THE CRYSTAL CUP - Chapter Forty One

 

THE CRYSTAL CUP

Chapter Forty One

Ricardo was crestfallen that morning. When he arrived at the garage to pick up his layover car, he was told he was suspended. He asked why, the inspector on duty said he didn't know. But, almost in a whisper, he gave him a hint... an inspector from the Municipal Transport System had reported to the company that he had been caught apparently drunk. His car number and time of travel were noted down to confirm that he was indeed the one denounced by the inspector. His collector had been called to confirm or not the inspection impression. And that was Ricardo's fear... after all, there were many times that Valdir, his tax collector, had hinted at his condition... and had made it very clear that he would not hand him over to the boss, but if asked about his mate, he wouldn't lie. The boy from the traffic department asked him to come back in two days to speak with the boss. A red light immediately lit up in his mind... yes, there was no doubt that he had overdone it lately... but, dammit... nothing that could discredit him had happened lately... not even rides, which from time to time she gave to her friends (more to her friends) was currently releasing. He kept to the timetable with British punctuality, arriving neither early nor late... and his car was always packed to capacity... damn it, now was not a good time to be out of work... because that was it. what was about to happen, he sensed...

Ricardo had been walking aimlessly for a couple of hours. Yeah, lately nothing was going right in her life. Since... yeah, since he separated from Cecília. It seems that after she left, everything in his life started to unravel. If he believed in punishment, he would say he was being punished by fate... first, with Cecilia, then with Roseli... neither of the two women wanted to see him, nor painted in gold... damn, how he had fallen! Although, as for Roseli, he didn't care much. Did he like her? Of course, after all they had a daughter together... in fact, it had been a long time since he had visited the girl... But also, with so many problems afflicting him... in any case, the girl was doing well cared for by her mother... it's good that Roseli decided to leave her in the care of Dona Olga... so he could visit the little one whenever he wanted... although... yes, the thoughts came to Ricardo's head in such a confused profusion that even he couldn't quite understand what he was thinking about... last night's drunkenness to blame... he had lost a few kilos in the last few days, to blame for the drinks he ingested, without eating anything... his face was a little swollen, and a certain bulge had formed on his belly... who would have thought, just him, a boy who had always been so vain, so concerned about his appearance... and now... Cecília. .. where would Cecília be? He was sure that, if he found her, her life would go back to normal, everything would work out for him again... but where was this woman, God in Heaven? And so, off he went, still shifting legs, because in truth the drunkenness of last night hadn't completely gone...

Helena woke up worried that morning. She had dreamed of Oscar again. But this time he simply refused to look her in the face. He barely spoke to her, limiting himself to accompanying her as they walked through the Garden of Infinity. Yes, that was the name she called the space she transited through when in her dreams. And why did she call him that? Well, first of all, because it really was a garden, with such a profusion of flowers, like a range of different, beautiful colors that accompanied all the flowers that were there. Her favorites were, without a doubt, roses. There were all sizes and colors, including some she had never appreciated on this side of existence. Well, but we were talking about her meeting with Oscar, her friend from beyond. She didn't much like meeting him in Mr. Sandman. The reason? Simple... since he left for the other plane and promised not to abandon her and protect her from the mishaps she would have to go through, there hasn't been a single time when the two met and there wasn't some tragedy in her life. . And this time, the tragedy announced was terrible. Helena prayed every day, begging the Almighty to take that fate away from her sister. When Helena entered the Dream Realm and found herself walking through the Garden, at first as most times, she walked alone. After some time she felt her familiar presence, but there was something different this time. She felt that something was wrong, as this was the first time that she didn't feel more reassured by her apparition... in fact, dread took over being hers. And that was something unknown to her. Yes, because Oscar's presence has always been a balm to heal your wounds... but today, however...

- Helena, what happened?

The girl was pulled out of her world of thoughts... Cecília was bringing her back to the World of the Living...

- What happened, Cecilia? What happened?

- You tell me... It's been almost ten minutes since you've been stabbing the poor bun...

Helena looked in disbelief at her plate. In fact, she had stabbed her bread so many times with the knife that it had turned to crumbs...

- Wow... why did I do that?

- That's what I wanted to know... it's true that it's just bread with ham, but look at the damage you've done... there's no way to eat that... it turned into a paste...

- Of course there is... get me a spoon...

Cecília gave her sister a slightly crooked look, but got up and gave her the spoon she had asked for. And Helena ate that crumbly mixture of bread and ham in pieces. Soon her plate was empty...

- We better leave... I think you're already late, isn't it?

- A little... but since you're going to give me a ride, we arrived quickly at my job....

And soon the two took to the streets, not without first tidying up the kitchen... When they crossed a corner, about two thousand meters from Helena's house, Cecília exclaimed...

- I don't believe!

- What don't you believe, girl?

- I've just seen Ricardo... My God, he's finished!

- Is life...

- I felt sorry for him...

- All you need is a relapse...

- Never... I wouldn't go back with him even if he were the last man on earth...

They continued the rest of the way in silence, each one immersed in the memories they had...