WALKÜREN - THE THREE MARIAS Chapter Seventeen

 WALKÜREN - THE THREE MARIAS

Chapter Seventeen

The day dawned rainy. And the streets were muddy. This made Graça remember her time as a young girl when, together with Maria Izabel, the two of them would run through the mud, under the water that fell from the sky. Yes, those were other times... times of innocence, when they still didn't imagine how cruel the world was. It's true that they ended up looking for trouble when Graça's mother fell ill and the little money started to dwindle. Yes, what pushed her into the world of adventures was the need to take care of her mother...

Her first thought at the time was to become a cowherd. Running across the field to herd cattle seemed like a pretty attractive idea... until she heard about the reward for capturing Rosinha's killer. What was her end, at the hands of the girl's father? Well, she had no right to think about it, since she agreed to sell his life in exchange for a hefty sum of money... and that was what she needed at the time, to save her mother. Unfortunately it wasn't possible... with the disease quite advanced, all Graça managed to do was postpone the end of her mother. But luckily she was able to give him one more comfort, while he was waiting for his passage to the other side.

At first Grace really thought her mother would recover. Finally, after some time in the hospital, the lady was discharged from the hospital and was able to be taken home. Of course, the old woman needed care, but hope grew in the girl's bosom, seeing her mother blushing day by day. Those were happy moments...she couldn't deny it. Graça even slowed down her work pace to spend more time with her mother. And on the weekends she always took her for a walk in some corner of the city. His last outing was during the Sete de Setembro festivities, a few months before his mother left. Alright, it wasn't the expected event, because since the Republic was installed in the country, this date wasn't celebrated that much... but they could have a little fun with the fireworks...

A few days after that event, her mother's condition became critical again and it was necessary to hospitalize her again. She only returned to Graça's home inside the coffin, for the funeral, for her funeral. Yes, Grace was inconsolable...she was alone now. At first, she thought of returning to her hometown, where she had friends, where her roots were planted. But, after the shock of the loss had passed, she decided that she should continue running her business, which was growing day by day. And that's what he did. She was an excellent seamstress, and she also had good taste in the designs she made. In a short time she needed to hire assistants and soon she was serving the cream of society... after all, the models she made were beautiful and... exclusive. Grace never sold two models of dress that were even similar. And this was extremely important for the ladies who sought it out, as exclusivity was a sign of status...

Time went by and there went three years since her mother departed from that plan. The pain of loss was no longer so intense. Many times she had to make an effort to remember her mother's face or voice... little by little the image of her was fading from her memory... but, suddenly, she began to think of her two mischievous friends there in the mountain region... and I kept thinking about what they were doing...

That night she had a strange dream... shortly after lying down to sleep she felt herself walking through the downtown streets, as if she were going to the tram stop that would take her home. Suddenly, just like that, she found herself walking through a green meadow. It felt like spring, as the flowers had bloomed. And she continued her walk, admiring the landscape around her. At first, she didn't notice anything strange about the situation, but suddenly she was dressed like she used to be on adventures... ranch pants, long boots, a plaid blouse, a scarf tied around her neck, a hat... and a belt full of bullets. , with two revolvers in holsters. In her left hand, a whip, as she used to carry it when she ventured through the woods in search of fugitives to deliver to justice...

It had been a long time since Graça walked through the grass that seemed to have no end... it was like an immense sea. The sun was shining in the sky, but its heat was very mild... it wasn't that scorching heat, typical of summer... although it wasn't summer... or was it? Damn…now she was confused. Anyway, she continued to walk straight ahead. After some time she noticed two silhouettes, one on each side on the horizon... and all walking towards the same point. She didn't feel any kind of trepidation for the approaching figures, so she continued to advance with the same step as before... after some time, she seemed to recognize the approaching figures... she didn't want to believe it at first... but, yes... you were her friends from the countryside... Maria Isabel and Rosa... and they were both dressed the same as her... what could be going on ?

When she woke up, Grace was thoughtful. After all, it had been a long time since she had heard from her friends. And now... that feeling that they were together again was strange... why would she have this dream? That's right, she missed them... but... well, she had to get up and get ready to go to her shop. The thunder rumbled outside, and the rain fell copiously. It would certainly have problems getting to the city, because while the rain continued, the trams would not be able to cover the stretch... well, what can you do, right? Thankfully, she didn't have any urgent orders to deliver.... at least her employees would get unscheduled time off... but they deserved it, as they gave blood during normal working hours... Yes, Graça was demanding with its collaborators. But they didn't complain, because the boss knew how to reward the dedication of her employees...

When the rain eased up a bit, Graça took to the street. The mud almost prevented her from walking. But she resolved that she would go downtown anyway, if only to get there and back. She just didn't know how she was going to do it, since tram trips were still suspended... if she could go by boat... but it wasn't possible, so the thing was to conform...