Chronicles of an Endless Time E-Book

Elilde Browning

• Herausgeber: Editora Appris
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 511

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Chronicles of an Endless Time is a book about life in its broadest aspects. These are real stories lived by all of us, based on achievements, encounters, mismatches, love, hate, frustrations, conflicts and everything else that involves life. The development of some stories and their surprising end will lead the readers to take the place of some characters and analyze the facts seeking a plausible explanation. Dreams and ambitions depicted in some stories will be worthy of close examination due to their unexpected outcome. Although they were set at different times, it is clear that the human essence is the same regarding living and feeling, no matter when or where they took place. Chronicles of an Endless Time also tells stories that go beyond our borders and are set in other countries, revealing interesting facts about other cultures, but describing feelings that are shared by anyone and anywhere in the world. After reading each story, you will be astonished and you will certainly be encouraged to reflect upon life. I hope that these stories will bring inspiring examples to your daily life and reassure your soul!

Leseprobe

Editora Appris Ltda.

1.ª Edição - Copyright© 2021 da autora

Direitos de Edição Reservados à Editora Appris Ltda.

Nenhuma parte desta obra poderá ser utilizada indevidamente, sem estar de acordo com a Lei nº 9.610/98. Se incorreções forem encontradas, serão de exclusiva responsabilidade de seus organizadores. Foi realizado o Depósito Legal na Fundação Biblioteca Nacional, de acordo com as Leis nos 10.994, de 14/12/2004, e 12.192, de 14/01/2010.

Catalogação na Fonte

Elaborado por: Josefina A. S. Guedes

Bibliotecária CRB 9/870

B885c

2021

Browning, Elilde 

 Chronicles of an endless time [Recurso eletrônico] / Elilde Browning. - 1. ed. - Curitiba : Appris, 2021.

1 arquivo. - (Coleção geral).

Inclui bibliografias

ISBN 9786525013015

1. Ficção brasileira. I. Título. II. Série. 

CDD – 294

Livro de acordo com a normalização técnica da ABNT.

Editora e Livraria Appris Ltda.

Av. Manoel Ribas, 2265 – Mercês

Curitiba/PR – CEP: 80810-002

Tel: [phone] | (41) 3030-4570http://www.editoraappris.com.br/

FICHA TÉCNICA

EDITORIAL

Augusto V. de A. Coelho

Marli Caetano

Sara C. de Andrade Coelho

COMITÊ EDITORIAL

Andréa Barbosa Gouveia (UFPR)

Jacques de Lima Ferreira (UP)

Marilda Aparecida Behrens (PUCPR)

Ana El Achkar (UNIVERSO/RJ)

Conrado Moreira Mendes (PUC-MG)

Eliete Correia dos Santos (UEPB)

Fabiano Santos (UERJ/IESP)

Francinete Fernandes de Sousa (UEPB)

Francisco Carlos Duarte (PUCPR)

Francisco de Assis (Fiam-Faam, SP, Brasil)

Juliana Reichert Assunção Tonelli (UEL)

Maria Aparecida Barbosa (USP)

Maria Helena Zamora (PUC-Rio)

Maria Margarida de Andrade (Umack)

Roque Ismael da Costa Güllich (UFFS)

Toni Reis (UFPR)

Valdomiro de Oliveira (UFPR)

Valério Brusamolin (IFPR)

EDITORAÇÃO

Jhonny Alves dos Reis

ASSESSORIA EDITORIAL

Renata Miccelli

DIAGRAMAÇÃO

Bruno Ferreira Nascimento

 CAPA

Eneo Lage

REVISÃO

Andrea Bassoto Gatto

GERÊNCIA DE FINANÇAS

Selma Maria Fernandes do Valle 

COMUNICAÇÃO

Carlos Eduardo Pereira

Débora Nazário

Karla Pipolo Olegário

LIVRARIAS E EVENTOS

Estevão Misael

CONVERSÃO PARA E-PUB

Carlos Eduardo H. Pereira

Translator and Proofreader

Lúcia Ely Paiva

English and Portuguese teacher and Portuguese teacher for foreigners with a degree in English Language and Literature and in Portuguese Language and Literature from the Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Translator with the Certificate of Proficiency English – Translation from Cambridge University. She works on translations, proofreading and academic writing, such as PhD theses, MA, MS and MBA dissertations, academic articles, documents and reports.

As an expression of my eternal gratitude, I dedicate this book to my great friend Prof. Dr. Marcelo Maia Cirino, his wife, Adriana Aparecida de Oliveira Godoi Cirino, and their children, Felipe and Giovana Godoi Cirino.

I love them and I will love them forever.

Acknowledgments

I am deeply grateful to my son Paulo Cesar Duarte Costa, my daughter-in-law Martha Costa and my grandchildren Christopher, Stephanie, Jonathan and André Costa, for supporting me to go along this path and to make one more dream come true.

I will be eternally thankful to them. I love them!

Chronicles of an Endless Time are stories based on real facts that took place at different times.

Preface

What is there in common between a doctor from Bahia and a housewife from Florida, between a priest from the countryside and a teacher from the capital city? Well, if you want to find it out, dear reader, you will have to dive into the stories told in this book. The author’s close look at these characters is the element that weaves the threads of the arguments, the scenic descriptions and the identification of their physique du rôle. It is a perfect combination of storytelling and a promise of delight, very well stitched page after page.

Writing the preface to these short stories was a remarkable experience that aroused overwhelming emotions in my soul. In addition to introducing the reader to this universe of stories, inspired by real and astonishing facts, I felt as if I was traveling through the narrative, unraveling the author’s soul, sharing every bit of her sensations.

Going along the characters’ path, recognizing in them common people who are part of our lives, who are very close and familiar to us, I identified with them, with their achievements, desires, failures and pains. Dear reader, imagine how challenging it is to masterfully tell stories about the meeting of people who loved, hated, admired, envied each other, who came into conflict or fought against each other but who eventually turned out to be as human as we are.

Have you imagined that? We suggest that you should check it out up to the last line of this book. And pay close attention to the accurate descriptions of the countryside customs, habits and traditions in Brazil - a huge country full of differences. The short stories depict a universe of different social levels and they deal with their characteristic ways of living and their unexpected twists in life while they highlight inequality and unfairness. By introducing striking characters and their conflicts, they also portray Brazilian reality in an authentic lesson about our country. And it is not just that! There are also stories about foreign people who were part of the author’s universe and held her soul hostage for a long time. As you know, time makes us erase the difficult parts of life and just remember the good things. And, on top of that, upgrade them!! But to tell about real life, stories of truth, heart and judgment, nothing is better than chronicles of an endless time...

Prof. Dr. Marcelo Maia Cirino

Assistant Professor – Chemistry Department

Londrina State University (UEL)

August 23, 2018

Presentation

Chronicles of an Endless Time is a book consisting of fourteen stories which depict human beings and their different nuances of behavior.

The stories portray the characters’ daily life and its inherent aspects such as: betrayals, suffering, mismatches, reunions, dreams, tolerance, resignation, hope, phobias and others.

Most characters have the right to make choices whereas others are manipulated by wicked minds leading their lives into unprecedented chaos.

Imagine that you are sailing on a river towards the ocean that you will certainly reach one day. But suddenly you fall into a precipice where death welcomes you with open arms.

There are still those paths that we imagined being covered with flowers and full of happiness; however, they were only coated with false appearances.

Power, sex and money are evident topics in most stories because the world revolves around these situations, sometimes not allowing us to make our own choices.

There are detours on the path that we have confidently taken, but they might lead us to outcomes that we have not thought would exist.

Dreams are prevailing themes in the stories and they will only be achieved by means of strong inner strength that will lead the characters to overcome all the obstacles encountered in their life course. They do not arrive free of charge. And sometimes the price is very high and only the brave and the fearless will be able to make such investment.

And there are surprises. They arise when they are least expected. Sometimes we refuse to believe that they have stepped out of their comfort zone and landed in our lives. We welcome them joyfully when they emerge because their merit transcends our reason.

Cruelty visits some characters. It is brought about by individuals who are not believed to be able to act so mercilessly. Human weaknessesshow up, allowing them to act this way or that. This happens when pleasure prevails upon reason and ethics, although they should coexist with their actions.

We are born, we live and we have good and bad experiences. However, at a certain stage of our life course, we have the impression there is a hiatus. However, this void will end up in a reunion many years later. The empty period that seemed not to exist was lived by another person who, now reunited, will experience a new life of great pleasure in a superior dimension of happiness. These are the mysteries that prevent us from understanding such events consciously.

Technology appears as a great solution for humanity, despite some obstacles that will eventually be overcome. Men manage to get everything that they want because the evolution of “homo sapiens” is unlimited.

The forces of the world are also focused on in this book because, as long as there are human beings on Earth, these situations will be part of our lives.

All these stories took place at different times, and each of them portrays the environment and customs of those moments; however, we are aware that the current transformations have only changed concepts and names.

Living is to observe the world and people’s behavior and then draw conclusions. Even in the most difficult situations in life there is always something to learn. Our experiences come from what we live and from what the world offers us at every moment. Everyone is supposed to be able to choose their path, but others sometimes choose our path for us, not giving us a chance to change our life course. Therefore, open your eyes wide, set your goals and follow them firmly and determinedly. The fight will not be easy and the climb will be very steep; however, when you reach the summit, you will realize that the view around you is magnificent and you will certainly have the chance to fly confidently on your powerful wings, which have been built from material of excellent quality. Have a nice trip!

Summary

1

OTAVIANO ANDRADETHE END OF A TORMENTED LIFE 15

2

EDITE MARON A TRAGIC EXISTENCE 33

3

VALDETE DE SOUZATHE WANDERING WIFE 55

4

LAURINDA NUNESMISMATCHES IN LIFE 75

5

LOURDES VIEIRATHE WOMAN WHO WAS INSULTED 105

6

ANTHONY SMITHA CALCULATED DECISION 121

7

CECÍLIA OLIVEIRA MARTINELLIA HEAVY BURDEN 147

8

OSVALDO PEREIRA GOMESTRAGIC NEWS 157

9

PADRE SALUSTIANO NESTOR PASSOSMEMORIES OF A CONFESSIONAL 195

10

THE MARTINEZ FAMILYTHE AMERICAN DREAM 207

11

DIGITAL AGEA FASCINATING WORLD 225

12

KLEBER DA SILVA AND JULIA DO NASCIMENTOCHILDHOOD MEMORIES 233

13

CHILDRENWHY AND WHAT FOR? 247

14

THE WORLD FORCESNATURE, POWER, MONEY AND SEX 259

NATURE 259

POWER AND MONEY 262

SEX 264

TRIBUTE 267

Note 268

About the writer 269

1

OTAVIANO ANDRADETHE END OF A TORMENTED LIFE

People walked around carrying their own problems and joys or any other feelings that were present in their souls.

They were indifferent to that pile of dirty clothes, paper and some other objects of personal use next to a wall that got dirty and run-down throughout time.

However, putrid stench emanated from those belongings. Feeling extremely uncomfortable and out of curiosity, someone might have decided to check what was in there by sorting through a blanket. The surprise was terrifying. There was a dead man. He might have died a few days before because of the advanced state of decomposition in which the body was.

The police were called. They came and took the necessary measures.

Otaviano Andrade had been abandoned by life and fortune.

One morning he left home to go to work. On the way to work he witnessed an accident. A car hit an eight-year-old child. As he was a doctor, he applied first aid to the victim at the scene of the accident.

The child was taken to hospital in an ambulance and he followed it because he had witnessed the accident and out of curiosity he wanted to know who the child was.

Her name was Mariana Wood, the daughter of an American couple who lived in that city. Some hours later, the family arrived at the hospital. Dr. Otaviano Andrade reported on what had happened and what steps he had taken just after the accident. They introduced themselves and talked. On that particular day the doctor’s life took a path that would have been unpredictable to imagine until that moment.

The child recovered from her injuries. After the accident both families became friends. However, a lot of wounds were inflicted in their close relationship as time went by.

They used to get together at one another’s house. They celebrated all the important dates together and so they gradually formed one family.

Over time, they exchanged confidences and discovered affinities.

David Wood was a wandering American. He was from a small town in California where his ancestors had lived and where he had a house. According to him, if his adventures around the world did not work, they would go back to that place where he would spend his old age.

He had set up a soap factory in the capital city of Bahia and his business went quite well.

However, his daughter’s car accident would change their lives.

Altamira Andrade, Dr. Otaviano’s wife, was a beautiful, charming and delightful woman. She was powerfully attractive to men because of her sensuality, which was gracefully expressed through her behavior. She was also very intelligent with very cultivated manners. The world knelt at her and she was aware of her power.

It was David’s birthday. As Altamira was very good at cooking and she was able to make really delicious dishes, she was in charge of preparing the food for the party.

The guests were all gathered in the garden around the pool. She was in the kitchen finishing preparing the food that would be served at the party. David sneaked through the trees in the garden and, without anyone noticing, he got into the kitchen and at a burst of passion he hugged and kissed her frantically. She responded positively and kissed him back. Their body and soul met for the first time. From that moment on they were aware of the sexual appeal that existed between them. It was just the beginning of an irresistible attraction that they could not fight back.

They joined the other guests outdoors. She felt the fire of his embrace and the taste of his kiss. He disguised it, but they looked at each other continuously. Feeling excited and euphoric, they were sure that other moments would come in the future.

Every day Otaviano worked as a responsible doctor and fulfilled all his tasks as a good husband and an affectionate father. In his viewpoint, his friendship with that American family was a normal situation and he thought they might be grateful for his help and support when he saved their daughter after that dangerous accident. But danger was looming over him and day by day it was being shaped and deeply rooted.

One night they were celebrating another birthday. Everyone was sitting at the table. Altamira had defined the guests’ place at the table so that she and David could sit opposite one another. Under the table their legs touched, rubbed against one another until at one point she reached ecstasy, causing an embarrassing situation during the meal. Thinking that she was not feeling well, her husband came to her and took her to their bedroom. Nothing abnormal was proven. Only she knew that her heart wanted to leave its usual place and meet that other heart that also went through the same trance.

Despite their volcanic feelings, they were discreet in their daily relationship. They played their role convincingly, and no one suspected the torments their souls were going through.

One day Altamira and David met at a supermarket by chance. That meeting was the last straw for a decision that led them to actually experience the intense feelings they could no longer endure. They talked for a few minutes which seemed endless and they arranged to meet at a hotel in a faraway neighborhood.

The days before their date were full of expectation and anxiety. They had never experienced such intense feelings before. They anticipated the great pleasure and delight ahead of them in an absolute lethal state.

Meanwhile, Dr. Otaviano focused on his daily obligations and his hobby - watercolor painting. He was born an artist. He had never learned painting techniques but his paintings revealed his sheer imagination.

Katty did not have the slightest idea of what was going on in her beloved husband’s mind and heart. Their scheduled routine was unchangeable. Each one did their everyday tasks as if they were playing a role on stage before a demanding audience. Everything was apparently perfect.

In their innocence, their children were unaware of all the conflicts that circulated in the air like invisible waves. As every day comes, their date also came and they met in a simple hotel. The thing that counts in life is what we think and want and not the scenario that surrounds us.

He arrived in a taxi before she did. She came later wearing disguises and trying to cover up her actions.

Discretion was imperative. Nobody should know about that unusual meeting. However, when fire burns sticks, there is smoke. They knew that there would be a lot of smoke coming from the fire that burned their bodies and souls. There will always be smoke to save us from the unbearable heat of fire. As the wind blows, it will move to the infinity or it will dissipate in dark layers spreading in different directions.

It is impossible to reason in such moments. The heart prevails over the reason and makes us indifferent to everything and to all the circumstances that surround us.

In that simple room of a cheap hotel, attraction and love joined in a mutual exchange of desire and expectation.

He hugged her and told her that since the first day he saw her, he had been living frenziedly. It was as if his thinking was in the eye of the hurricane blowing heavily through its course and devastating everything. Passion dominated his soul not allowing him to react to such a torment.

She also confessed that she loved him desperately and that on many occasions when they all got together, she wanted to shout at the top of her voice, “I love you. I’m crazy about you.”

She also said that in order not to go mad, she had locked her heart inside her safe at home, having forgotten the code and she had only taken her reasoning with her, wrapped up in transparent paper to be able to see it when it pleased her.

In a perfect symbiosis of the senses, heat and chemistry, they loved each other as they had never loved before. They lost track of time. It was getting dark.

When they were able to think sensibly again, they had to make up a good excuse for when they arrived at home.

Imagination and creativity worked together. He made up his mind and said, “Let’s call a taxi. When you get home, tell your husband that you got lost and you started wandering on the streets and couldn’t find your way. Your husband will think that you have gone crazy and he will certainly prescribe some medicine to you so that you can get better. And I will tell my wife that I went to visit some customers interested in purchasing some of our products. She won’t suspect anything, I’m sure.”

As no crime is perfect, theirs was not, either.

However, marks of those moments of love and passion were left on their skin and hair. The remnants and the smell of their sensual union impregnated their bodies, looks and attitudes. It was impossible to disguise.

Otaviano was really familiar with the behavior of a woman who had lived a vibrant love encounter although her imagination insisted on not fully assimilating those emotions. It was as if she had lived a dream and she was going to wake up suddenly. However, the situation was real and he pretended he had not noticed anything. He wanted to get rid of that idea that took hold of his soul.

The important thing was to discover the man who had damaged his life. It was certainly someone close to him.

His peaceful life had been destroyed.

But he should never show anyone his distrust. Not even to Altamira. “The enemy must never know that you know.”

And life went on without much commotion, and everyone went on pretending that everything was predictably normal.

When the fire of passion ignites bodies and souls, the burning smell outweighs emotional balance, fatally weakening reason. Intelligence subsides. Creativity arises because lovers need to continue experiencing those intense feelings.

Otaviano loved his wife and relied on her. She ensured that his life flowed smoothly. But enduring the love affair that his wife was living was driving him crazy. It seemed that he was living between two perfectly distinct sides: a present husband and a betrayed one. How to reconcile that conflicting situation? There might be a viable alternative.

At another birthday party at his house, he noticed something strange when David and Altamira exchanged looks. He was on the look-out. He refused to admit his suspicions. They had been friends for a long time and he had a brotherly relationship with the American. He could not believe that his friend was his wife’s lover. And he remembered the saying, “A false friend is worse than a wild animal; an animal can hurt your body, but a false friend will hurt your soul.”

Otaviano planned a trip. He told them that he would attend a medical congress in France and that he would be away for at least 15 days. On that occasion, they were all at his house and they all received the news naturally, except for the lovers. Looking at each other, they felt extremely joyful and excited within their hearts and they thought, “We will live these days with a lot of love and lust.” Happiness had finally arisen and they should make the most of his absence.

David had lived in France for some time. During that night he made a lot of recommendations to his friend on how to take advantage of the best things in that country such as amusements, shows and beautiful women that he would meet on different occasions.

Altamira showed no signs of jealousy of what her friend had said. In her mind she started to imagine what she would live with her lover on those days. That was what mattered.

When a woman meets her perfect male and a man meets his ideal female, they are able to abandon all the wealth in the world, all the well-being that their family can provide them with in order to experience the utmost emotions and feel special. They may even go through ridiculous situations; they cannot distinguish between right and wrong. It is worth living within this aura of absolute happiness.

Life has been and will always be like that. When we meet our soul mate, a perfect chemistry operates in our bodies culminating in the meeting of our souls. Madness will certainly guide us and one day we might conclude that, despite it all, it was worth living those moments of profound delight and pleasure. Everything ends up in death because life is not eternal. But eternal are the moments lived and enjoyed with the most intense emotion our hearts can experience.

The traumas and harm that usually affect common people will not be felt or assimilated by those in love because their world of enchantment is above any uncomfortable situations. They become insensitive to people who are suffering, they are not able to reflect upon their attitudes. They are living beyond reality within an unattainable context.

Everything - passport, tickets, accommodation - was arranged for Otaviano’s trip. While Altamira was packing up his luggage, she dreamed about what she would live with her lover while her husband was away. Her heart rejoiced, anticipating the emotions she had never experienced before. Her body shivered, anticipating the emotions that awaited her. She felt very light as if she was floating loosely in space, experiencing the infinite, going through planets, comets, stars, the moon, the sun. It looked as if all the humanity had vanished and just she and he were the only ones left on Earth.

However, while she was daydreaming, she did not remember that there were meteors and meteorites and their impact might be fatal. But it is worth dreaming. Dreaming means escaping reality and penetrating an ethereal and imaginary world.

Dreaming is taking absolute control of all our emotions.

Dreaming is walking through a non-existent world that only we know that it exists.

Dreaming is sailing without a boat or a rudder in a rough sea and being sure that there will eventually be still water.

Dreaming is envisioning paradise with all its welfare.

Dreaming is walking along a path and not noticing how hard it is.

Dreaming is longing for the impossible and being sure that it will be possible.

Dreaming is winning a battle against everyone else that has lethal weapons.

Dreaming is feeling powerful.

Dreaming is overcoming our problems and being sure that there is a solution to everything.

Dreaming is having a reverie that leads us to happiness.

Dreaming is being sure that love exists and that we can find it round the corner.

Dreaming is releasing imagination and experiencing unattainable situations.

Dreaming is having God in our lives.

Dreaming is creating a situation even before it comes true.

Dreaming is living, loving, hoping, enduring pain in our soul but knowing that it will not last forever.

Altamira had taken some measures regarding her son. She would send him to a Boy Scout camp for fifteen days. So she would be alone and could enjoy her lover’s company at her own house.

On the day of the trip Otaviano did not want anyone to see him off at the airport. He took a taxi and went away.

Soon after he had left, Altamira walked around the house as light as a ballerina, whirling through the space to the sound of music that left her delighted and happy. She checked all the details to make sure nothing would be missing. Those long-awaited days would surely culminate in sheer happiness that she had never experienced before. Yet she forgot that in life there are always other beings involved and that we might have unexpected surprises.

Nothing extraordinary happened on that day. She would make sure that Otaviano was on the other side of the continent after his plane landed in Paris. He promised to call as soon as he arrived there. And so he did.

Everything was positive. All circumstances converged to the success of their endeavor. Even the wind was blowing favorably. Nature made its contribution with an incredibly blue sky, a sunshine and warm weather that heated the Earth and their souls. The fire of passion was on duty, and passionate fire would burn when her lover arrived.

He came by taxi and got into her house through the back door. They had to be discreet. There were neighbors around. He was disguised as a gardener. She had been very careful and dismissed all her servants. In that environment there was only room for the two lovers. She thought everything was absolutely perfect.

As the saying goes, “The one who does not know is like the one who does not see.” Otaviano was very near, staying at a hotel under a false name. He did not go out that night. He waited for the sun to rise on the next morning to witness a really terrifying spectacle. He had been very patient and careful about his attitudes. As he had expected, his wife’s lover came during the day because at night he had to stay with his family.

Wearing some disguises, Otaviano took a taxi and headed for his home. The driver parked nearby, from where he could see people getting into or out of his house. And he stayed there and waited. In the middle of the morning, a taxi stopped in front of his house and a man got out. He was wearing shabby clothes, a hat and sunglasses. He was limping slowly with a cane. Before getting in through the back door, he looked around to make sure that no one had seen him.

On seeing that, Otaviano’s heart throbbed in his chest, leapt out of his body and fled so as not to witness such a shocking scene. Only his reason remained because he wanted to act consciously and overwhelmingly.

He remained calm, despite feeling his body terribly hot. After two hours his wife’s lover left his house. He returned to the hotel. Lying on an uncomfortable bed, he planned what he would do next. He was sure that David would come back on the following day or maybe even on that same day in the afternoon.

When two people are passionately involved, they do not want to set apart. He knew passion very well because he had lived such strong feeling years before. He was aware that another man had taken his place in his wife’s heart and body.

On the next day he went back to his house again. It was very early when he arrived and asked the driver to park the car at the same place. He had not been able to sleep the night before trying to come up with a sensible solution. There were children involved in this context and a wild reaction would result in deep traumas in their lives.

The more he tried to think up a possible solution, the more confused and puzzled he was.

Again his wife’s lover, who was his friend, returned to his home. He was wearing another disguise. He carried a huge bouquet of flowers and he knocked on the front door this time. When she opened the door, they kissed lightly on the cheek and he got in.

Without any strength to take action, Otaviano looked back on years before when a great friend of his, after seeing his paintings, helped him to make an exhibition in São Paulo. They spent a month together enjoying the city, sightseeing, having dinners and giving interviews in the media. He experienced a lot of love at the time.

After such recollection a question arose and he wondered, “If I was able to do that, why can’t she?” Perhaps the difference was that he did not love his friend but his wife loved that man passionately. For a man to have sex, it is enough to have a woman by his side and be attracted to her. Yet it is different for a woman. She surrenders driven by an uncontrollable emotion that can be called love. It is also known as carnal lust, desire, urge to reach the summit and to feel fantastic sensations while exchanging energy and pleasure.

He was emotionally affected when he remembered his friend’s tears at the airport in São Paulo when he told her that their affair was over. She wanted to go with him. It was impossible. He did not love her to share a life with her. He did not know anything about her past life.

He realized that getting to know a woman’s life, family and friends does not ensure a successful marriage. People change their behavior due to transformations in life. Dangers always surround them. Sometimes they are walking along a perfect path when suddenly they fall into a precipice that swallows them and leads them to physical and moral suffering.

It was imperative for him to take action. And so he did. He dismissed the taxi driver and walked towards his house. It was the longest and most difficult walk of his life. It lasted minutes but it seemed endless.

His body was shaking, his soul was tormented and his heart had not returned from the trip it had taken in order not to face such a dreadful ordeal. Only his stubborn reason accompanied him.

It was a two-storey house. They would certainly be on the upper storey, where one of the beds was available.

Altamira did not even realize that her husband had taken his key to the house. She just thought about the moments she would be living while he was away.

At the front door, he took a deep breath to be able to endure the scene he would witness. He unlocked the door very slowly and quietly so as not to scare them.

There was nothing unusual downstairs. Everything was in their due places. There were no different footprints on the steps upstairs. He went up step by step very steadily holding his breath.

As he approached the last steps, he heard groans of pleasure and the same words she used to say while they were having sex. Her lover roared with pleasure as he had never heard before. He stopped and waited. Despite everything, he should not interrupt that exchange of energy. And he quickly thought, “I also acted that way with my friend in Sao Paulo. Now, I am receiving in return what I deserve for being unfaithful.”

He sat on the last step and waited patiently for the end of what he had just heard. A long time after that scene, when he played that film again in his mind, he still wondered how he had managed to have so much control over his feelings while he was being openly betrayed.

He was likely to still love her despite that appalling situation. And she was also a human being who, in spite of being married, had the right to choose another partner for her life. When she met David, she might have stopped loving him. It was the awful truth that he had to face.

He stayed there motionless, waiting for the end of that scene of insatiable lust from the noise he could hear.

He felt no anger, hate, revenge or jealousy. He sadly thought how much he would miss her when she left his life.

The afternoon went by at a slow pace, not allowing dusk to approach. He was sure her lover would leave before nightfall.

When they opened the bedroom door, they saw him. When he saw them, he was unable to utter a single word. Words failed him. He was totally shocked. His body had no reaction. He was numb, defeated, devastated.

She approached him, knelt down and asked him for forgiveness; his friend begged him not to be killed. He heard their pleas, but he did not say a word. He went down the stairs and headed towards the garage. He started the car and drove away. Losing control of his emotions, he drove around the city totally insane.

At dawn, he was sitting on a beach, looking at the waves breaking on the sand. He felt lonely and helpless.

When we lose things and assets, we can get others; yet when we lose our beloved partner, life becomes meaningless. It would not be worth continuing living. His soul was completely empty. He was in absolute agony.

He had lost track of time. He was lost. He did not know his way home. The surroundings were blurred. He did not recognize the world around him and he could not understand why people walked back and forth incessantly.

Suddenly, a man recognized him and came to him. He started talking about his wife’s illness but he understood nothing. He just heard the sounds of someone talking nonsense. That man saved him at that moment. Realizing that there was something wrong with the doctor who used to take care of his family, he put him into his car and took him to hospital.

His colleagues did not know what had happened in his life in the past days. They were perplexed by his state of apathy and amnesia. Immediate measures were taken. One of them went to his house because nobody answered the phone. There was nobody there and the front door was slightly open. The police were called. When they arrived, the house was all messy, the furniture was overturned and some belongings were missing as if someone had burgled the house. After taking the initial legal measures, the police had to find the servants to find out what had happened there.

Otaviano had no relatives other than his wife and son. They had fled with his American friend to an unknown place.

The driver, the maid and the gardener were finally found and taken to the police station to be questioned.

They confessed to knowing nothing about that entangled situation. However, Mrs. Maria Albuquerque, the maid, said that her employer had paid her salary and dismissed her when she came to work on the next day. She had also dismissed the driver and the gardener. She told her that she was going to travel and did not know when she would come back.

In every event there is always a witness or a listener. Mrs. Albuquerque was both. She was Altamira’s confidant and knew the smallest details about her whole life, especially after they made friends with the American family because of their daughter’s accident.

The police questioned her for many hours. She told them everything she had seen, what she knew and she also voiced some conclusions her mind had drawn. For the police officers it was one more case of love and betrayal in an apparently well structured family. The involved characters would eventually show up as many others appear anywhere in the city or in the world every day.

In that case there was no violence or death. Otaviano’s pain and outrage were not tactile feelings, the crime evidence was kept in the depths of his wounded soul. The case was filed.

Meanwhile, Otaviano was in hospital under medical care. His colleagues made every effort to alleviate the anguish that dominated him. Very good procedures were performed by the best psychiatrist. He did not speak, he did not think and he seemed to be absorbed in a dark world with no right to return to reality.

David Wood took on the responsibility for taking care of Altamira and her son Gustavo. He lodged them in a hotel temporarily until other measures were taken.

The most difficult thing was to tell his wife and his teenage daughter that they had to go back to California and they had to make the necessary arrangements to leave.

He sincerely told them the truth. And he also added that he loved his lover and that under no circumstances would he abandon her.

Katty refused to understand or accept her husband’s decision and she said sarcastically, “This attitude of yours has been beneficial. Let’s get divorced and then you can live happily with her.”

He sold his business and they moved back to the United States. They left on different flights. David feared that his wife could react jealously during the flight and cause some embarrassment. We never know how a person can act when their inner self is injured. He did not want to take any chances.

Otaviano recovered from his apathy and he gradually went back to his patients and friends.

When he was alone at home, he remembered the moments of suffering he had lived. Drinking was the only way he had found to forget the unimaginable horrors he had heard and witnessed.

One day, talking to a friend, he told him about the hardship he had been going through. He added that his life was becoming unbearable. He said that he missed his ex-wife very much and he was sure he would never be happy again.

His friend gave him some advice on how to forget all his drama. He should gamble. It was a good way to have some fun and earn some money at the same time. If he was lucky enough, he could even become a millionaire.

He was eager to welcome any solution to distract him from the tragedy he was going through. He was hopeful that a new leisure activity would unveil a new horizon for his tormented soul. Unfortunately, he had no idea that when he got out of an afflicted situation, he would get into a much worse one.

While he was working in his office that day, he looked forward to playing cards for the first time that night. He hoped that such activity would free his soul from so much pain and he would eventually forget all his suffering.

He arrived at the gambling club and his friend introduced him to the other players. They drank champagne to celebrate the arrival of a new member who was bound to have a cruel fate and who would have no right to complain. He joined them of his own free will. He was over eighteen and he had to take the risks resulting from that decision. However, as Dr. Otaviano was very naïve, he had no idea how bitter, sordid and unpredictable the gambling world was.

He won an unexpected sum in the first games. He got really excited. And the same happened several other times. Greed soared. At his peak he heard applauses and he was sure that his life had changed for the best. At occasional lucid moments, he questioned his behavior. However, people cannot think sensibly when there is drinking, women and easy money involved. He also felt defeated. He had lost the woman he loved, his son and his balance. Nothing else mattered. He should take the new path ahead of him without questioning.

At the gambling club the drinks were of the best quality and they were served abundantly. Players were indulged in smoking Havana cigars imported from Cuba. There was also a wide range of delicious dishes prepared by the best chefs.

That lavish place was a paradise. On Saturdays there were shows with beautiful women who were available. The members could choose the ones that best pleased them and experience moments of sex and pleasure.

Such entertainment lasted all night. They left the place at dawn to hide at their houses or go to work.

Dr. Otaviano had lost all his mental or emotional balance and he could no longer work as a doctor. His patients went away and one day he decided to close his office.

Bewildered, without his family or his beliefs, he was misled to the edge of an abyss by false friends.

He still had money in his bank account, the result of his work and gambling.

While Otaviano was facing setbacks, Altamira was living days of great love in a civilized country and a different culture. Her life was full of surprises and enchantment. Her son was already part of a community that had welcomed him. The new language was part of their daily life.

David and Katty got divorced. David and Altamira got married in a simple ceremony before God and men. Her son Gustavo was present at their wedding and he was very happy.

Mrs. Albuquerque often received letters with fantastic news from her former employer. However, news from Brazil was not very good. She followed Octaviano’s trajectory closely and sent news about him to Altamira.

As she was absolutely joyful, it seemed impossible for her to sympathize with someone else’s suffering, even if that person had once been her husband. It was as if she observed strictly the proverb that goes, “It is just water under the bridge.”

It was known that Altamira had been loved by that man who had fallen into total and utter disgrace. He loved her so passionately that, even witnessing her having sex with her lover, he did not hurt her or uttered a single word of contempt. He decided to ignore that incident and continue living with his sharp pain.

We must take on responsibility for our own actions. As we have free will, we can direct our life as we please. When we are successful, we attribute success to luck. When we fail, we blame fate. This is typical of human beings and it will always be like that.

After winning a lot of money at the gambling club, Otaviano’s luck reversed and he started losing large sums of money until he had no more money in his bank account. He did not pay his bills or taxes any more. His majestic mansion was dilapidated and the rooms were very dirty and messy. When he got home one night, there was no energy. There had been a power cut because he had not paid the bill. His house was as dark as his soul.

He staggered through some rooms until he lay down on the couch and finally fell asleep. He woke up when the sun was rising. He looked in a mirror in the room and he saw a tormented aged man. He could not believe what he saw. He had been a successful doctor with an exemplary family. It was all over. He had no strength to start a new life. He had lost all his friends. He was alone and lonely in a world that does not forgive those who exceed the limits of their own pain. Everything seemed unrecognizable to him.

He then decided to gamble for the last time. He would go back to the gambling club, where he had had so much expectation before, in order to put an end to that tragic phase of his life and after that be able to have a fresh start.If he won, he would abandon everything, go away and try to live a different life. That was a moment of lucidity after being immersed in absolute chaos for so long, going from one catastrophe to another.

He got ready to go out. He took a cold shower because there was no heated water. He put on some clean clothes he luckily found and went away hoping for a change.

Sometimes decisions come too late. The abyss that surrounded him did not allow him to find a safe way out. But it was worth trying, mainly when there was a little spark of hope.

That night had special characteristics. All his friends waited for him to arrive. He was special. When he got drunk, he had no idea what cards he should put on the table and consequently he lost. And this was what happened that night. He lost all his money. He lost not only all the money he had won by gambling but also all the money he had in his bank account.

His house was the only asset left. In spite of the debts, his house was still valuable.

His friends knew the smallest details of his life, the properties he still had and the way he behaved and they were willing to get his last cent.

He gambled his house. It was all or nothing. If he won, he would get quite a lot of money, but if he lost, he would not even have a place to shelter.

When we gamble, we are not entitled to set back.

Unfortunately, Dr. Otaviano Andrade lost the last asset that he owned. From that night on he would be homeless.

He burst into tears which poured down his cheeks in heavy, thick drops. He cried tears of despair as he had never cried before. It was as if everybody had stopped crying and offered their tears to him.

He was a lone, defeated and unhappy man. They took him out of the club and left him on a sidewalk nearby. He had only his clothes on his body. He did not carry any documents with him.

He wandered the streets aimlessly, without friends, without family and without dignity.

At times, people passing by gave him some coins imagining that he was a sick beggar abandoned by life.

One day he stopped in front of his house. It was terribly cold and when the new owner of that place saw him, she took pity on him and gave him an old blanket as well as a dish, a mug and a spoon, all inside a bag, so that he could carry them easily wherever he went.

He had not had a shower in a long time, and he had to tend to his physiological needs anywhere outdoors. He had lost his decency. He no longer cared about anything.

He found a place far from public curiosity alongside a wall and he decided to live there.

His days ended in a painful and appalling way. His body was found before vultures had a feast.

Living is an art that surpasses our imagination.

Living happily is a privilege for just a few people.

Living wisely is a situation for those who know that life is not just a fantasy.

Living is to love life and your own self very much.

Living is to be humble.

Living is to make the most of what life has to offer and to know how to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Living is to believe in God.

Living is to be fully alert to everything that surrounds us.

Living is not to belittle human beings.

Living is to enjoy life and assimilate misfortunes as a natural thing to live.

Living is to go through wars and face them with courage and determination.

Living is to know how to give up some things that bother you day by day.

Living is to respect others and their decisions and always move on with your head upright to follow a new path.

Living is to be sure that tomorrow will bring solutions to problems that afflict us today.

Living is to be the master of our own destiny and to know that it might also cheat us.

Living is to be independent to make some decisions that only we know are the best for us.

Living is to trust but distrusting. Life is a stage where there are various actors but each one plays their own role.

Living is to base your life on your principles even if they are not shared by others.

Living is to love and be loved. However, when love undergoes changes, you should understand that life must go on.

Living is not to give up your goals.

Living is to be on the edge of a precipice and find wings to fly.

Living is not to care about people’s opinions about you. Every mind is a different world.

Living is not to surrender to others.

Living is to act ethically without causing any harm to others.

Living is ultimately to find happiness in our soul.

Elilde Browning

2

EDITE MARON A TRAGIC EXISTENCE

That wheelchair had been part of her life for over ten years. Next to her was a revolver with full load so as not to miss a single shot. She was waiting for the right moment to take action. She visualized the scene: one bullet would hit his head because everything had been planned there; another bullet would hit his genital organ so that it could not have sex again; the third one would hit his heart to exterminate any feelings that might still exist there.

That scene in front of her changed as the seasons changed. Sometimes everything was green and flowery but at other times the leaves were dully brownish yellow.

That is life. Mutations happen whether we like it or not. Nature sets an example and we should watch it and follow it so that our existence can take on these changes with resignation and awareness. But it does not always happen like that. When afflictions and joys arise, they change our behavior. And it is this unrecognizable world that we may often face.

This scene was rehearsed, assimilated, lived and experienced. There could be no mistake; however, if there was, the victim would be her and not him. As she had lived in such an uncomfortable and cruel way for a long time, her thoughts had been deadly and fatally poisoned. It was difficult to release such thick, heavy and condensed poison from her soul.

Everything had been planned in detail. She was just waiting for the opportunity to carry it out. Revenge would not yield to remorse. In spite of it all, she would experience a moment of happiness which had been stolen from her in the past.

Once a year he showed up at her house, but he did not approach her. He might intuitively suspect of her devilish plan. He talked to some servants, learned about what had happened while he was away and then he left as if he was carrying a heavy burden imposed upon him by his tyrannical attitudes. Human beings tend to show their apparent surface, which can be seen in the external world, but they keep their true self locked inside themselves. These are the hidden mysteries of life.

She was sure that she would be able to make her plan come true until the next year. But she had to find a way to attract him to her and she kept wondering how to do that.

No matter how long it would take her to make her dream - a good or bad one - come true. The important thing was to carry it out. She had all the time in the world to conceive it thoroughly so that it would reach a successful outcome.

She lived in an apartment on the second floor of a building opposite the largest hospital in the city. Sometimes she saw ambulances bringing injured people or people almost dying.

Bearing in mind such a scene, she wondered, “What is the difference between being alive or dead? The dead have their natural destiny. However, there are people who are half alive and half dead like me. I can only feel half of my body, I live in my body with a part which is still alive and one that is already dead. What is the point in living longer?” But she had a purpose. She had to endure her body until her great plan was performed. She aimed to kill the man who had once covered her with all the glory that a woman can long for and then destroyed her mercilessly.

She was fourteen when Dilermando Maron first saw her. It was a summer afternoon when the sun was setting before nightfall. Her mother worked as a washerwoman for his family. She helped her mother to carry their washed and ironed laundry on hangers or tied up in a sheet on her head.

Still being shaped, her body already anticipated that a beautiful woman would emerge. She was tall and had dark complexion, brown hair and eyes, prominent hips and long, shapely legs.

Their eyes met for a few seconds. Then he gazed at her insistently. Feeling quite embarrassed in her teenage ingenuity, she looked away.

When she left that huge house, she took that gaze with her. Nobody had looked at her so intently before. It was impossible to forget. She was so impressed that she started to make guesses at that family member. She wondered, “Why would a rich and refined man look at a simple girl who could barely read and write and was a washerwoman’s daughter?”

But miracles exist and they may happen to anyone at any time.

Dilermando also kept the image of that girl in his mind. He stripped her off in his thoughts and concluded that in a few years she would be a beautiful woman. She just needed some refinement such as body care, make-up and better clothes.

He asked his family members her name and her address. Then he went to look for her. She was called Edite da Silva and she lived in a district on the outskirts of the city. She had seven brothers and sisters and they all lived in a humble and uncomfortable house. He decided not to do anything at that point. He started to follow her footsteps to find out more about her.

After watching her for some time, he realized that she was a serious, hard-working girl who fulfilled all her tasks with responsibility. He often saw her going to or coming back from school, carrying a bag that might contain her books and notebooks. One day he approached her and offered to help her. She refused politely. When she looked at him, she realized he was her mother’s employer’s son.

He watched her and followed her everywhere for a long time. When she went to his house to work, he was there waiting for her. He looked at her, checked her demeanor of a poor girl and kept imagining how he would be able to enhance her appearance remarkably. She and her brothers and sisters did not share the same physical characteristics. It was evident that they had different fathers. Their mother, Mrs. Ambrosina da Silva, was a responsible woman and a caring mother. As she had had so many children, she looked much older than she really was. Edite would certainly have the same destiny as her mother.

He would save her from that dreadful misfortune. He was willing to give her other opportunities to make her life different and also to enjoy all the pleasure that her immaculate body would provide him with.

Marlene Fonseca had been his girlfriend for over a year. She was a beautiful and rich girl. Their families planned a sumptuous wedding for them and hoped they would have a lot of children in the future.

However, Dilermando was diverting from the path he was supposed to take. And he thought, “Direction is more important than speed”. He was not in a hurry either to get married to his girlfriend or to approach Edite. Everything should be thoroughly calculated and planned so that he could eventually meet his target. No one in his family should be suspicious of his plans. Everything should be secretly kept in his mind.

The peace of his soul had been stolen by that young girl. Since then he had been focusing on the crazy plans he had come up with. His girlfriend suspected that there was something unusual. They no longer behaved as boyfriend and girlfriend and they barely kissed each other.

When a man is in love with a woman who is not available to him at all, he faces a devastating challenge coming from his internal struggles. His longing for the beloved woman is so strong that he is able to do crazy things.

Everyone was absorbed in their own problems, and his parents did not realize what was happening to their only son. Everything was flowing smoothly according to their plans. Dilermando did his job. He managed the family’s cocoa farms and fortune efficiently and enthusiastically.

Our feelings are unique and sometimes they are not noticeable to others. Even when we confide our feelings to someone, it is impossible to convey exactly what we feel because whoever listens to us will absorb the information and interpret it in their own way. Feelings cannot be expressed, they can just be felt.

Edite continued her normal life without realizing that that man’s volcanic ideas surrounded her like invisible magnetic waves.