WALKÜREN - THE THREE MARIES Chapter Twenty-Four

 

WALKÜREN - THE THREE MARIES

Chapter Twenty-Four

Juvêncio's concern about the possibility of a feeling of revenge on the part of the freedmen made sense... after all, it had only been twelve years since slavery was abolished in the country. And, of course, sorrows don't disappear overnight. Of course, there were masters who maintained good relations with their captives, but in some places things weren't like that... and Juvêncio didn't forget Nhô Quindim's reaction, when he saw the claw in his hands... it seemed like he had seen the devil himself... he recognized the artifact and showed terror. Too bad there was no way to convince him to talk more about his fears....

He was in Dona Matilde's office. They talked about the post-slavery period. As the director explained to him, the city freed all of its captives almost a month before the Imperial Law was signed. And long before that, some farmers were already granting freedom to their captives. Many remained in the same location, but were paid for their services. Others simply lost themselves in the world, searching for meaning in their lives... they wanted to find the freedom they dreamed of, without realizing that freedom was a state of mind... and as they were unable to visualize this, they remained trapped. in the soul...

In fact, the only thing different that happened during the advent of the abolition of slavery in the city was the mass adherence of a group of the local elite to the idea of proclaiming the Republic. It is true that there were already several republicans in the region, just as it is true that the release of the captives was only possible because there came a time when maintaining this social sphere became unfeasible... yes, the slaves were not freed by "a gesture of kindness" from their masters. In the end, it was more convenient for farmers to pay for the service and have this work done without sabotage, which is very common on most farms. And this ended up denoting the need for less labor... the work that three, four slaves would do when forced by the overseer, only one freedman could do, thinking about the remuneration he would receive at the weekend...

There was no surprise in the city when, eleven years ago, news arrived of the proclamation of the republic and the deposition of the royal family. In fact, such a gesture was expected. When it became known that the imperial family had been expelled from the country, no one cared much about the fact. It was a turning page in history... and that was all that mattered...

After spending the whole morning in Dona Matilde's office, and feeling that it was time to fill her stomach, she invited the director to accompany him to the guesthouse for lunch. Unlike the previous night, the girl accepted immediately. And so they walked through the streets of the city, talking animatedly about various topics... yes, Juvêncio nudged his companion in every way, in the hope that, without meaning to, Matilde would provide him with a light that would illuminate the dark path he was following. As nothing strange had apparently occurred in the region after the abolition of slaves and the proclamation of the republic, he began to ask questions about the city's founding. After all, it was a relatively new parish.... the city would celebrate half a century of existence in just six years...

The dish of the day was turned over... no problem, said Matilde. Although it wasn't her favorite dish, she liked this type of food. Juvêncio was used to it, after all, when he met an entourage, this was the main dish.... it consisted of rice, beans mixed with corn flour, bacon, fried egg, pork rinds, sausage, cabbage, banana and pork chop. The good smell of the food awakened the customers' appetite. When their request arrived, they were talking about the disputes that gave rise to the city. It could even be said that the founder of the city was Romualdo de Souza Brito, the first explorer to put down roots in the region. Coming from Mogi das Cruzes, he saw that piece of land as an opportunity to grow and bring prosperity to his family. And so he did. But of course he was unlikely to live in peace on the chosen piece of land, as others also claimed ownership of the land. The biggest problem was that the land had another owner, Mr. Floriano Pires Cardoso, who had purchased Fazenda dos Pinhais from its former owner, in Mogi-Guaçu... and this was well before Romualdo's arrival... Of course, Floriano did not accept very well the invasion of his property, and from then on, a battle for possession of the region began...

So Juvêncio decided to go a little deeper... that region was the path for the bandeirantes, right? Matilde nodded silently. And our friend asked her if she had ever heard any story... any story... that she could tell him... but not ordinary things... anything fantastic... any local legend... any story supernatural over the region. The girl remained silent for a few moments, thoughtful. She tried to remember the stories her grandfather told her when she was still a child. Then, she finally remembered. Matilde explained to her companion that, a long time ago... not so long ago... the bandeirantes actually crossed those parts towards Goiás, looking for gold. It was the most obvious route... they came from the region of Santo Amaro, close to São Paulo, Jaguari, Casa Branca, crossed the Rio Grande and entered the backlands of Goiás... normally there were no problems with this route. But, according to his grandfather, after decimating a village of buggies who didn't take kindly to those outsiders invading their land, some strange things began to happen. There were several descendants of Indians among the group of adventurers, and they began to say that Anhangá was avenging the dead they left behind...

Of course, this was a story Juvêncio would like to hear. But Matilde was in a hurry, she had to return to school. They agreed that on another occasion she would tell everything, just as she had heard from her grandfather. But not at that moment. Duty called her... and she had been away from her post for a long time... a school had to be managed with an iron fist, or everything could go wrong. And the parents of her students could easily dismiss her, if she didn't keep everything in accordance with the current norms of society... and the two walked again, this time towards the school... but Juvêncio would only accompany her until the gate of the educational establishment. After all, she had a lot to take care of in the afternoon. Many of the problems that she could have solved in the morning were postponed, so that she could pay attention to the deputy. Yes, she sympathized with Juvêncio...