Adriana Tanese Nogueira
It was Sunday morning. The family was at the beach, mingling with the
crowd who sunbathed, ate, got into the water, and had fun under a clear
weekend sky. But Antonio and Maria couldn’t join the relaxed atmosphere
of those people. As they played and talked with the children, their
attention was fixed on their surroundings. When addressing the kids, the
couple looked happy and confident, but now and then they lifted their
eyes and surveyed the immediate environment. Everything seemed quiet,
nobody paid attention to them, a few children came closer to share a toy
or help digging the hole in the sand. The general carefree way,
however, was for Antonio and Maria merely a mirage they couldn’t
partake.
It was hot and the sun high in the sky announced
noon. Their stomachs grunted, “It’s time to have lunch,” said Antonio,
standing up.
Maria agreed, raised herself from the ground and
called the children, “Let’s take this sand off our bodies. How about we
take a quick dip in the water?”
They all went to the water,
still fresh but not as transparent as it was a few hours earlier. Diving
into it gave a feeling of relief and pleasure. Light and soft on the
skin, it cleansed everything but the tension that plastered their lives.
“Come on, darlings, let’s go,” Maria hurried the children up, “it’s time to go.”
They dried up the best they could. Despite the sand here and there on
the skin, they dressed up. With the feet full of sand, wearing their
sandals and with semi-wet clothes, the family gave their backs to the
crowed beach and walked towards the street.
“There’s not much to eat at home,” Maria said, walking at Antonio’s side and holding one child in each hand.
“I know. Let’s go to the restaurant. There’s one close by that is not expensive. I hope we find a table.”
They caught sight of it from the distance and saw that some tables on
the sidewalk were still vacant. They quickened their steps to be sure to
get one. Soon, a waiter came. As usual, they ordered only three dishes.
Antonio avoided as much as possible any extra expense once he was using
money coming from the VPR. Although the small fund was destined to the
family survival, Antonio took care not to waist money. Three dishes was
what a family of five people ate.
“This situation is dragging for too long,” said Antonio while he divided the food.
“It’s one month already that we are here,” Maria said, distributing the dishes among the children.
“It’s not safe to stay for so long in the same place.” Antonio shook his head. “We have to get out of here.”
Maria stopped and looked at him, speechless. She tensed the muscles of
her face. As her gestures condensed control and calm, her heart was
agitated. Maria rooted herself in the care and precision that she
dedicated to her daily duties and to the children, exorcizing, in this
way, the other aspect of her reality. They didn’t have a residency to
which come back, her home resumed in two rolled sacks where they carried
the few belongings of the entire family. The day of tomorrow was
inscrutable and the life ran in constant peril. Now, Antonio’s words
incite the terrifying sensation of being captive, in a refuge that can
be discovered by the enemy at any time. “We have to get out of here”
presupposed that they hadn’t be able to move on, they were stuck like
preys fallen into one of those traps that are holes in the ground. They
looked to be safe until someone found them.
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