64 - THE RETURN TO HOME

 64 - THE RETURN TO HOME

   The three Marias were praying in the Church... yes, there were three... Maria Rosa, called just Rosa, Maria das Graças, known as Graça and Maria Isabel, or simply Maria... the three had just arrived in the village together with his prisoner, they handed him over to Colonel Leôncio, the father of the girl who had died because of Zé Ferreira. They received the prize for the delivery, went to return the weapons, but Leôncio told them to keep them, because apparently in his hands they would be put to good use. You can't say that Graça didn't have a little guilty conscience when she left Zé Ferreira in the hands of the one who would be her executioner... but later, thinking about how much money would help her mother's recovery, her conscience got a little more light... of course it wasn't quite like that, but in a way, it was... Before returning to Maria's house, they decided to stop by the Church, to say thank you for everything having gone so well for them... Rosa was going to thank you for having a new chance in life...

They were already praying for a good couple of minutes in thanksgiving, when the teacher entered the nave...she went to the altar, crossed herself, knelt down and began to pray. She could see from her face that something was bothering her. The three girls noticed her. And of these, Maria was the one who had some intimacy with the teacher... she had been her student since she arrived in the city. Maria decided to approach the teacher, and interrupted her meditation...

- Teacher, you over here...

Alice raised her face, but then lowered it again, concentrating that she was in her rosary. After some time, her prayer finished, she turned to the girls...

- Maria, Graça... how long has it been!

- Quite a lot, professor... it's just that we were walking around the world...

- I see you're accompanied by a new friend... I've never seen her around here...

- Teacher, this is Rosa... we met her during our journey...

- I don't think this is the most appropriate place for us to talk... how about we go outside?

The three girls nodded, and the four left, heading towards the square.

The four girls sat down on one of the benches in the square and began to talk animatedly. They laughed at the cases they related, heard other serious stories... Alice told Graça that her mother had been admitted to a hospital in the Capital, and that the police chief who was in town, investigating some apparently unsolvable cases, had paid for the trip. same. Graça was a little saddened by the news, as she hoped to see her mother again... after all, it had been a long time since the two had seen each other... but she couldn't help but feel grateful for the gesture of that stranger who had been concerned about his fellow woman. . They talked for some more time, then Alice asked the girls if they had already had lunch... she was hungry... and as their answer is that they also wanted to have a good meal, the four of them went to Mônica's inn, which undoubtedly it was the best place to eat in the area. It is true that Maria felt a bit of remorse for not going straight home to see her parents and siblings, but at that time they would certainly all be working and there would be no one to receive her until the afternoon arrived. And when she saw the steaming plate of Virado à Paulista, her favorite dish, any and all traces of remorse evaporated like the smoke that rose from the food that was in front of her. After having their fill, ending lunch with a good piece of corn cake accompanied by a very strong coffee, they hit the street again, catching up. The teacher was calm, because she didn't have any more classes to teach that afternoon, her shift at the library wouldn't be until the following day and the meeting that Chief Vicente had called would only be at night. Alice was curious about Rosa, and asked her about her life, which she was promptly answered. When Rosa told how the girls had taken care of her husband and his friends, the teacher burst out laughing, saying that she wished she had been there to enjoy the scene. Upon learning of Maria's promptness and speed with weapons, she was astonished, because as far as she knew, the girl had never handled any weapon before... and that's how they spent the afternoon, talking, laughing, having fun with banalities...

About five o'clock in the afternoon Alberto passed near the square and saw Alice, going straight to meet her. He was surprised to see who accompanied her. He informed Graça about her mother's health, explaining that she was out of danger and that, in a few more days, she would be discharged and return to the village. Graça was happy with the news, and asked how she could pay for everything they had done for her mother... Alberto explained that he himself hadn't done anything, that everything had been organized by Chief Vicente, and that he would introduce them later.

As he was hungry, Alberto invited the four girls to accompany him for coffee, since it was still early to face dinner. And off they went, down the street, to attack yet another cake, this time banana, along with a nice, hot chocolate...

After saying goodbye, the three went to Maria's house, since only she would have someone waiting for her at that time of events. As the place where she lived was far from the village, the three returned to mount their horses and followed the prairie slowly, enjoying the sunset that was approaching. And night was already present when they finally dismounted in front of her house. At first her mother couldn't believe it when she saw her daughter dismount... it took her a few seconds to recognize her, as the girl was quite different from when she left. They embraced effusively, and tears of joy rolled down the face of the matriarch who had prayed so much, asking God and his saints of devotion to bring her little girl safe and sound back home. Okay, as I said, she was very different from the girl who had gone out into the world in search of adventure, but God had brought her back, beautiful and intact. Maria tried to introduce Rosa to her mother and explained that the girl would need to spend some time with them, as she had nowhere else to go. Her mother replied that they would have to talk to her father, but that she didn't see any obstacles that would prevent the girl from staying there as long as she needed to. Soon after, the matriarch turned to Graça and explained her mother's state of health, repeating to her the information that she would soon be back with her family... the three went to bathe and change clothes, because their path had come to an end and they were back in the warmth of their home...