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2024-10-29 19:42:56When Josias reaches into his sweatpants pocket and pulls it out, he deposits the few remaining notes and pennies on the counter. The old man adds the amount, and responds with a tone of concern, not mockery, “It doesn't even give five bucks, buddy. I can't even let you stay here overnight.”
Josias takes the money back and puts it away. “I know, so I thought I could count on your mercy. As you are already aware, my father was murdered, the moneylender probably knows that my father had me as a son, and if they find me, they will either kill me or they will want to torment me so that I pay the debt. I will not be there to suffer either. My mother got divorced and disappeared from the city; she is probably in Europe with a very rich guy. I have no one here.”
“So let's do the following.” The elderly man goes to a dresser and opens a drawer. He takes something and closes it. When he turns around, Josias realizes that it is money. “I'm going to pay you a ticket to the bus station, and you'll look for a relative of yours. Surely you must have uncles or cousins.”
Josias ponders for a moment. His mother's uncles lived in Rio de Janeiro, a long way away. He would be safe. But, would it be possible they accept to shelter the son of the man who caused their sister enormous distress? It is one thing for them to receive their distant nephew at the holidays; it is another thing to live with him and support him.
Therefore, Josias reclines the option, shaking his head in the negative. “No, sir, thank you. The uncles closest to me are from Rio de Janeiro. And I don't want to go that far; after all, it's just for a while, until I have the financial means to get by.”
“And how are you going to achieve this, after all?” The man keeps the money in his pants pocket.
“Somewhere in this city, there must be something for me to do. I am only eighteen, but I have already done some tasks to have a little money. If I depended on my father for everything, I would be naked here before you.”
The building owner gives a louder laugh. He was already sympathizing with him. “What's your name, kid?”
“Josias Rocha.” He responded with dignity as if he were the CEO of some multinational.
“My name is Teodoro. Look, boy, I like your posture. If this story of yours is true, then I have to congratulate you on your courage. Another boy your age would be crying desperately without knowing what to do. But, hearing you say with all the confidence that you intend to work your way and overcome this situation, gives me confidence.”
Teodoro then crouches and then straightens up with a key in his right hand. “Here's the deal, Josias: I'm going to let you spend a night here and tomorrow we'll see what to do. You look exhausted.”
Josias grins and breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you very much, Teodoro! Thank you very much! And you can rest easy with me, I'm being sincere.”
Teodoro, a longtime resident of the favela, knows the boys who mess with illegal things. And as he talks to Josias, he realizes that Josias is not one of them. Perhaps the story of the murdered father is an invention, but at least he is sure that Josias is not running away from something wrong that he did.
Josias and Teodoro talk some more, and later, the owner of the building indicates the stairs for Josias to go up. The bedroom is on the third floor. Josias enters and closes the door, grateful, looking up, out of respect for God. And again, the phrase of Everaldo is echoing in his mind, “I will pray for you and pray that God will bring you the best for your life. You will get out of this and be successful. And I believe that you will have the willpower to overcome your adversities! Amen?”
Josias smiles, he believes that in fact, Everaldo has already prayed for him.
In the meantime, the police and a man from the local newspaper were in Josias's old house, recording the cruel murder of his father, Mr. Rocha. The police vehicle stopped at the entrance of the house caught the attention of the neighbors. Of course, they heard the shots, but at the time no one dared to go out to find out what was going on. Now, with the police present, they left with confidence.
Two policemen carry Mr. Rocha's corpse out of the house, already wrapped in a black plastic bag, and place it in the van for the legal medical institute. Another was taking pictures of the mess the killers left, looking for valuables to make up for the debt. Furniture was overturned or broken; the television that Mr. Rocha watched was shattered on the floor, in pieces.
"Does anyone here know what happened?" The officer in charge of the investigation suddenly asked the neighbors. However, they not only remained silent but withdrew from the crime scene. Nobody would dare denounce the moneylender who controls the neighborhood.
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The sun's beam came in through the open window, illuminating Josias's room. And when the light reached his eyes, Josias had to wake up, even against his will.He stretches on the bed, under a thin sheet that was folded on the bed when he entered. The sweatpants were on the back of a wooden chair. Other than that and another dresser, there was nothing else in Josias's room.Josias gets up, still wearing his briefs, goes to the open door to the balcony (he always had this habit of sleeping with the window open, even with mosquitoes coming in. That's why the window was providentially open when he needed to escape) and watches the activity of the shantytown. From the third floor, he had a good view of the area. As he looked down, he saw children and teenagers in school uniforms going to study, women socially dressed, probably going to work as attendants or secretaries, older women going to work as cleaners for some wealthy family, and men in industrial uniforms or plain cl
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Josias finishes crying and breaks the hug. He wipes away tears. “Thank you very much for your consideration, Seu Teodoro.”“You welcome, young man. Come on; I offer you coffee.”Josias takes the opportunity to ask, “Seu Teodoro, how does it work here? For example, I know that we are not in a five-star hotel, but in my room, there is not even a sink.”Teodoro smiles, he understands that Josias did not want to be ungrateful. “I understand. Well, downstairs here are the bathrooms. I did my best to have the men's and women's bathrooms so that everyone was comfortable and had no complaints. We have families with children, and I wouldn't be comfortable with letting children bathe with adults.”Josias agrees with the head, it was necessary to be careful. But, families with children? When verbalizing the question, Teodoro explains, “Here I had some two-bedroom apartments built, providing that families could co
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The girl is startled and faces the boy who wants to help her. Between the shocks, there were seconds to admire. For someone in his 30s, Josias would be considered skinny; but for someone her age, Josias was muscular.Josias donates R$ 2.00 of his already limited money to help her. “Here it is.” He turns to her, “Sorry, miss. But, I saw you so smiling when choosing the shampoo; I wouldn't want you to leave without it.”The girl smiles in thanks. “Thanks. It's the shampoo everyone is using; I don't want to be left behind. My friends said it was great.”“By the way, my name is Josias,” Josias spoke with such certainty that they would meet again. Meanwhile, the clerk adds up and receives payment from him.“Melissa.” The girl responds, now taking a closer look at the boy who helped her.They say that while men turn their heads and make it obvious that they are admiring a woman; a woman can do t
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Teodoro smiles when he sees Josias enchanted by a resident girl of Happiness Slum. “My boy, take it easy with that heart. Do I know her by any chance?”“Her name is Melissa.” Josias responds as if he is singing, “And she lives further on.” Josias, however, shakes his head, “Well, what am I doing? Okay, the girl is beautiful and nice, and she was admiring my chest, even though I am not muscular; but, I need to find something. She must think I am a pervert for walking without a shirt.”“There is nothing wrong with a man walking around without a shirt, especially in this heat.” Teodoro ponders, “But, as I warned you, better to start buying your things.”Josias smiles as he remembers. “Her father is very strict; he doesn't want his dear daughter to marry a poor man. So I better get ahead.”Josias starts walking out of the reception. Teodoro asks him, “Hey, where are you
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Upon returning to the building, Teodoro was already having lunch. He holds the plate up and invites Josias. “You can go in there if you can.”Josias approaches the counter. “Do you believe that I almost saw the boy who encouraged me not to give up?”“What do you mean, give up?” Teodoro frowns, “Were you trying to kill yourself?”“No, but all of a sudden, when I was on the bus, this boy in religious style and clothes was on a seat behind me, and when I was leaving, he asked if I needed help. When I asked him to pray for me, he smiled and promised that not only would he pray for me, but that my life would be great and successful.”Teodoro stops chewing and swallows. His face is serious. “And you don't know who it is?”“He embarked at Rainbow Garden, but I had never seen him before.” Josias scratches his head. “Although the neighborhood is large and I don't know
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Josias takes the key from Teodoro and goes up the stairs. Upon entering the room, he takes off his sweatpants and places it on the back of the chair. Today is hot to have a beer, just as Melissa's father wishes. He leaves the balcony door open and lies down on the bed, takes off his briefs, and curls up on the sheet.Do not misjudge Josias for sleep naked. It's just that he is disgusted to wear the same briefs, and his sweatpants are also in utter misery.Josias wakes up the next day, which promises to be another hot day, already getting discouraged with the prospect of work. He gets up and goes to the balcony, looking at the horizon and the activity of the favela. The same girl from the other building meets Josias and this time she dares to wave a hello, to which he corresponds. At this point, the girl is wondering if Josias wears a shirt. If she knew...Josias takes the towel that is folded on the chair and wraps it around his waist, goes to the dresser, and t
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When Josias goes down to the bathroom, he decides to just wash his face and brush his teeth. He no longer cared about other men bathing uninhibited in front of him, as he only took a shower late at night, before going to sleep, just so he wouldn't meet anyone.As he approaches the reception, Teodoro is almost crying with the debut of “Lady”, by Kenny Rogers, being played on the radio with profusion. “The guy sings very well, how wonderful...” Teodoro notices Josias's presence, “Hello, boy, good morning. Are you going out again?”Josias reaches out his hand to prevent Teodoro from giving him more money. “Not today, Seu Teodoro. I am going to take a walk right here in the locality.”Teodoro raises an eyebrow. “Really? Well, I must warn you that here you will only find that type of job that requires a lot of effort and very little reward.” He makes a “money” sign with his fingers.Josias
Building My Life Chapter 13 I Do!
Josias gives Romualdo a gaze of astonishment. He had no intention of asking just in the construction site, but the opportunity came and he would not refuse. He just didn't expect to get this easy. Was Everaldo in action again?“Are you sure, sir? Here it looks like work done with care. I don't have a lot of construction experience; at most I helped as Uélton is doing.”Romualdo analyzes Josias's physical constitution from him. Because he was shirtless, it became easier. “You don't look like a fragile boy to me. You're not muscular, but I see a little strength in your arms and shoulders.”“I was never an idle person, or a sedentary person, as they say,” Josias explains, with a proud smile.“Then there is no more talk!” Romualdo sentences, “If you really want to, come tomorrow to start. And what you don't know how to do, we'll teach you. What do you say?”What to say? Of course, Josia
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At João Paulo’s house, he and Josias were about to have a significant conversation.“Walter, do you want to go with your mom to the kitchen?” João Paulo asked, looking at Helen. “I think she made some walnut cake.”“It was carrot cake,” Sandra replied, already getting up from the couch.“You got it.” Helen appeared and picked up Walter in her arms. “Let’s let Dad and Uncle Josias talk.”“Bye, Uncle!” Walter waved goodbye to Josias.“Bye-bye, I want a piece later!” Josias chuckled.Once alone with João Paulo, Josias became serious. “Don’t let anything or anyone ruin this family scenario, little brother.”“I’m fine. No one wants to ruin anything,” João Paulo replied casually.“Well, I hope David hasn’t caused you any trouble.”“He probably doesn’t even know I exist, man.” João Paulo shrugged.“But I stopped by Café Montanha and found out that the Vasquez family has replaced the Mountain family as the ‘annoying people.’”João Paulo sighed in disappointment. “Yeah. They—”The doorbell ran
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Josias visits Café Montanha for a coffee and finds Rodrigo there. “Rod, how have you been?” Rodrigo is taken aback. “How am I? You’re the one who suffered a horrific loss recently!” “But you also lost your father. We’re in the same situation,” Josias explained as he sat down on a stool. “I’m okay, Josias. Life has a way of cheering me up. For example, I’m back at the diner after Thierry decided to take his place at the supermarket.” Rodrigo smiled. “What about the photography studio?” Josias smiled back. “It’s still going to operate, and Thierry will make periodic visits. But he’s going to appoint one of the staff to manage the studio.” Rodrigo served a pizza pastry to Josias. “Thank you. Well, I hope everything is alright between you two. I need to visit Rosemary and meet Jean Luc — is that the name of the baby?” “Yes, the name of the supermarket heir. Meanwhile, Frank will be here or somewhere else.” Josias interjected, “If Frank wants to work at Rocha Constructions, count
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Chapter 3144 Benjamin Requests a Transfer
At the Rocha Mansion, Josias receives a visit from Benjamin. “How have you been, Ben? Any news about your parents?” The two embrace. “Actually, that’s what I want to talk about.” Benjamin scratches the back of his neck. The embrace breaks. “Let’s go to my office.” The two gentlemen enter Josias’s imposing office. “Any problems with Adolfo?” Josias asks, becoming serious. “Not yet, but I hope not to have any,” Benjamin replies with some sadness. “You know, Josias, what happened with your father made me think about my family, about how important it is for all of us to be together in the final moments.” “That’s true. João Paulo can tell you that better than I can.” “I think you can say it too. Vernon was the father you never had.” Benjamin clears his throat. “So, I’ve been looking into some hotels and realized there’s a demand at the Rocha Hotel in Victoria.” Josias looks at Benjamin, understanding where he’s going with this. “You want to go to Victoria to be close to your pare
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At the Vasquez Mansion, Alan could hardly believe that the people were thinking about more intrigues and disputes. “Guys, don’t you understand that I even forgot the reason I slapped Uncle João Paulo?” “Ridiculous!” Erasmo gestured. “You just maintained respect because it was a difficult occasion. But now, the mourning is OVER!” “Do you think João Paulo will rest, dear?” Sofia asked, sitting next to him. Alan shook his head. “If Uncle João Paulo doesn’t want to rest, then he is truly despicable. But my dad is back in town. He wouldn’t dare to do that.” The news should have been uplifting, but the members of the Vasquez family merely exchanged silent glances. With Josias present, it’s quite likely that he will put a stop to their fighting. Alan turned to Olivia. “In the meantime, we should celebrate the recovery of my dear mother-in-law!” Olivia and Sofia smiled awkwardly because of the secret they were keeping. “That’s right, let’s celebrate life!” Erasmo wrapped his arm arou
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Josias Rocha and his family returned to Lagoon City. Those who were waiting for them stayed in the mansion and greeted them cheerfully in the foyer. “WELCOME BACK!” Melissa, crying, embraced her parents, William, and the twins fervently. Josias greeted them with a light smile. “Where’s João Paulo?” William asked. “He went straight to his house. His kids needed to rest from the trip.” Melissa wiped her tears with her fingers. “Alan went straight to his mansion. Especially now that his mother-in-law has woken up from the coma.” “That was a scare; I thought we’d have two funerals,” Simeon commented. Everyone headed to the living room. “Is Paris very beautiful, Mom?” Mary asked. “Yes, sweetheart, it’s stunning. We’ll go shopping together another time, okay?” “Do you have pictures?” Ignacio asked anxiously. “Yes, son, we took some pictures.” Melissa sat on the couch, pulling out a package from her bag. Josias sat in the armchair, taking a deep breath. William approached him.
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Chapter 3140 Let’s Request a Transfer
At Café Montanha, Daryl walks in for a coffee and finds Rodrigo at the counter while Neilton serves the others. “Hey, are we back to the old tradition?” “Don’t be a clown, man.” Rodrigo laughs. “Yes, Thierry is at the supermarket, as we agreed.” “Hi, Neil. Can you make me a cappuccino while I enjoy a natural sandwich?” Daryl places his order. “Sure thing, Mr. Mountain.” Neilton heads to the back. Daryl sits on the stool. “So, how do you feel after getting back to your element?” “I don’t regret at all helping my dear wife at the supermarket, Daryl,” Rodrigo admitted while preparing the natural sandwich. “I’m not talking about regrets.” Daryl joked. “But it’s undeniable that after Uncle Francisco’s passing, you prefer to stay here, carrying on the legacy he left.” “Just like Crystal Blue.” Rodrigo smiled. “Hey, I’m aware that you’re looking to open another restaurant in Sunset Village. Do you think you can manage it? How’s the prospecting going?” Daryl picks up the sandwich but
