7 - LEVITATION

 7 - LEVITATION

Rosario was worried. After all, it had been three days since the cowboys had gone to Poço Grande. And by the distance, they should have already returned. Did something happen to them? Did something surprise them in the mountains... or in the forest? She heard so many stories, that everything scared her, everything scared her. Maria was calmer, she didn't worry so much. At least apparently. Because, inside, she was also worried about her father's delay ... she stayed all afternoon, after she returned from the fields, at the gate, hoping to see her father and his companions arrive with the cattle. But the afternoon was falling, the sun was hiding and none of the men appeared. Only after the night had completely fallen and the moon appeared, majestic, dominating the sky, framed by the stars, did Maria give up and go back to her little house... yes, her father would certainly not be arriving that night. All that was left for him was to ask God to protect his daddy from the dangers of the road. There was no shortage of danger in those parts... there was a guy called Corpo Seco, Saci, Mãe D'água, Mula Sem Cabeça, Boi Tatá... not to mention Papa Figo, Loira de Branco... . what was not lacking in that place was haunting... of all these animals, what she was most afraid of was the Blonde in White... they said she was a very beautiful woman and that no one could resist her... the problem was that it killed everyone who approached it. It bit the person's neck and sucked up to the last drop of blood.... strangest thing, just... it looked like the witch, with the difference that the witch sucked the blood from the navel of a child who had not been baptized... .Had she ever seen a witch? No, she had only heard about it... but just listening to it terrified her... imagine if one day she had the bad luck to come across such a monster... there was no need for the witch to attack... she would fall hard first... But he couldn't let his mother see that he was afraid. She needed to be strong for her and her mother....

Maria had three siblings, two girls and a boy... Rosa Maria, who was older, José Pedro, younger than Maria, who was the second daughter, and Ana Maria, the youngest. Ah, yes, Maria's name was Margarida Maria ... but she didn't tell anyone ... she didn't like her first name ....

Three of her brothers had been sleeping for some time. Only she and her mother were standing. But due to the lateness of the hour, and since they had to go to the rice field early the next day, they thought it best to retire, not without first praying that everything would go well on the trip of her husband and father...

Soon the two accompanied the rest of the family and were already snoring. A peaceful sleep, with slow breathing... the sleep of the righteous, as they say.

Without any warning, Maria simply jumped up onto her mat...she sat down, feeling terrified. She didn't know why. But she was scared... scared, no... terrified really. The problem was that she didn't know exactly what…she felt her hair stand on end and a bad feeling took over her whole body. She tried calling her mother, but her voice just wouldn't come out. Then, suddenly, just like that, the feeling of floating took over her body. She started to go up, or at least that's how she felt... and she started to go up fast. And the higher she felt, the more terrified she became. She tried calling her mother several times, but she just couldn't. Then, in a split second, she remembered what her friend Graça had always told her... "if you feel lost for whatever reason, pray to Our Lady, she will come to help you"... and then the girl he began to pray, with all the faith he had in his heart... he started with the Our Father, then the Ave Maria, following a Crendospai, as the countryman says... it was then that his heart calmed down and he felt that he was descending , returning to his treadmill, again. Her mother was at her bedside, talking sweetly to her... when she finally returned to normal, her mother told her that she woke up with her moans... only, for her, they weren't moans... they were screams of terror... .

Maria took a while to go back to sleep... the fear of feeling like she was floating again was great. The problem was that the sensation was terrifying... but finally, after much prayer, she was able to close her eyes and rest a little...

Rosario stayed by her daughter's side for some time, until she fell asleep. She got worried. Maria had never had nightmares before... and suddenly, almost every day her daughter was plagued by these bad dreams. She kept thinking about what she could do... the only thing she knew was to pray... she thought a little and came to the conclusion that she should look for a benzedor... The house needed to be purified, as the energies were very heavy ... when did it all start, really? The woman was thoughtful, trying to connect time... and came to the conclusion that since the day Maria and Graça were trapped in the woods and had to pray to escape, the nightmares had started. All she could deduce is that something bad followed the girl and was at her side... yes, it was necessary to bless the house, bless the girl and expel the lost soul that was wanting to lean over there.... two days later it would be Saturday... then she would take Maria to the house of "seu" Mané Benzedor... he was the best prayer in the region and would certainly manage to rid her daughter of that evil...