Breath of Life 

That’s how I stayed… tied on top of suitcases, until the moment we got on the plane to start our trip to Rio de Janeiro. My mother, as always, took great care of me, and always looked after me so that I wouldn’t fall. I had already noticed that his biggest concern was not to ruin my new little red coat that I had bought. My mother wanted me to arrive at the end of the trip well dressed. My mother lovingly bought this coat, as well as my black patent leather booties. The trip was so long that I lost track of time. At a certain moment, I felt a strong light entering where I was, it was a person opening the door of the cubicle where I was. There was a lot of movement inside the plane, as well as the click-click noise of people opening the compartments where their belongings were kept. Soon I noticed that we had arrived in this famous city known as “Cidade Maravilhosa”. Sometimes I heard my mother sing a song that said: “Wonderful city, full of thousand charms”. A thousand charms??? I thought to myself. Is everything in this city as beautiful and enchanted as in the children’s stories I know from books?

I couldn’t wait to get off that hot plane, and then meet the people who would be waiting for us at the airport. Despite being a doll, I was already getting worried about everything my parents said: “Are we going to run a red light? Will we go green? I think you better go first. I think it’s best if we spend it together.” I had never heard such a crazy conversation before, but there must have been a reason and I was curious to know what it was. Together with other passengers in a hurry, we left the plane, and after a few minutes, my parents were standing next to a very long conveyor belt full of suitcases. How happy I was to feel with them and not be treated like any other package. I continued to listen to their conversation, and soon I began to understand the significance of their concerns about the green and red lights. While picking up their bags, I saw people getting upset with their luggage being opened on top of tables, and with great difficulty opening it to be examined. They had run a red light. I understood then, the concern of my parents in case they caught the red light. Their bags were super full, and, how close after being examined!!! It really would be a disaster…

Separated as if they were two strangers, my parents approached the exit. I was placed on top of my mother’s bags, and I was already starting to get a little nervous about not being near my father. I noticed that the lady who would serve us didn’t like children or dolls, because she didn’t make any comment about me. I immediately thought: “Go hit the red light”, and as soon as we approached, she lifted one of the suitcases and asked my mother, why the suitcase was so heavy. My mother explained that she was returning to Brazil after spending some years living abroad. She soon asked for the list of the material that was inside the suitcase, and then… everything got in the way. The list was with my father. My father, seeing that something was wrong, approached my mother and tried to give the necessary explanations. Without any comment as she was very rude, the woman directed us to an inspector to examine our bags. Just at that moment came the time of my parents’ good fortune. The inspector was a very polite young man, he had attended the Naval Academy, and seeing that my father was a Mar-e-Guerra member of the Brazilian Navy returning from England after fourteen years on a diplomatic mission, all that was missing was a salute to my father. Thus, the bags were not opened, and everything ended up working out. As my father always tells his children when they are going through a problem.

When we left through the main door, we had a big surprise: There was no one waiting for us. What would have happened??? Could it be that people weren’t happy with my parents coming back??? Weren’t they curious to meet me??? Charlotte, stop this vanity!!! Where were the relatives and friends that I always heard my parents say they had??? My parents waited for an hour, thinking maybe it was a traffic delay. They waited for almost two hours, and no one showed up, not even his mother who had promised to bring a very large car in which all the luggage would fit. I was already tired of waiting, because even two falls with my face hitting the ground I had already taken. My mother, after carefully fixing my golden braids and my coat, sat me down in a chair attached to another one. In one of them a boy was sitting, and every time he got up, he moved the chair in such a way that he made me fall to the floor. My mother would get very upset, thinking I was just slipping and would put me back in the chair. Only I knew the reason for my falls, but… how to explain it??? And so, once again it falls. As soon as she picked me up from the ground, my mother would try to see if I had hurt myself, always wanting to understand the falls I was taking. When he realized what was happening, he asked the boy to be more careful when he got up so that I wouldn’t fall again. The young man looked at my mother a little startled, I think, surprised at the excessive care she was taking with a simple doll. Could it be that by the way I was dressed and shod, and being taken care of like a real child, he didn’t notice that I was a very special doll!!! I don’t think he was a very smart person.

After waiting a long time, my father decided to call his mother. Very surprised, I heard my father tell my mother that his mother wasn’t expecting us until the next day. What a misunderstanding!!! It’s like they don’t speak the same language! Everything was being prepared for the next day, welcome banners and a special car that could fit my mother’s sisters had already been booked. What a beautiful “Welcome to Rio de Janeiro…” But I think it was better that way, because after a stressful, tiring and hot trip, it wouldn’t be good for my parents to be received at the airport with a lot of celebration. So my father took a taxi, and we left for his mother’s house. I heard him ask the driver to stop by Ipanema beach first. I think they both missed the place where they had lived for many years. In less than an hour we arrived, and as usual, my father’s mother and Ondina, my parents’ former maid, were waiting for us. I heard that Ondina started working at their house more than thirty years ago. The joy of seeing them back was great, especially when they saw that I was with them and they could finally meet me. I was greeted with a lot of celebration, and as always, they thought I looked like a real child. They thought my Victorian style coat was beautiful. As she always does when we arrive anywhere, my mother quickly found a little place to put me. For the first time I was put in a baby’s crib, and I didn’t like it, because I’m a doll but I’m not a baby. Take a picture in the crib!!! No way. I hope my mom doesn’t do that. My father’s mother always keeps a neat crib in her room waiting for a grandchild or great-grandchild to come visit her. To be honest, I really didn’t like it, because my mother immediately covered me with a plastic bag so that the beach air wouldn’t spoil my skin and my clothes. So, lying down, hot and almost suffocated with the plastic on my face, I waited for better days.

I heard that your granddaughters Stephanie and Rebecca would arrive to spend their vacation in Rio, and that they really wanted to meet me. I was also curious to meet both of them. The days went by, when I noticed that my parents were a little bored. The people who rented the apartment where they lived in Rio, spoiled it so much that the renovations were going to be many and quite expensive. It was really a sad surprise, ending the joy they were feeling in returning to their old home after spending so many years away. I think they would have to wait a few months to finish with all the renovations. But with the arrival of Stephanie and Rebecca, I think my parents would forget about their problems a little.

One day I heard my mother talking on the phone, and I felt that she was very worried. What would be happening? I thought to myself. My mother really had to be worried, because two days before Stephanie and Rebecca’s other grandfather came to bring them to Rio, he was robbed while filling gas at a gas station, and his imported car was taken. It was only nine o’clock in the morning. What a dangerous world real people live in… as I always say, it’s kind of nice to be a doll. Without the car, how to bring the kids??? Later I heard someone saying that the two would come by bus with their mother. I knew they had to quickly find another way to bring them, as Stephanie and Rebecca were counting down the days to spend their school holidays in Rio de Janeiro for the first time, and even more so with the arrival of Grandma Lúcia, Grandpa Carlos and naturally with my arrival. Poor Caroline, she was the only one who didn’t come, because she’s still very young. It was on a Friday night that they arrived. My parents went to pick them up at the bus station, and as soon as they entered I heard the two running towards me. Stephanie and Rebecca were curious to meet me, especially Rebecca who was younger, and soon my mother started to worry, because she didn’t want to let go of me anymore. My mother was worried, as she hadn’t seen her granddaughters for over a year, and how to say no to whatever they asked, even if it was to play with me. I immediately sat in the dining room with Rebecca while everyone at the table had a snack and shared the news. Rebecca ficou pouco tempo na mesa, e logo começou com sua imaginação de criança inocente, a fantasiar nossas brincadeiras. Como Rebecca falava!!! Enquanto falava ela me balançava e me jogava para cima e para baixo. Eu já estava ficando tonta, mas, não me incomodava, pois eu podia sentir enquanto brincava comigo, o quanto Rebecca estava feliz. Sentada na mesa, minha mãe nos olhava preocupada, pois nunca pessoa alguma havia me segurado de alguma maneira em que pudesse soltar meus braços ou desmanchar as minhas trancinhas douradas. Rebecca estava me fazendo virar cambalhotas!!! Penso que minha mãe deu graças a Deus quando foi ficando tarde e a hora de dormir chegou. Todos estavam prontos para dormir, quando começou uma forte discussão. Stephanie também me queria perto dela. Ouvi minha mãe falando, que, cada dia eu dormiria junto com uma delas. Mas, essa solução não foi aceita. E assim, minha mãe teve que usar a imaginação para resolver o grande problema que sem querer eu estava causando, e já no primeiro dia. Bem no meio das duas camas, com as duas olhando para ver se eu ficaria mais perto de uma do que da outra, ela colocou duas cadeiras e ali fiquei deitada. Ouvi minha mãe contando que foi dormir muito preocupada, pensando como fazer Rebecca entender que eu era uma boneca, mas não uma boneca com que ela pudesse brincar e fazer o que quisesse com ela. Como fazer Rebecca entender, que os lacinhos das minhas botas minha mãe não gostava que fossem desatados!!! Como fazer Rebecca entender, que minhas trancinhas douradas não poderiam ser desmanchadas e o meu cabelo ficar despenteado!!!. Realmente, seria muito difícil, mas, ela tinha que pensar em uma boa desculpa, pois nunca, nunca ela gostaria de magoar as netinhas de que tanto gostava.

The days went by, when naturally a way for Rebecca even wanted me to go back to stay in the crib and covered with that plastic bag. It was a Sunday when Rebecca asked me to go to children’s mass with her and Stephanie. I was hoping my mother would let me, as I had never left that bed since we arrived from London. Along with my mother, father and great grandmother, as we went down the stairs towards the main gate of the building, people who met us already started to want to know about my life. I started hearing the same old thing: “How beautiful she is!!! It looks real!!! What is your name???” And so it continued until the moment we entered the church. Everyone who looked at me in Rebecca’s lap said: “It looks like a real child!!!”. I started to get irritated, because, as I’ve said many times, what I would like most in life is to be a real child… and I’m not. At church we sat in the second row, and soon the kids who were sitting in front turned around, and started asking questions about me, and luckily about Stephanie and Rebecca too. They thought the two were twins, and that irritated them too much, as they were already tired of hearing about it too. Stephanie said right away: “Can’t you see my hair is a different color than hers?” Rebecca, more without patience than Stephanie, made a gesture with her mouth, showing that she was already tired of answering that same question. Fortunately, the priest arrived and the mass began, as our family was already ending the silence that one should have in a church. After mass we returned home, and as usual, my mother went to pack my bed next to Stephanie and Rebecca.

The moment she held me, my mother noticed that my face was a little damp. She was immediately worried, and Rebecca very scared with wide eyes asked what was going on. My mother replied that it must be the beach air that was affecting the material I was made of, and that she thought I would have to be covered in plastic again. Very sad Rebecca asked: “I won’t be able to play with her anymore?” My mother was very sorry, and promised that on weekends she could take me to mass. Rebecca and Stephanie understood and slept contentedly, after hearing my mother promise that I would continue to sleep next to them, but covered with plastic. I couldn’t stand the happiness anymore, knowing that these two children who had many toys and many dolls had loved me so much. I think I no longer cared about being a doll… because I knew I was very dear to such good and intelligent children.

Oh!!! I almost forgot to tell what happened when my parents went to the apartment where they lived for the first time. When they moved to London my father no longer knew where to put everything they had. So, he decided to hide behind a board at the top of one of the cupboards, several toys that belonged to his children. So, they found an electric train, children’s storybooks, different games and many dolls with their clothes. To my mother’s surprise there was a doll that had been Teresa’s, which was much bigger than me. Another called Mãezinha, because she always rocked a little doll in her lap, had belonged to Cláudia. There were other dolls that had been Paula’s. My mother was delighted with the dolls. His imagination soon went to work thinking about writing this story. She wanted to tell me about meeting these dolls with me, arriving from London, and very well dressed in my little Victorian coat.

He immediately thought of taking the dolls to my father’s mother’s house and having our date. So, when they returned home one night, the two walked along Ipanema beach carrying the two dolls in their arms. People passing by looked at them curiously, not understanding why two adults, almost ten o’clock at night, were carrying two dolls on their laps. One of the dolls with the head almost falling off the neck, and having a small swelling on one side. This swelling happened due to a problem that occurred in the rubber it was made with, as well as because it was kept for many years in a stuffy place. The very hot climate of Rio de Janeiro did not help to preserve the material with which the doll was made. When they finally arrived at my father’s mother’s house, from where I was lying, I could hear the maid and my father’s mother talking a lot, amazed to see what they were bringing. They didn’t understand why they brought two dolls falling apart to their house. But after my mother told me that they would be two characters in a story that she would write together with Charlotte, they soon understood and even liked the idea.

The next day, as soon as my mother woke up, she took the dolls and started the big task, that of transforming these dolls, so dirty, mistreated and injured, into decent characters for the story she was going to write. That’s how I met my new Brazilian friends for the first time. I felt sorry, because the eyes of the biggest one couldn’t even see their color, they were covered by a gray dust. Her neck was drooping, and her outfit… it wasn’t a little dress made of lace and bows like mine, it was a man’s jacket with a pattern and all colors. I heard my mother saying that it was my father’s favorite shirt to wear during carnival days. She didn’t know how they put it on such a pretty doll, that shirt that didn’t go well with dolls. It was a pity to see the state the doll was in. His hair, despite being very beautiful, was all stuck together and matted after fourteen years without combing. Although dirty, I could see that it had beautiful golden curls, the same color as my cornrows. I really liked it because my mother put me very close to her, and I could see all these details, but… they made me very sad. I was sure that my mother would quickly take care of her, as well as Mãezinha, whose name everyone already knew. Mommy was almost perfect, and she just needed to take a good bath and see if my mother could find her little son who was lost.

That’s what my mother did after my father had tied her neck a little, which was also loose. In the boxes that were left at my father’s mother’s house, she searched but couldn’t find them. Who knows, maybe someday she’ll find it in her own apartment. I was dying to know the name of Teresa’s doll, but… not even my mother remembered!!! I spent hours with the dolls, curious mainly to see what would happen. It was new to me to see dolls taking a bath. This had never happened to me!!! Good thing I stayed close to them at bath time. I really liked it, because I could see how dolls take a bath. There were days I was lying on the bed doing nothing, and it was already getting sad to live in Rio de Janeiro. Charlotte, Charlotte, wake up!!! Will you start again with your exaggerated jealousy??? I think it’s good to like these dolls, because without them you won’t have any friends to do your pranks. And so, I continued to see what happened. My mother put Mãezinha in a basin, and Teresa’s doll, which was much bigger than me, inside a very large tank that was in the service area. The two dolls took that bath that even I would like to take. I remember one day when I heard Teresa talking to my mother on the phone that her doll’s name was Amiguinha. Luckily I found out. I was surprised and admired when I saw my mother wash Little Friend’s head with her best shampoo, and put on a special cream for rinsing. If my father saw it… I think my mother would be scolded. Am I really starting to get jealous of these dolls!!! Take care Charlotte!!! Maybe one day you’ll also take a nice bath and maybe even go to the beach with them.

After the bath, my mother wrapped a violet bath towel around Teresa’s head and went looking for something that would fit both of them. Beforehand, he was careful to place them on top of a chair to get some sun. The day was beautiful, and the dolls looked like they had come to life. Friend’s eyes after cleaning, I could see that they were blue, and her hair… it was beautiful, it was shiny gold. As I watched how my mum took care of her, I started to remember the day my mum bought me at the street market in London… what a difference. How I envied Maezinha and Friend… Still dressed in my red coat, I couldn’t stand the heat any longer. Could it be that my mother didn’t notice that I was overdressed for the weather in Rio de Janeiro??? But, since arriving in Rio, she has only been concerned with the works on the apartment and the “refurbishment” of her new dolls. It wasn’t hard to find an outfit that fit Amiguinha. One of my mother’s wool blouses that had a high collar fit perfectly, looking like a long dress. In her hair, after brushing it very well, my mother tied one of her fine black silk scarves with pink and red flowers. How beautiful Amiguinha became… I could only think of the day when Teresa would meet Amiguinha again, and see how well my mother was taking care of her. I think Teresa took care of her, but for so many years she was abandoned in the closet… Her neck defect was covered by the high collar. I think my mother chose this blouse precisely to hide this problem that can never be fixed again. As for Mãezinha, she was left without any clothes and without her little son, but even so, she was pretty. Her hair was blond, long and shiny. Her eyes looked like a kitten’s eyes and they were also blue. I was already enjoying Rio de Janeiro after meeting Stephanie, Rebecca and these dolls that will be my little friends forever. I decided to like them a lot, and forget my unhealthy jealousy. I almost forgot to mention that I’m dying to meet Caroline. I always hear my mother say that she is so beautiful, so beautiful, that she looks like a doll taken out of a window.

The days went by, and early my parents left for the apartment that was under construction. While my father supervised the works in the apartment, my mother opened the boxes with dishes and everything else that had arrived. One morning, my mother decided to take me to our future home. I say wow, because that’s where I’ll be with them forever. My wish to be close to my mother on the day I took my little friends Feliz, Florida, Pirulita and the nameless doll out of the boxes came true. I was very lucky because, instead of my mother taking me into the rooms, I don’t know why, she took me to the living room and placed me very close to her. I was just in a place where I could see the boxes as soon as they were opened. Did she guess my wish??? It would be too much, wouldn’t it??? As I opened the boxes, I hoped that the time would come when the box where my little friends had been packed would be opened. And so it happened. My mother had carefully wrapped them in white tissue paper. The first thing I saw was the pretty little red shoe from Florida and then the funny little faces of each of them, looking like four little ghosts glad to see me waiting for them. Despite being dolls, they seemed to be smiling and happy to be home again. But… I think they were really happy to see me next to them again.

Florida’s smile, looked more like a real child’s smile despite being just knitted. Happy, with one of his little arms out, he seemed eager to start our pranks, along with Pirulita and the nameless little scarecrow. And sweetness??? Wonder where she was??? It had been more than a year since it had been taken to the warehouse. How will your hair that was already falling??? Sweetness will also be very happy the day the box she is in is opened, and my mother finds a special place for her to stay. I heard my mother say that she was going to stand on a chair, very close to her bed. And the beach air? Won’t it ruin Sweetie’s fur? This Rio de Janeiro is a complicated place to live. I’m looking forward to finding out where I’m going to stay. Well, I’ll see later. Calm down Charlotte!!! I’m even sounding like my mother, wanting to pack everything at once.

Weeks passed, when I heard my mother talking to my father, who was very worried, as all the crates had already been opened and Sweetness had not appeared. Had any crates gone missing during the move? It would be very bad luck to disappear precisely the box in which Sweetness was. Many days ago I was very worried, imagining that Sweetness could have come to life as I sometimes do, and run away while the busy men made the move. After my mother took Sweetheart to a very fancy store in London to have a little “plastic surgery” on her, I noticed that Sweetheart’s behavior was not what it used to be. I still remember Sweetness lying on the furniture shelf in my parents’ bedroom where it used to be. Sweetness was always pensive. I think that since that time, I was already thinking about leaving our home. I always heard Sweetness say that, if it were possible, she would like to create life and run around the beautiful farms that existed in England. I really think Sweetness didn’t pay attention to what my parents said, as well as the television news. In my dreams I always saw Sweetness as if she were still lying peacefully on the shelf of my mother’s dressing table. Almost every night the television showed hundreds of little foxes being devoured by the dogs that are used in hunting to amuse the owners of farms and their guests while they practice this horrible sport. I hope she didn’t do that silly thing, and that my mother can find it in one of the boxes my father packed the Christmas items. I remember it like it was yesterday, the day I caught Sweetie in front of the mirror seeing how her new tail had turned out. Sweetness now saw everything, because her eyes were also changed. She had become really beautiful, except for the hair on her body that kept falling out, and that worried her a lot. Sweetness, like me, was very vain. How could it not be, if it had been exposed in a window of one of the most chic stores on Fifth Avenue in New York??? My father remembers that time a lot, because he lived there for a few months, he was about twelve years old. So the days passed, and Sweetness was nowhere to be found. Everyone at home felt very sad whenever we thought of her, but we could only wait for time to pass and see if Sweetness appeared.

Without Sweetness at home, my mother decided to put Amiguinha on the chair in her room, where Sweetness would certainly be. While we were alone in the house, I liked to put my mother’s pillow next to the chair, and go upstairs to put Little Amiga in the right position where she liked to be. As we talked, I always said that as soon as Sweetness showed up, she would be locked in the closet with me. Little friend didn’t like to hear about it, because she felt very happy where she was. My greatest wish would be to see my mother sit me down in the living room, just so her visits would see me as soon as they arrived. Charlotte!!! Charlotte!!! I think you’re being very pretentious, and that doesn’t look good on someone like you. Well… it costs nothing to dream. When my father tells my mother that she is a dreamer, I hear her reply: “What would our lives be like if we didn’t live our dreams?” It was like this, that from so much dreaming about Sweetness, she appeared, inside a box where it was written: “Cláudia’s ballet outfit”.

I was standing next to my father at that moment, and as soon as he walked away from me, I took Sweetness in my arms and gave him a very tight hug. Sweetness snuggled into my lap, and placed her little head on top of my arm, as if she didn’t want to leave my side anymore. I never thought of seeing my little friend again. Sweetness was beautiful and very long. Her tail was quite big, and it was perfect, after my mother had it exchanged for a new one in one of the most expensive stores on Oxford Street in London. Hearing my father’s footsteps, I quickly put Sweetness where it was before, and watched what my father was going to do with her. And just like that, while my mother was calmly watching television, my father picked up Sweetie and tossed it onto her lap. My mother was very scared, and didn’t like the way he threw Sweetie in her lap, although he thought she would be happy to have found the Sweetness she liked so much. I heard my mother say that for the first time she felt something strange while holding Sweetie. It was as if she were holding a live animal, as she had always been terrified of animals. But, unfortunately Duçura was a dead animal, and had been for more than fifty years, since my father’s mother bought it to keep warm in the New York winter. Today Sweetness is just like many stuffed animals that exist in the world. How evil, isn’t it? Sweetness’s fur was very pretty, even though it had been falling out since we lived in London. He seemed to have some kind of illness, because he couldn’t hold Sweetness, his fur fell out a lot, besides being all crumpled. My mother looked at her with great pity, and regretted putting Sweetness in storage with her luggage. But time never goes back, and my mother was already worried about the ending she would have to give her Sweetness. Sweetness the next day would have to be put in the trash can. So when my parents went to sleep, I ran into the living room and grabbed Sweetie so I could spend a few more moments with her. Sweetness knew what his destiny would be, but how could he speak and show what he felt if he was just a simple stuffed animal!!! I never thought that this would be the end of a stuffed animal so beautiful and so dear to us. How to tell this story to Feliz, to the nameless scarecrow and Pirulita!!! Everyone looked forward to the day Sweetness was found so we could continue with all the games we used to play. From thinking so much about this situation, I had a brilliant idea and I ran to call Sweetness’s three friends. I told the truth, and so we spent Sweetness’s last night alive together. The day was already dawning when we returned to our usual places. As soon as my mother woke up, I heard her tell my father that he had to make a decision about Sweetheart’s life. I could feel how sad he was when he went to his room and brought a very large plastic bag. In his face I could see how sorry he was to put Sweetie in the trash can. But, there was no other way, and Sweetie with her cute little face, was taken to the service area where there was a large brown garbage can. Like a little ghost and without making any noise, I ran after my mother, because I wanted to be with Sweetness at that moment, I stayed close to her until the lid of the can was closed. Today we continue our lives without our little friend, and I’m sure that if it were possible, my mother would go back on what she did.  

One day, my mother, wanting to please us for finding us sad without the presence of Sweetness, took us out of the closet where she kept us, and sat us down on the sofa in her dressing room. We were arranged in a row like little soldiers, and very close to a beautiful pillow that Paula sent my mother on Mother’s Day. Paula never forgets her and misses her very much. I was seated between Feliz and Florida, and to our surprise, my mother appeared with a little doll dressed as an angel with long yellow wool braids. It really was very funny… My mother sat her very close to Pirulita. I think she was thinking of replacing that little angel with Sweetness in our little group of friends. After my mother left, we curiously went to pick up the little angel, all thinking about the name we would give our new friend. But… we had a “great surprise”, because the little angel already had a name… her name was LÚCIA, the same name as our mother. We all started smiling happily, and you know why? Because from that day on, we would always have our dear mother represented by the little angel with the yellow braids in our games. It is not funny? Our mother invents so many good jokes… I remember when Stephanie and Rebecca were in Rio, the mess they made with grandma Lúcia. I say grandma Lúcia, because of Stephanie, Rebecca, Caroline, Matthew and two other grandchildren that I haven’t met yet called Peter Paul and John Paul she is a grandmother, but of me, of Feliz, of the nameless scarecrow and of Pirulita, she is our dear mother. Our mother now has another daughter and her namesake, the little angel with the yellow wool braids. Just notice how funny Lucia is. While we were playing one day, Charlotte asked us if we thought Lucia looked like our mother. We were even taken aback by this absurd question, and soon we answered…

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

Charlotte got scared with our screams, and said: I was just kidding!!!

Rio de Janeiro, August 2000

MARIA LUCIA DA COSTA

PUFFIN BUNNY

Breath of Life This is the story of a little rabbit named Atchim. Atchim lived with his parents and little brothers in a very beautiful village called Mundo Encantado dos Animais. Atchim was not completely happy, because since he was born, he suffered from such a...

read more

NIGHTS OF INSOMNIA

Breath of Life Nights of insomnia.Nights with worried thoughts on my mind.Nights wasted  by countless thoughts,Until dawn brings us another day.  Why so many nights spent crying?Why such depth of anguish in a heart so full of joy?I miss the happy moments of the past,I...

read more

A BOUQUET OF MEMORIES

Breath of Life Contents: Photograph: by PAULA DA COSTA Introduction: People. Phases: 1.    The early years. 2.    And time went by. 3.    Friendship - Change of feelings. 4.    Missing my beloved ones. 5.    Always thinking. Epilogue: In honour of my...

read more

A BOUQUET OF MEMORIES …REMEMBERING MY PAST

Breath of Life I was the seventh of nine children: three brothers and six sisters, all born in the same house and with the same midwife Dona Suzana. Looking back on the early years of my life, I remember when in a room lit only by the shadows of a dim light, my...

read more

STOP IN TIME

Breath of Life stop in time, To see the day break over the horizon, Feel the sunset... and wait for the night to arrive. stop in time, To see children being born, growing up, And always smiling happily as time goes by. stop in time, To feel the cool breeze touching my...

read more

WHO AM I?

Breath of Life who am i? I ask myself, And I will never be able to answer... Because I myself do not know who I am! They say I'm tender, romantic and kind. But how long am I going to live with people labeling me with such sweet words? Life surprises us and changes us...

read more