A fairytale bedroom
It's not long until my birthday. I'm finally turning 30. Last week Patrícia, my psychologist friend, told me to stand firm. She said that this was a time of crisis in most women's lives: the desire to be a mother, career success, a stable relationship. But none of this keeps me awake. In a world as big as this, there's so much to see and experience before putting down roots! "Daise, if you're tired, I'll drive for a while," I interrupt my thoughts to talk to my work colleague with whom I've been crossing Brazil in search of adventures. "There's still a bit of ground to cover until Alto Paraíso."
- No thanks. But you could call the pousada to see if everything is all right with our booking.
- The girl at reception said that the pousada is full because there's a bioenergetics workshop in the events hall. But she said that there's a couple checking out ahead of schedule and that she'll be able to accommodate us.
We've just arrived at the inn and, while Daise stretches and hydrates, I go for a walk around the place to see what the accommodation is like. "Look Daise, we finally got lucky. The pousada is super charming. Each chalet has a single room. And in the center of the grounds, I saw a larger chalet for meditation, with the walls all decorated with pictures of deities. Shall we leave our bags here at the reception and enjoy the day before the room is vacated? The guide I met outside said that there's a nice waterfall just outside São Jorge, the Catarata dos Couros". Soon after, we decided to hire the local guide and drove for another hour until we reached the waterfall.
"Wow, what a shame! The guide brought us to a nudist waterfall, full of naked Rajineeshees," Deise commented to me, as we clutched our things and looked curiously at the group of nudists bathing at ease in front of us. One of the boys from the group approaches us. With open arms and a seductive smile, he invites us to join the others in sharing the food and drink they have brought. He tells us that he will be happy to discuss with us the path to spiritual enlightenment according to Osho's precepts.
When we finally reach our room at the inn, it's late. We burst into laughter, discussing the stories of that afternoon. After all the day's adventures, neither of us has the energy to unpack or shower before going out to dinner. And so we stay there, chatting about everything and everyone. The mood slowly calms down as the alcohol fumes disperse. The sky slowly changes from the orange hues of sunset to a starry night. The songs of insects and birds drift in through the open bedroom window along with the warm, dry seasonal air. Despite the event that is taking place at the inn, there are hardly any people passing by. "These bioenergetic people are quiet," says Daise. "I think we'll sleep well tonight. To ensure a good night's sleep, what do you say we have a little wine for dinner?"
Near the inn, we discovered a macrobiotic restaurant that is well known in the region. The wine, although not on the menu, was bought by the waiter at the nearest grocery store and served with great ceremony in glass tumblers. The picnic we had at the waterfall has long since been digested, and the hunger is now intense. While dinner doesn't arrive, we drink half a bottle of wine accompanied by wholemeal rolls and pastries and talk about our family histories. Daise, like me, is the daughter of an airline pilot and, we discover during the conversation, the two of them must have met when they were young. Right away, she decides to call her father and find out. "Ybbi, you won't believe what I'm about to tell you. The two of them studied in the same class at Varig's pilot school, and were very good friends. My father told me that he was shocked by the accident your father suffered. He said that in their class, many pilots died in plane crashes," she tells me with a surprised face and a changed voice.
- What a strange coincidence! How can you discover something like that by chance? Two mere work colleagues who decide to travel together have their stories linked for more than a generation!
We finished dinner in silence, in a somber mood. We took advantage of the wine making us slightly dizzy and decided to go to bed early and leave the unpacking for the next day. The room we're in is simple but pleasantly decorated. Now that it's night, we see that the roof ridge has a large quartz crystal embedded in it, which lets the faint light radiated by the moon through. The effect is beautiful, soothing, reminiscent of a scene from a fairy tale. My last breath is spent drinking a glass of water and turning off the light, and I immediately fall asleep.
I'm woken up by a slap on the sole of my foot. I'm lying on my stomach and trapped in a strange paralysis. My whole body vibrates as a wave passes through my spine. A wave that goes up from my tailbone to my neck, and then down. Up and down. Only my brain works. Even with all my effort, I can't turn my face towards Daise's bed. When my voice finally comes out, shakily, I ask, "What is it, Daise? Why did you wake me up?".
- I didn't wake you, Ybbi.
- Well, who slapped my foot then?
- No one. There's no one in this room. You had a bad dream.
When I finally manage to turn my face, I see her lying on the bed, her face to the wall. I decide to forget about it and go back to sleep, but now on my back on the mattress. Shortly afterwards, I'm woken up by another slap on the foot. This time, I see a specter of light floating in the air at the foot of my bed. It looks like a woman wearing a very wide, long dress, her hair trailing like vines of light up to the crystal embedded in the roof. Frightened, I try again to wake Daise in the next bed, but I'm unable to move or speak. When I finally turn my face and tell her what's going on, she scolds me dryly, "Go back to sleep, Ybbi. You're dreaming".
I decide to say two Our Fathers and two Hail Marys to see if sleep returns and I can sleep peacefully. But I'm so scared that I end up praying a lot more. I wake up in the morning, exhausted. I'd turn over on my side and go back to sleep, but Deise shakes me vigorously, "Come on, there are lots of beautiful places for us to see today." "Yes," I reply despondently. I'd like to talk to Daise about what happened last night, but she doesn't like this kind of talk. I sigh deeply and swallow my last piece of bread, as I see our guide approaching for another day of adventures. "What are the plans for today?" Daise asks him. "Today we're going to visit the UFO airport in the area," he replies.
"Help! Take me home!" I burst out, running towards my room, covering my ears with my hands, without anyone understanding what's happening to me.
Voltar