THE CRYSTAL CUP - Chapter Twenty Five

 THE CRYSTAL CUP

Chapter Twenty Five

It was seven o'clock in the morning when Mario and Janete heard the sound of a key unlocking the living room door. They were sure it must be Helena. Maybe she had forgotten something when she came to talk to her parents. Well, if that were the case, it must be something very important, since it was a Sunday and she didn't like to get up early that day, since she had to get up early on other days... But it wasn't Helena who entered the room. It was Cecília who arrived, after more than a month missing from the map…

- But what miracle is this? Where did you come from, girl?

- No kidding, daddy... or I'll regret having come to visit them...

- Wow… lately you and your sisters have been very sensitive…

They were quiet for a while, just staring at each other. Janete called from the kitchen…

- Cecilia, come here for a while...

- The interrogation is about to begin...

- Calm down, Ceci… your mother is not that clueless, like that…

- Know…

Cecilia headed for the kitchen. Her mother came to meet her and gave her a hug. She was visibly emotional to see her daughter again...

- My little girl...but what happened to you, my daughter?...

- Nothing exceptional, Mom… things just reached a point of no return… There came a time when I realized that it was better to leave Ricardo behind and try to live my life…

- But… how did things get to that point?

- You can't tell, Mom... things start slowly... insignificant details that we let go... but they grow, they grow... and when we realize it, we no longer have control over the situation... that's how it happened...

- But… to separate…

- Mom, how am I going to live next to a person I don't trust anymore? It's like I said, the situation has become unsustainable...

- As…?

- Mom, he has another family. He has a daughter with the other. How could I accept this, tell me please?

- God asks us to forgive the sins of our fellow men, so that we can have ours forgiven!

- For God's sake, mom... can't you understand? He had another! And a one-year-old daughter! Do you understand now, or do I need to draw it for you?

Cecilia turns her back on her mother and goes back to the living room. Janete, desolate, begins to cry, as she begins a battery of prayers…

- What's up, Ceci?

- Mom... thinks I shouldn't have left Ricardo...

- Well, you know your mother... for her, marriage is a sacrament that cannot and should not be broken...

- I know, Dad... but even in Judaism divorce is foreseen, when the couple doesn't match... and our religion is based on some dogmas of Judaism, right?

- You know I don't discuss religion… it's not my thing…

- Yes, I know… it's a bit complex, isn't it?

- What is complex?

- This subject… religion… after all, everyone is right and everyone is wrong, when it comes to that…

- That's why I said, daughter… I don't discuss religion… because I don't know anything about it and I can't talk about something I don't understand…

- I thought you were an atheist...

- It's your mother who says that... and you know I like to tease her, don't you?

- Yeah, I know... but mom sometimes exaggerates... I don't know, sometimes I think that too much faith doesn't smell good...

- By the way, you really liked this movie… you still use the title in your conversations…

- But it was a nice movie, wasn't it? And the title pretty much sums up churches in general…

- Daughter, don't let your mother hear you talk like that...

And the two laughed, imagining the lecture that Janete would apply to the two for being such heretics. They sat on the sofa and started talking about small things. A little later, Janete entered the room…

- Daughter, I'm going to mass now... don't you want to accompany me?

- God forbid and keep me… I just got back from my trip, mommy… I want to rest a little…

- Will you be here when I get back?

- Yes, mom... I'm only leaving at night...

- So, we'll talk later?

- Yes, mom... I promise I'll tell you everything you want to know. After lunch, okay?

Janet nodded. She looked at Mario, waved and left…

- Damn… mom never changes, does she?

- Everyone has their own way, Ceci... that's your mother's way...

- Okay... but sometimes she exaggerates a little...

- Why?

- Well, because... she is very expensive...

- Daughter, everyone sees the world in a different way... this is your mother's way...

- All right, dad... but wanting me to stay with a guy who not only betrays me but also has another family... that's a bit too much, don't you think?

- I understand you... but, for your mother, marriage is a sacrament for life, where only death can separate the spouses...

- Do you think so too?

- Of course! Rest assured that if your mother and I didn't work out, I wouldn't think twice about leaving…you know you can't share your life with someone you don't trust…

- I know... but mom doesn't think so...

- Everyone has their own way...

- The funny thing is that she doesn't even like Ricardo... for her, we would never have married...

- Well, I never really liked him either… I don't know, it always seemed kind of fake…

- Yeah, I guess I can credit the failure of my marriage to my parents...

- What is it?... I always treated him well...

- Yes... but making it clear that I couldn't stand him...

- Ceci...

- Have you forgotten the first time he came here?

- And can you forget?

- Look, I can tell you that he definitely tried...

- I know… after all, even after all the “special treatment” your mother applied to him, he kept coming to visit you here at home…

- Yeah, I think he really liked me… at least at that time…

- Look, Ceci… I think he still likes you a lot…

- What a strange way to enjoy… setting up another family…

- Well, we have to agree that you don't make his life much easier either, no...

- Why?...

- Well, it started with you deciding you didn't want to have kids...

- Good, isn't it? Imagine my situation today, with a small child to take care of...

- Have you ever thought that if you had agreed to have children, things might have been different?

- And even? And who could guarantee me that? After all, no one forced him to cheat on me with that girl...or was he forced to?

- No, of course not… what I meant is… well, you understood what I meant…

- Yes, I understand… and I don’t agree with your thinking…

The two were quiet for a few moments, absorbed in their own thoughts. While Mario stared at a painting on the wall, Cecília looked out the window.

- You remember why I treated your boyfriend badly, don't you?

- Of course... you had to rescue us at the end of the world...

- To this day I have not been able to understand exactly what happened...

- Wow, Dad... it's simple... we went to the movies and then he decided to go visit a friend...

- But you went to watch the last session of the day… what the hell were you thinking, my God?

- Oh, I can't say anymore... looking at what we did that day, it really was a crazy idea... but at the time it seemed like a cool idea...

- But, cool where, girl? Where have you ever seen someone visit in the middle of the night?!

- Visiting is not the problem…

- Oh no? And what would be the problem then?

- Taking the wrong bus and not having a way to get back….

The two laughed together. An uncompromising, cheerful laugh. It had been a while since the two of them had spent a peaceful morning like this...

-Do you think Mom really believes everything she says?

- About?!

- Hey, about ghosts and the church…

- Well, we came from a place where the strangest things happened...

- And you... have you ever seen anything like that?...

- Already…

- And what did you see?

- Well, you won't believe it...

- Hey, if you tell me, I'll see if I believe it or not...

- I once saw a werewolf...

- Like the ones from horror movies and magazines?

- Huh? No, no... the werewolf doesn't attack anyone...

- Well, in the movies he not only attacks but also transmits his curse to the victim, when he doesn't kill her...

- Yeah, but our werewolf is a little different… even in appearance…

- Like this?!

- To begin with, he doesn't walk upright, like a human being... he only walks on all fours...

- Huh?

- Look, you know that, before I married your mother, I traveled a lot through the backlands. Sometimes I ended up sleeping outside. Sometimes alone, sometimes with a group of travelers...

- AND…?

- And it was on one of those occasions that I slept at the Hotel das Estrelas that I saw a werewolf…

- And he was dangerous?

- No… actually, he was only interested in his peculiar repast…

- Like this?

-Well, you have to remember that he is an enchanted animal… therefore, his habits are a little… strange. He understands?

- In truth no…

- Well, I think the animal thinks it's a fox... because it loves to attack chicken coops. But it doesn't do anything to the chickens. Your main target is their feces... it's their favorite delicacy...

- God that's gross….

  - Remember what I said… transformed, the animal ceases to be a person. He is enchanted, so the person who is eating that dirt is the supernatural being, not the person who turned into the animal...

-Still, he's disgusting...

- I know… but most animals do that…

- But it's not an animal, daddy... it's a human being...

- Who said that? On the Full Moon, at night, he is a mystical being, there is nothing human about him... when the day is dawning he becomes a person again, but during the night, he is not even aware of it...

- Okay… it's an enchanted animal… and what does it look like?

- In truth? It is very similar to a bear….

- Huh?..

- Seriously…the ass is very prominent…short legs…not so long muzzle…

- AND…?

- If you don't mess with him, nothing happens to you...

- Move…?

- Well, you've seen it, right? As I told you, he's an animal, so he'll attack you... it's his form of defense...

- Okay, okay… so werewolf exists… I suppose that ox-tatá, headless mule, saci pererê also exist…

- Of course, yes... but these animals are much more angry than the werewolf, that I can guarantee you...

- You're making fun of me, aren't you?

Cecilia starts to laugh. She found the story her father told her funny. But unlike the first time, he didn't laugh with his daughter this time. In fact, he got serious all of a sudden. It was as if memories of her youth had suddenly surfaced, and things she would rather have forgotten came back to her mind...

- Wow, Dad... you got serious all of a sudden...

- Some things we want to forget... but...

- And what did you want to forget, papa?

- No biggie, my daughter… nonsense that we remember…

- And you're not going to tell me what nonsense they were?

- Best not. Some things should be buried in the graveyard of our memories...

- Wow... that just touched me...

And the two fell silent again, looking together at the window, as if they wanted to see in the sunshine what the future had in store for them….