II

Returning to our heroes’ kiss. Years ago.

Alex and Maria kissed shyly. The young man was nervous, he had fantasized about many things, many words. He couldn't say anything, he put a big smile on his face, they hugged each other tightly and stayed like that for a few seconds. They arranged to meet another night, and new kisses...

So it happened, they didn't talk about dating, or any commitment. On the weekend, Alex was introduced to the young woman’s family. A month passed, then another. Alex was present as much as he could, and when he noticed she needed space, he left her alone for the necessary time. He continued to live in the tenement, stayed at the library all day, and then accompanied his love on the route between the hospital and the bus stop that went to her parents' home in Goiânia. Graduation was coming soon, and they already knew each other well in terms of humor and tastes. Frequent outings were walks in the park, cinema, simple things, but they had a lot of fun, perhaps not as much as they would have liked. The end-of-course obligations prevented it. Perhaps that’s why their moments together were so special.

One Saturday like any other, Alex called his tutor Tiburtino. João, the caretaker, answered. He coldly informed him that Mr. Tiburtino had died. He mentioned the delay in the funeral, and arrangements made for his few relatives to come from São Paulo. Dejected, Alex called Maria’s house and left a message with her sister telling her what had happened, then he took a bus and returned to the farm.

* * *

Very few people were at the house. The old man’s wishes were respected; he would be buried there, on the farm where he spent his last years. His son, wife, and one of his grandsons were in the living room. Carlos, a nearby farmer, was the only friend and the only one with a sad expression.

Alex was entering the house when he was stopped by the caretaker, who handed him a letter and advised him to read it at that moment.

With the letter in hand, he went to the backyard and, sitting on a cut log, began to carefully read the account of the relevant events that happened fifty years before Alex’s arrival in Anápolis. The reading caused such shock that it awakened centuries of memories.