45 - A NEW DAY

 

45 - A NEW DAY

The day was dawning. It was a cold, icy morning... very different from the days that preceded it. It was the first day of autumn...summer was gone, and with it the warm, cozy mornings. Yes, the cold was knocking on the door of the world, foreshadowing a very rigorous winter, if we were to take into account the first day of the new season... it is clear that in a few hours the sun would warm the world, leaving the impression that nothing had changed ... but when night came, the cold would return, along with the wind that came from the south... the rains would be scarce, although this did not always happen. Anyway, for those who camped out in the open, it wasn't a good season... after all, to feel comfortable, the fire couldn't go out overnight, or the cold would come in full force... and that was exactly what we were talking about. Maria was thinking... well, to be fair, she was thinking of her warm bed that she had left behind a good couple of months ago, in search of a crazy adventure together with her craziest friend.... and now, to improve... or make everything worse, there was one more component in the group...

After they dispatched the men who attacked them, Rosa was thoughtful for a long time... it's just that she didn't have the slightest idea what she was going to do from that moment on. Going back to the village was completely out of the question. After all, the men wouldn't accept the humiliation they suffered at the hands of the girls that easily... of course, they wouldn't chase them, nor would they think of attacking them while they were together. But if Rosa went back to her house, with or without the threat made by Graça - I think the right thing would be to say a warning - Renato would certainly at the very least beat her... if he didn't kill her... Rosa didn't really have to where to go. Her family lived in the south, in the pampas. And it was a bit of a walk to her inn... not to mention that, as she left home without her father's blessing, she certainly wouldn't be welcome back to her father's house. She externalized all of this to her new companions. she felt sorry for the girl's situation ... she understood that the girl really had nowhere to run ...

Grace was thoughtful for some time...she knew Rosa was right. It's not because she had told the men that if they took any action against Rosa that she would return to punish them, that they would stay quietly in her corner. The hatred they must have been feeling for the situation they went through, apart from the shame of arriving at the village naked and tied like pigs, would be enough for them to take out all their frustration on the girl, as soon as she put her feet in place. No, Rosa couldn't return to the village... after much thought, she decided to invite the girl...

- Rosa, have you ever thought of walking around this big world without a destination?

- Like this?!

- Look, Maria and I are after a bastard, who killed a girl back where we came from... we're going to arrest the guy and take him to be punished...

Rosa looked at the two, amazed...

- You have courage...

Maria decided to speak.

- It's not courage, Rosa... it's just that the girl's father offered good money for the guy's capture... and we need that money...

- Still... I would never go around the world after a bandit, not for all the money in the world...

Grace looked at the girl, thought for a while, then spoke...

- Well, you are in a somewhat complicated situation...

- And I am...

- You can't go back to your house... in fact, I would say that you don't have a home anymore...

- Yes, you are right...

- Well then... if you come with us, and help us catch this tramp...

- I?!...

- Yes, you... we will need help... and we can divide the money between the three of us...

- Are you serious?

- Of course... and Maria agrees with me, doesn't she, Maria?

Maria, who until then had only heard the two talking, limited herself to nodding her head in agreement. Yes, an extra companion would be very useful on the hunt. And the money promised by the farmer could be divided between the three of them, which would still be a good amount...

Graca walked over to where she had the men undress, looked at the guns and belts... examined them one by one and chose two of the revolvers and one of the rifles. He collected all the ammunition available there, put it in his saddlebag, took one of the belts, put the two holsters in it and had Rosa buckle it around her waist. Rose complied. She received the two guns from Graça, put them in their holsters, and stared at the two friends in front of her... very well, she was carrying two guns... so what?

- I think I need to warn you that I don't know how to shoot...

- And? None of us here know...

Maria chuckled. Grace, looking at her, continued...

- And even so, Maria already took me out of the choke twice...

Rose looked at the two in disbelief...

- You don't know how to shoot? You're kidding me, aren't you? That shot by Maria was accurate...

- And before that, she killed a snake with another accurate shot...

- But I've never fired a gun before...

Rose looked at the two of them again. She was more and more surprised by what the two told... they were completely crazy. And Rose thought she must be crazy, too, because she decided that she would accompany them on their adventure... after all, other than her life, what else did she have to lose?