Chapter 3 III

Felipe, Goiânia day 1

Nobody said anything else while we ran down the avenue, with the fire on our backs, even when the vision of the cars stuck, twisted on top of each other on the highway was getting clearer, even when we had to jump over these same cars towards the park, up the mountain. Laura always ahead, without saying a word we followed her, the few times I looked at Vitor he was in a way I had never seen, in silence, when we reached the top of the mountain we had the perspective of what was clearer and clearer, whatever it was, it hadn't been the guys in the alley, and it hadn't been only in the village. From the top of the mountain we could see the highway for kilometers and for kilometers all we could see were crashed cars, one on top of the other, from the top of the mountain we could also see several fires throughout the city, I counted 28 of them, mostly in the outskirts, for some reason the beautiful tall buildings in the Bueno and West sectors and the mansions in the Jardins didn't burn. For the first time someone spoke up since the explosion. You have a chance to find out who broke the silence.

"You can see the condominium where my mother works from here. I need to find her."

Laura puts her hand on his shoulder.

"Just wait for the fire to get under control down there."

"Yeah bro, take a look, the fire is not even close to the condos, she must be fine there."

Vitor takes his cell phone from his pocket and dials his mother.

"It's calling."

We stay in silence, the fire reaches the edges of the highway and begins to reduce, my throat is burning with thirst, the sun is already high in the sky, although rain clouds are gathering, I think that rain will come later, the crazy weather of this city. Vitor is leaning on me shoulder to shoulder, he is shaking, the call drops and he calls again and does it again and again, I put my arm on his shoulder and hug him, he puts his head on my shoulder and holds on not to cry, I have never seen him so quiet.

"You can cry bro, she won't see."

He cries.

"Do you want to try calling your mom, Philip? I have plenty of bonuses.

I look at his cell phone, slowly I pick it up and without much courage I dial her number. The phone calls and calls until it goes to voicemail. Laura is sitting a little farther away watching the city."

"She doesn't answer."

I give him back his cell phone, he dials his mother's phone again. Laura takes the cell phone out of her pocket and starts calling, she dials several times. Vitor looks at her.

"Who are you calling?"

"The state, police, civil, military, bus station, firefighters, SAMU, I called some three phones in Sao Paulo no one answers."

"My mother's in Brasilia, her phone doesn't answer either."

Vitor gets up.

"This was big."

Laura answers a little impatient.

"What the hell, if it was a gun, where are the bodies? It's as if everyone had disappeared from the map."

None of us responds. The sky is now completely overcast, Goiânia in summer, out of nowhere the rain simply falls, one by one the spots go out. Laura gets up.

"We'd better get down."

"I need to find my mother."

"Which condominium does your mother work in?"

"Aldeia."

"It's not far from here."

First we go down the mountain and walk along the highway, we come to a curve where a mountain of cars crashed on top of each other prevents us from continuing. Laura approaches the cars and starts climbing on them looking for something. She stops at the top of the mountain of hardware.

"We're going to have to go around."

Laura looks inside some cars and comes down with two bottles of water in her hand. She hands me one, opens it, drinks a little, and hands it to Vitor, who also drinks. We go around the outside of the highway. We pass the sidewalks of the warehouse of a chain of furniture and appliance stores.

"bikes"

Vitor and I look at Laura without understanding. She explains.

"You can't go by car and I guess you don't know how to ride a bike, do you?"

We nod our heads no.

"Bikes, we'll get to your mother Vitor much faster."

Laura looks at the closed metal door of the warehouse, goes to a nearby car, starts it and accelerates against the metal door that folds like paper, an alarm starts to sound. Laura gets out of the car, gets in, turns on the light, then gets out.

"Hey, help me find the bikes."

We enter the gigantic warehouse and walk down several aisles until we find a corridor with dozens, maybe hundreds, of bikes.

"My mother will kick my ass if she finds out that I stole a bike."

Laura smiles.

"Let's tell her it was a loaner."

We choose three and leave the shed. Vitor speaks again and this makes me more relieved to tell the truth.

"I know a shortcut."

We follow it through side streets and vacant lots.

"Do you even know the way?"

"Laura, as soon as my father left, things got ugly at home, so I had to come to the condo's reception desk and get a lunch box that my mother left with a friend of hers who worked at the reception desk. Every day I tried a different route and this is the shortest one, trust me."

In a short time we arrived at the condo's entrance.

Vitor, Goiania day 1

At the gate my optimism ends, none of the doormen and security guards that should be there checking who enters or leaves, at the two gates the entrance and exit luxury cars stopped and next to the doors of the drivers the uniforms of the security guards. I get on my bike and go through the side of the gate and accelerate towards the house of my mother's boss. We stop in front of the house, dozens of other cars parked in front of the house, we enter through the back and pass through the garden where a large table filled with the most varied dishes and several other smaller tables scattered around the garden with plates full of unfinished meals and drinks not drunk and everywhere clothes, spread on the grass and on chairs, I run across and enter through the kitchen door.

"Mom, Mom, please Mom, answer!"

Not my mother sir, please. On the floor by the sink, my mother's uniform. I run and grab the uniform, hugging myself to it, I can't believe it, not my mother.

"Mom, mommy please no."

It's a nightmare, I want to wake up, my mother. From the uniform the rosary that she always wears falls to the floor. I pick it up and stand up, Lipe looks at me.

"Maybe it's not her Lipe."

Lipe looks at the rosary in my hand, I have never seen my mother without that rosary around her neck.

"It was late Lipe, she shouldn't have been awake."

I run out into the garden, the dinner table is set, with more food than any of these playboy bastards could eat. I pull the tablecloth off the table and drop half the food on it.

"Bastards, she should be lying down, not serving you shits!!!!"

Laura runs up to me and hugs me.

"Mom, please, Mom"

Laura takes a pill from her purse.

"Take this."

"No!"

She forces the pill into my mouth.

"It will help, come take it."

Laura makes me take the pill, my eyesight goes heavy, I finally start to understand. That's it, how come I didn't think of it before, it can only be, it's the rapture. I remember the priest saying.

(Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we shall be with the Lord forever.)

1 Thessalonians 4:15"17).

She went to heaven and I stayed, I wasn't good enough, I didn't deserve it, Mom help me, take me. Laura puts my head in her lap and her eyes meet mine.

"It was the rapture Laura, we stayed, we were left behind."

"That closes her eyes."