WALKÜREN - THE THREE MARIES Chapter Thirty-Two

 WALKÜREN - THE THREE MARIES

Chapter Thirty-Two

Night was falling when Juvêncio returned to the center of the village. He was close to the guesthouse where he was staying when he saw Torquato a little ahead of him. He thought about speeding up Tornado's march, but realized that, like him, Torquato was also heading towards the stable. "very good", thought Juvêncio... "we'll be able to talk a little..."

It didn't take long and the two dismounted, practically together. They handed the reins of the animals to the groom. To encourage him to take good care of his animal, Juvêncio gave him a silver coin. And as soon as he reached the street, in the company of Torquato, he decided to talk to him. It would be interesting to update yourself on the beliefs of the people in the region. As it was already dinner time, he asked the deputy's assistant if he would like to join him for the meal. Torquato didn't think twice, he was hungry and without a doubt the food at the pension was appetizing. And there the two of them went, talking about everything and nothing...

- Torquato, explain to me how Tupã interferes in men's lives...

It was Juvêncio who, between one bite and another, was learning about the stories of the backlands. He knew that each being was personified in a different way in each region they were in... so he wanted to know how these forest gods were seen there...

- Tupã is the lord of all life! He is the god of thunder... it was he who created man and woman and gave us life!

- I know... and would he punish humanity? If she did something bad?

- Would you punish your child if he did something bad? Tupã is our father... of course he would punish us. So that we could learn how far we can go...

- And who else is in heaven, watching over us?

- There's Iara, a really pretty girl...

- Yara?

- The water mother...

- And what does she do?

-They say that, when the situation is untenable, she chooses her champions to fight for her people...

- I see... and how does she appear?

- Usually in dreams...

- Like this?

- When someone brave stops near the river, she puts him to sleep and appears in his dreams.

Juvêncio was speechless for a few seconds. Then he had a vision of the water mother....

- And... what kind of situation causes it to appear?

- Normally, when there is magic involved...

- Against the Indians?

- Iara is the mother of all men... she makes no distinction between people....

The hope that Juvêncio could cross the aborigines off his list of suspects was instantly extinguished. After all, Torquato's words were very clear... the "people" of the mother of water were all of humanity... and whoever was attacking them should be stopped, whether white, black or Indian... he continued at square one.

- Have you ever dreamed about Iara, Torquato?

- She only appears to her chosen ones, delegate. Like I said, she chooses her champions. And only those are given the privilege of seeing her beautiful face.

- I saw her today...

Torquato remained silent for a few moments, as if digesting Juvêncio's words. Then, he resumed speaking...

- I was already expecting something like that.

- Why?

- You came to our city to help us. Iara must have seen that her heart is sincere and she chose him to fight for her people...

- Who would be who?

- I don't know, doctor...

- I still don't know who... or what I'm going to fight against...

- Don't worry... the Mother of Water usually helps her chosen ones...

Juvêncio remained silent, trying to understand the situation that would open up in front of him. Well, one thing was certain... magic was responsible for everything that was happening in the region. After all, divine intervention only occurs when the balance between our world and the spiritual world is being threatened. Not by the entities on the other side, as they cannot overcome the mystical barriers that separate the two worlds... but by some people who, because they think they know everything about the various existing worlds, end up releasing forces that should never be awakened. ... From what little Juvêncio had understood so far, the forces at work in the county came from the lower seventh circle, which was equivalent to saying that some unwary person had thrown open the doors of Hell... fortunately, it seemed, the upper seventh circle had come to your aid. Now it was time to trust and act. Alone, I was sure I wouldn't be able to handle it... I'd be like a dog, chasing its own tail... well, things happen when they have to, don't they?

Finishing the meal, Juvêncio drank a mug of very strong coffee, which was served to him. Torquato preferred a dose of cachaça, "to digest", as he explained to his partner. As it was still too early to go to bed, Juvêncio decided to walk a little around the main square and continue the conversation with the deputy's assistant. He was learning about news that would be useful during his hunt for the entity that was roaming the region. He asked his partner what relationships were like between people in the city, and his response was that it was like other places... everyone got along well, whites, blacks, Indians... but did they really get along? Yes... the games existed, but no one cared much about them. Prejudice was greater as the citizen's social class rose... but the lower class didn't care if the person next to them was white, black or blue... after all, for the bosses, they were all the same thing ...

Juvêncio liked to know local stories, as they always brought to light details that would otherwise never be noticed. And while they smoked a straw cigarette, our hero paid attention to the stories told by his friend. He became interested in the story of a girl who had been murdered by a former slave...she was the daughter of one of the largest farmers in the region. In the case in question, the girl's death was motivated by revenge, because shortly before the official liberation of the slaves, she ordered her foreman to torture a kitchen slave for some reason that was never fully explained... what mattered in this story is that the slave was the sister of the lady's future murderer, who, although she was very beautiful, was cruel in the same way... of course the girl's father caught her murderer... but wouldn't the tip of the thread be there? ? It was something to think about...