WALKÜREN - THE THREE MARIES Chapter Thirty-Three

 WALKÜREN - THE THREE MARIES

Chapter Thirty-Three

Another day dawned in Espírito Santo do Pinhal. The summer sun was beating down on the city, even with all the forest around it. It was just over noon and people were already looking for shade to protect themselves from the sun's rays. Well, who could afford it, of course. The people who worked on the farm had to continue their work. Although working the land in that sun wasn't exactly a good idea. But the crops needed care. And the comrades needed money...

Juvêncio did not act any differently than other citizens. He also protected himself from the sun... that was a day to ride in the morning or late afternoon... during the day, it really proved impossible... to ride in that heat was to punish your mount unnecessarily...

Lying in a hammock, enjoying the breeze that blew through the leaves of the trees... although this breeze came with a swelter... Juvêncio was ruminating on the conversation he had had with Torquato the day before.

After much thought, Juvêncio came to the conclusion that, as soon as the weather cooled down a bit, he would go to the police station to talk to Doctor Santana... if he was lucky, he would talk to Doctor Carneiro, too. It was important to take the pulse of the citizens of Pinhal, and what better way to do this than by talking to two of the city's greatest exponents? It is certain that none of them would represent the farmer caste. But representation was already good. After all, both Santana and Carneiro were two very respectable people in the region...

Juvêncio was almost dozing off...

- But you really are calm, aren't you?!!

Juvêncio opened his eyes and almost jumped out of the hammock... it was Matilde, the Director of the city's school... as they had agreed that, if the director remembered any interesting story, she would look for him, that's what she did...

Our hero composed himself, got up from the hammock that was hanging under the shade of the pine trees, put on his boots and was ready to talk. Matilde was amused by the delegate's embarrassment. She soon invited him to enter the guesthouse, where the atmosphere would undoubtedly be cooler... after all, a pitcher of fresh lemonade was already waiting for them both, along with some honey buns...

Juvêncio helped the teacher to sit at the table... she was enchanted by our hero's kindness... and before taking his seat, he served her lemonade and rolls...

- You said you would like to know a little about our beautiful city... well, I remembered some stories that I believe you would love to hear...

- And it's about...?

- Let's say it's about the founding of the city...

- Is there anything special in the story?

- Well, like all cities, shootings and ambushes were normal... after all, everyone owned it and it was no man's land...

- Like this?

- Well, this entire region was originally a Sesmaria...

- I know... I believe that all of Brazil was divided into Sesmarias...

- Yes... This was Fazenda do Pinhal, owned by Mr. Romualdo, there in Santa Cruz das Palmeiras...

- But wasn't it a family from Mogi das Cruzes that founded the town?

- Yes and no... yes, Mr. Romualdo came from Mogi... and then began to explore these lands.

- But did he come from Santa Cruz or Mogi?

-He was born in Mogi. Then, in the wanderings of life, he ended up in Santa Cruz... and started investing in agriculture. Of course, to do so, he came into conflict with the Indians who lived in this region, and ended up expelling them from here...

- Then the city developed...

- No. Other squatters came. And life in the region got a little busy. Shots everywhere. There came a time when Mr. Romualdo got tired of that life and, together with his wife, Dona Teresa, they donated 40 bushels of land... which was being disputed by the squatters... to form the Divino Espírito Santo estate. .now it was Church land, so the disputes had to stop... then, in 1860, the city of Pinhal was officially born, later officially named Espírito Santo do Pinhal...

- Wow... so this city is still young...

- Like most interior cities...

- But where is the story that might interest me?

- At the founding of the city. As I said, the farmers came into conflict with the original residents of the region. And they gradually expelled the people. And that's when the almost headless dead began to appear...

- Whites or Indians?

- That's the strange part... the dead were on both sides... in fact, three, since some slaves died the same way.

- And they never found out who caused the death?

- I only discovered one name... Anhangá...

- The devil of buggy beliefs?

- That's the same...

Juvêncio sighed deeply... well, history showed that the murders that were giving him such a headache were already an old fact... but the mystery continued... who had invoked the hidden forces? An Indian, black or white sorcerer?

- Do you know what is most interesting about this story?

- No what?

- It's just that, according to bugre legend, from time to time Anhangá comes to the land of men to satisfy his hunger for blood...

- Serious? How did you find out about this, Matilde?

- Actually, I remembered some stories that an old buggie told the kids...

- An old buggy?

- Yes... she lived in the village, she was married to a mestizo. I don't remember her name, she died a long time ago. And her husband and children left the region.

- And what was that story like?

- Look, in short... from time to time Anhangá charges men a tribute for taking care of the region's flora and fauna. He comes, hunts for three moons, then goes away to his world. And only when the time of tribute arrives, he returns to satisfy his hunger again....

- Three moons... so it's still tribute time...

- That's right... if my accounts are right, next week the attacks will start again...

Juvêncio felt uncomfortable with Matilde's story. If she was right... and she probably was... there was no human intervention related to the beast's attacks. And then things would get a little more complicated... after all, if the attacks were the work of some mystical entity, there would be no point in looking for clues among the various sorcerers spread across the region... a new plan of action would have to be initiated. And that would include starting to listen to the stories that the ancients had to tell. Because the key to solving the problem would be hidden in some of those stories told by the stove and forgotten the next day...