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2024-10-29 19:42:56Josias 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 come to me. I wasn't going to miss the opportunity.”
Josias smiles at it. Teodoro is not a fool to miss opportunities. He has business acumen.
“Well, let's see if the last few bucks left will make it possible for me to buy a toothbrush and towel,” Josias says as he follows Teodoro into the kitchen. Yes, on the ground floor there was a place for Teodoro to prepare his meals. In the enclosure, there’s a table with four chairs, a sink for washing, another table with cups and plates and a bottle of coffee, and a refrigerator.
Teodoro gestures to him, and Josias helps himself to coffee. Teodoro prepares bread with butter and hands it to Josias. The boy pulls out one of the chairs and sits down to eat. The feeling of eating without having brushed his teeth before is weird to him, but this is temporary.
“Further ahead there is a pharmacy.” Teodoro explains while pouring more coffee, “We don't have it here in the slum. You will have to leave here and follow the avenue.”
“I think I know where it is,” Josias responds at the same time as he chews.
Teodoro pulls out another chair and sits down. He leaves the coffee cup on the table and puts his hand in his pocket. Pulling it out, he hands Josias a few more bills.
“Here, son,” He says, in a tone that his voice is kind enough for Josias not to refuse, “take it and go further, who knows for the Downtown, for you to buy a bath towel and you know what else. Bath towels are not sold at the pharmacy. And nobody is going to hire an employee who doesn't bathe.”
Josias smiles and accepts the money, mentally promising that he will pay it back.
After having breakfast, Josias leaves Teodoro's building and starts walking to the pharmacy. It is an opportunity for him to get to know Happiness Slum as it is by day, as he had his first impression at night.
When he had his normal life, he always passed by car or bus in front of the favela. He never imagined that he would be walking inside it.
The noisy bar was closed with one of the customers sleeping on the sidewalk. The group of teenage girls who danced Olivia Newton-John was now in uniform going to school. When Josias passes in front of the house of that lady in the nightgown, she is now going out in secretary attire. And when Josias passes in front of the house of the naked man, he comes out wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit.
Everyone is going out for some activity. And Josias, going out shirtless and in sweatpants, is going where? Some residents began to notice the boy. Young man, isn't he going to study or work? Is he another thug who has come to bother the good citizens?
Upon arriving at the pharmacy, Josias promptly chooses personal hygiene items. As he searches and chooses, his gaze crosses with a brunette girl with curly hair, aged 17, in the hair products section, undecided between two brands of shampoo. She smiles when deciding on one of the bottles and keeps the other. Then she goes to the cashier to pay.
Josias finishes choosing what he wants and goes to the cashier to pay. The clerk, when summing what the girl bought and checking her money, alerts her, “Missing R$ 2.00, miss.”
The girl opens her eyes wide, checks the money. “It is not possible; I counted correctly before leaving home!” She rummages in the pockets of her shorts but finds nothing else.
Josias, seeing the girl in trouble, steps forward and stands beside her at the counter. “Excuse me, allow me to help you, miss.”
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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
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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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After insulted by the guy who insinuated Josias to be a homosexual, he strides out of the bathroom, slamming the door shut, and frowns at the lobby, forgetting to brush his teeth.Teodoro is sweeping the floor excitedly to The Manhattans’ “Shining Star”, pretending that the broom was his dance partner. Josias for a few seconds forgets his anger and laughs at the scene. When Teodoro notices the boy, he disguises and returns to sweep normally.“We just work, work... We get to have some fun, too.” He speaks in an apologetic tone, “How can I help you, Josias?”“Seu Teodoro, can you at least put a sign in the men's room telling the men to close the door? Or rather, can you manage to separate the showers by a box?”Teodoro stops sweeping, he’s looking questioningly at Josias. How many demands!“What do you owe so many requests to, Josias?”Josias gulps; he fears he has overdon
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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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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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