. affectionate, she always took care of the boy with the same care she used for her children...

In the first days of living alone Juca felt oppressed... missing both his home there in the distant lands where he came from and the adoptive family that had done so much for him. He often felt the urge to walk out that door and knock on his friend's house, to join in the family conversation, get the latest gossip (I've been very gossip lately... and that wasn't very good), share the conversation with family members . . . but he managed to control himself. When longing gripped his chest too much, he would pick up the violin that he had bought at the fair in the fair and pluck beautiful songs from the instrument, some from his native corner, others that he had learned in his day-to-day toil... and so it went on. touching life.

Because he was an excellent horseman and because he liked dealing with animals, Juca ended up being assigned to work with cattle in the field. Good at running and roping, he was one of the best cowboys on the farm. Needless to say that the farm had both a part of farming and another of cattle raising. And even livestock was also divided into dairy cattle and beef cattle. Juca worked in both segments, after all, cattle were just cattle... when it was a rodeo day, no one could beat him in the tests. And when he pulled out his viola, there was no one who wouldn't be amazed by his voice and his dexterity to take the notes of his instrument. Yes, Juca was the best guitar player in the region. His fame grew over time, and there came a time when he was invited to play in all the fandangos in the region. The girls sighed for the boy. After all, he couldn't not stand out from the crowd... in a place where most people were brunette, with black hair, his white skin, full of freckles and his red hair couldn't go unnoticed. And his face had a beautiful conformation...yes, the girls sighed over him, wishing to be chosen to date him. But his heart already had an owner. The devil is that the brunette didn't give her the slightest hint... sometimes it even seemed that he was invisible, because the girl simply didn't notice him. And look, when he saw her around, he used to sing the sweetest songs, opening his heart and declaring his love for the little one... everyone had already noticed, except her...

Slowly he was fixing his ranch. As Seu Nardi let him choose where he wanted to raise his tapera, he decided to live under a beautiful ipê tree. The branches of the tree let the flowers fall over the roof of the little house. And their perfume invaded the whole house. In the afternoon, when he wasn't in the field taking care of the cattle, he would take his fishing rod and go get the mixture for dinner and lunch the next day... he considered himself a good fisherman, but he couldn't help but catch the fish that lived in the dikes of the rice plantation. It was on one of those days when he was fishing that he saw his beloved for the first time. That naughty girl won his heart at first sight. Soon she tried to find out her name, which was not difficult, as she was a friend of Maria, daughter of Zacarias. He found out that the girl didn't have a boyfriend and that she lived alone with her mother... and her name... suited her perfectly... after all, she was a sweet girl...

He started courting her, but the devil was, the girl was slippery than a catfish. It even gave the impression that she disliked him, after all, every time he tried to talk to the girl, she cut him off and simply threw him out... but slowly, persisting, he finally managed to approach the girl and become her friend. .. well, maybe "friend" was a bit of an exaggerated term, but at least he managed to engage her in conversations a little longer than "hi" or "how are you"... and when he felt a little more sure of his actions, he asked the girl to marry him... the surprise on her face was genuine, she didn't really expect the boy's request... that denoted that she wasn't interested in him... but she had to try her luck, didn't she? same? And that's what he did... until it didn't turn out so badly... after all, Graça's answer is that he would think about the request and then answer her...