40 - ALICE

 

40 - ALICE

Due to recent events... the meeting with Duarte, among others... Alice decided to walk through the streets of the village to think a little. She lived a little away from the center, between the village and the countryside. It had been a couple of years since she had moved to that small town...she thought it would be good for her spirit to stay away from big cities. First, because she could work on what she liked most, which was researching stories and legends from the sertão. She intended to write a book on the subject, and what better way to find out about this one than to dive headlong into her source of inspiration? Alice collected all the stories she heard, and wrote them down in a notebook used only for that purpose. She was the only one who never abandoned her principles, she was always available to accept his records about new discoveries. Yes, the conversation left her a little shaken. She always considered that the stories she collected from the native population were just that... haunting stories, to scare children on the nights of the full moon. And now Alberto appeared with that story... just him, an enlightened, cultured, well-educated person, totally realistic, without any dreamy bias... Alice would expect belief in anyone else, not him. How could she believe that.... but he said he had proof of what he was talking about, and as soon as she wanted, she could show him all the evidence collected... Alice was so absorbed in her thoughts, that she didn't see a rider coming in her direction....the horse narrowly avoids trampling her. Startled, she lost her balance and fell to the ground. The knight quickly dismounted and helped her...

- Is everything okay, miss?

- Yes, don't worry... I just lost my balance....

- Can I help you in any way?

- Don't worry, nothing happened to me...

- Excuse me... it's just that you got in at once in front of my horse...

- Don't worry... nothing happened...

- All right... can I buy you a coffee?

- On second thought... why not?

And the knight followed Alice down the lane, leading his horse by the reins. He tied the animal to the door of the pension, where they entered... they sat down next to the window and, as the room was empty, soon Dona Adélia, the owner, came to help them.

- There's a cream cake that just came out of the oven...

- You can serve us... with that delicious chocolate that only you know how to make, please...

- And the gentleman?

- Same as the girl, please...

And the woman went to the kitchen to get the orders...

- You are the Federal Delegate, aren't you?

- Yes It's really me...

- I was talking to Doctor Duarte just now...

- AND...?

-Do you imagine that he is so desperate that he has started to look for an explanation in ghosts, in cases that he cannot solve?

-And what do you think about that?

- Crazy, huh? how can you attribute the ills of the people to.... supernatural manifestations?

- Don't you believe in these things?

- I'm a scholar. I try to know the roots of the myths of the people. Did you know that the appearance of some of the mythological monsters that haunt people so much are actually associated with some kind of disease?

- Same?

- Yes... for example... a person suffering from leprosy can very well be confused by the countrymen as a... Papafigo. Do you believe it?

- Yes, of course... but you are aware that a lot of inexplicable things, from a rational point of view, happen around these parts...

- Oh, unexplained cases end up being explained when we discover the point we hadn't realized yet...

- True?

- Yes, definitely...

- Girl, I was born in the backlands. I was raised in the middle of the bush, until the day I left my village to conquer the world...

- And it was successful, apparently...

Dona Adélia arrived at their table with a tray with a cake and a vase, as well as two glasses...

- I hope you like it... bon appetit!

- Thanks! You know I love your cakes...

Juvencio just smiled. He served the girl, then he served himself. They sat in silence for a while, enjoying the cake and the chocolate. At one point, Alice decided to continue the conversation...

- I swear I thought you were going to ask for a cachaça...

- There's a time for everything... a coffee... a tea... a cachaça... now was the time for chocolate...

- Alberto doesn't like sweets... or sweet drinks...

- Alberto is your boyfriend?

- Yes...

-Well, he doesn't know what he's missing...

- So you were born around these parts...

- Yes... and destiny ended up taking me to the big city...

- Funny... the exact opposite happened to me...

- It's fate... we just follow it... you were talking about monsters and sick people...

- Yes...

- But not all cases can be classified like this...

- Serious?

- Yes... yesterday, for example, I spent the whole day examining the river...

- Did you find anything interesting there?

- Do you believe in boi-tatá?

- The fire serpent?

- Well, the one I saw wasn't quite a snake...

- Did you see one?

- Yes, I saw...

- You said you stayed all day by the river...

- Yes...

- And that at night he saw such a creature...

- Correct...

- With all due respect, young man... I think you slept and saw what you wanted to see....

- You really don't believe it, do you?

- Until I see such a creature with my own eyes, no...

- Be careful what you wish for...

And then Juvencio decided to consider that conversation closed. He started to bring up other subjects. He asked about the people, what she knew about the history of the place .... what were the origins of the families. and to all Alice responded with pleasure. She loved it when someone asked her to share her knowledge. And that's exactly what the nice old man sitting across from him was doing. Too bad he seemed a little too gullible...but nothing that affected the sympathy Alice started to feel for him.