9 - THE PLAIN

 

9 - THE PLAIN

The afternoon was falling when Maria finally saw her father, after four days... the trip had taken a little longer than expected. When she finally saw Zacarias, she breathed a sigh of relief. After all, everything went well... her father was there, safe and sound. Zacarias noticed that his daughter was a little depressed, but he preferred not to make any kind of comment, until he talked to his wife, to find out what had happened during her absence... after all, she had been away from home for almost a week .

Rosário arrived a little after Maria. She hugged her husband and then went to take care of dinner, because "she wasn't going to prepare it alone", as she told her husband. Zacarias laughed, for he knew his beloved's temper. Rosario didn't like to express her feelings in front of anyone, especially in front of her children. She always said that what the two shared was just the two of them and that no one needed to see "her intimacies" ... for her, a hug a little stronger was already "intimacy". Kisses in front of the kids? But not in the slightest ... it was disrespectful ... it was the way she was brought up, where everything was sinful. She even tried to be a little more liberal, but her childhood background spoke louder, and she couldn't act differently... it was against her principles.

When they had already retired, after the evening prayers, the couple began to talk about what had happened during Zacarias's absence. Their children were already snoring, so the two began to talk in low voices, catching up on the events of their lives. Zacarias commented on the rain, the stampede of cattle, and she spoke of her day to day life in the fields. Neither of them mentioned anything that strayed from their daily routine. Neither Zacarias nor Rosario spoke of their paranormal experiences... finally tiredness overtook them both and they began to sleep...

Zacarias suddenly found himself back on the plain. That green grass as far as the eye can see. In the distance, paineiras and ipês... all in bloom. And in the background, almost on the horizon, the mountain range... his beloved mountain range, the place where he spent all of his childhood. He was riding Ventania, his pet bay. He felt young, as young as when he'd started working cattle. He guided his mount towards the ipe trees. But he noticed that the further he went, the more the distance between him and his objective increased. Next to him, walking from one side to the other, was Pitoco, his pet dog ... funny ... Pitoco had already left for the other side a long time ago .... how could he be there beside him? Yes, Zechariah could not understand. But he decided not to worry too much about it. He continued to advance towards his goal, which seemed unreachable...

He must have already walked a couple of leagues when clouds began to form in the sky, which until that moment had been clear, with a light that illuminated the whole world. The clouds began to close in, announcing a heavy rain that would not take long to fall... he looked in all directions, looking for a shelter to protect himself from the weather, but there was nothing in front of him, on the sides or anywhere. it had already passed. Only that sea of green, as far as the eye could see. He was without his cattle cape, which meant he had no way to protect himself from the rain. And there was nowhere for Ventania to take shelter….he started to get worried.

Without any prior warning, the vegetation began to dry up. the grass, which until that moment had been so green, began to turn yellow, then turned brown, until it simply withered. The same thing happened with the trees that were in front of him... and, suddenly, only desolation surrounded him. A feeling of abandonment began to take over her being. Pitoco, who was running a little ahead of Zacarias, came back yelping, scared. Zacarias dismounted and took the animal in his lap. Holding Ventania's reins with one hand and his dog with the other, he stared at the changing horizon, not knowing how to act...

Zacarias almost jumped out of his mat when he woke up. He was drenched in sweat. And, he couldn't deny it, he was scared. But afraid of what? From the nightmare he had? But he didn't see anything much in the dream... I mean, he was accompanied by two animals that had long since left... the world changed before his eyes... but other than that, it's not like dreams they are? They transport you to a fantasy place, where everything you know to be impossible becomes possible, God knows how... Zacarias looked to the side, watching his wife sleep... she was snoring peacefully, exhaling an air of peace and tranquility that calmed his soul. He went back to bed, hugging his companion and little by little the tiredness won and he went back to sleep, this time without dreams or nightmares...