1980

Josias Rocha opens the door to his room and enters; then he closes it again. He got out of the shower, with only a towel wrapped around his waist, and goes to the wardrobe to put on fresh clothes.

He opens the wardrobe carefully because the doors are warped. His father wanted to assemble the furniture on his own and was not efficient.

As Josias pulls on his briefs, he hears a loud noise from the living room door. His father is watching television. It looks like the door has been broken open.

Next, angry and disturbed voices alternate with the frightened voice of Josias's father. Not just a visitor, Josias hears three or four voices, indicating a gang. There is a fierce discussion going on in the living room.

Curious and a little afraid, Josias goes to the door to listen better. He does not dare to leave his room and see who these men are, but by their tone of voice, you can see that they are not good-natured people.

“I swear to you, I'll pay next month, even if it's half!” That was the voice of Josias's father, almost crying.

One of the visitors said, “We know you don't have a job, and you haven't even left home to look. How are you going to pay us?”

Josias shakes his head. His mother got divorced because she could no longer stand her husband's unwillingness to stay in a steady job. She was so furious that when her ex-husband demanded custody of Josias, she accepted without question, and left, leaving her son behind. She is probably out of town or State now, married to another man.

Josias's father continued to “raise” his son, having a layabout life and avoiding work, until the bills accumulate and can no longer be ignored. Josias, in turn, performed some services properly to his age to have some money. If Josias waited for his father for everything, he would go hungry and deprived.

He spent all elementary and high school period with the cheapest sneakers and the cheapest clothes, using the cheapest school supplies, being a reason for mockery of more neat students. But his zeal for his studies and his good grades made the teachers proud.

Now, at 18, Josias needed to face adult life, but apparently, he won't be able to count on his father again, mainly on the financial issue. It’s because apparently, his father is in more and more trouble. As the conversation progresses, Josias discovers that his father took money from a loan shark.

Even a young person like Josias already knows that borrowing money from a loan shark is a risky and foolish decision. They have no qualms about charging, and their faces don't even flush with the extortionate interest on the amount.

Josias is even more concerned with the discussion that seems to have no end. To make matters worse, his father was drinking, which must have irritated the loan shark collectors even more. Tired of hearing excuses, they set off for physical aggression. Josias hears noises of furniture being knocked over and punches being thrown at his father, who screams in pain and calls for mercy.

Josias wouldn't be crazy to leave the room and face them. It’s because Josias is only 18 and his build is normal for his age, and the attackers would probably be over 30 to 40; even more knowing that there is more than one.

“No, please, listen to me... NO!”

This was the last time that Josias heard his father's voice. One of the collectors fired three revolver shots. Glued to the bedroom door, Josias only heard the shots. Shocked, astonished, Josias is unable to move.

“Let's see if there's anything interesting here for us to enjoy.”

Done! If before Josias was unable to move; now he reacts as if he has been struck by a lightning. If the bill collectors find him in the room and see that he is the son, what could happen?

From the two options, one: either they would kill him too to have no witnesses, or they would want to collect the debt through him. And Josias found the second option the worse of the two. He was not going to let strangers intimidate him into paying a debt he didn't owe. But, Josias didn't want to die either. What to do?

Without thinking twice, Josias spotted the gray sweatpants he was going to put on and quickly grabbed them. He also spots some money bills that were on top of the dresser and grabs it.

The bedroom window was open. Josias puts on his slippers, climbs on the bed, and from the bed passes through the window. He looks back, hears the steps of the killer collectors walking down the corridor. Well, they went straight through. It’s easier for him to escape.

So, with a sad look, without even seeing his father for the last time... Josias looks at his room for the last time and jumps out the window. His luck was that the house was single-story. Outside, he hastily puts on his sweatpants, puts the money in his pocket, and runs as fast as he can.

Josias hadn't remembered to pick up his watch or his wallet, nothing more. All he wanted to do was get out of his house as soon as possible. The only thing he remembers at the moment was that when he went to take a shower, the clock said seven in the evening. He supposed it would now be half-past seven at night. So the neighborhood bus was still running.

Josias quickens his pace and goes to the street where the bus passes. As he approaches the bus stop, a boy is waiting for the next time. Josias sits on the bench and is also waiting for transport.

As he sits, Josias leans over and heaves a sigh of dismay. The boy who is waiting to drive with him would never have imagined that the boy who sighs had just lost his father murdered by loan shark collectors.

Josias still didn't want to shed any tears; he doesn't want to draw undue attention from the other boy. He puts his hand in his pocket and counts the money he collected in a hurry to escape. Yes, the money would be enough for the trip. But where exactly did Josias go?

Josias's neighborhood

probably not anymore

is called Rainbow Garden, where the majority of the residents are manual laborers. It wasn't a classy suburb, but it wasn't an ugly, sloppy neighborhood either, since the population was humble. Residents did their best to keep the neighborhood clean and orderly. There was a Residents' Association that looked after the neighborhood and looked for basic services with the City Hall, such as transportation; Street lighting; security; education, and health. The streets were paved and residents had sewage, telephone, and gas.

But, as everywhere, there is always the bad apple that bothers the good apples. And in the Rainbow Garden, it was no different. The moneylender that Josias's father had the folly to borrow money from was known in the neighborhood. His house was one of the best; it looked like a Beverly Hills mansion. And the henchmen who worked for him put fear in the neighborhood. They did the dirty work. When the police came to arrest, they were the ones who were arrested. The moneylender managed to get rid of the evidence and remained at large.

The bus approaches the horizon. For the first time, the other boy notices that Josias is shirtless, and sweatpants are not a typical piece of clothing to be worn by someone who is going to board the bus bound for Downtown. Josias, however, has his thoughts distant; he didn't even care about the other's critical eye.

The bus stops, the rear door opens and the two boys enter. The changer also notices Josias's little dress. Josias, walking around the bus like a somnambulist, oblivious around him, sits on one of the benches and leans against the window. The bus travels and Josias follows the landscape. The second guy sits behind Josias, with visible curiosity.

The bus leaves Rainbow Garden and continues through Lagoon City. And that's when Josias realized that he didn't have enough to spend a night anywhere. Therefore, he could not continue his journey to Downtown or a wealthier suburban area.

Wandering around Downtown or in a noble neighborhood in the state where Josias is would be unwise. People would easily take him as a beggar, or a deviant drug user, or a mental imbalance who had run away from the asylum. And becoming a beggar was all that Josias didn't want.

That was how, when paying attention to the landscape again, Josias realized that he was passing through the entrance to Happiness Slum. The name had nothing to do with the appearance of the area; it was a low-class, bad-reputation place. However, it was the only worthy place for someone with a financial situation like Josias.

Josias straightens up on the bus seat and starts thinking about getting off the bus, when the other boy, overcome by curiosity, stops the other, taking him by the wrist. “Hey, man, are you in need of help?”

Josias looks indifferently at the guy. He’s dark, handsome, with glasses, a long-sleeved shirt, and jeans. He is the same age as Josias, probably a religious boy who is going to church.

Josias doesn't want to be rude and gives a slight smile. “No, man, thank you very much.”

“Are you sure? Do you need some change?” The boy starts looking in his pockets for some money. But when he releases Josias's wrist, he pulls the signal wire for the driver to stop at the next bus stop.

“Do you really want to help me, buddy?” Josias speaks more firmly, “Pray for me.”

The boy stops looking for money, looks at Josias, and smiles widely. “Sure, brother, I'll pray for you. What's your name?”

The bus was slowing down as it approached the requested stop. Josias notices and responds quickly, “Josias Rocha.”

“Josias Rocha. I, Everaldo Siqueira, will pray for you and plead 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?”

“Amen!” Josias responds; somewhat moved. Despite the need to get off,

the driver gets wild when asked to stop and no one gets off the bus!

Josias wanted to stay a little longer, as he felt a connection with Everaldo that he was unable to explain at the time. But, it was time to get down.

After the two say goodbye with a handshake, Josias goes to the front door

the driver also notices Josias's little clothes

and disembarks. When the bus goes on its way, Josias and Everaldo see each other for the last time, the two waving their hands on their foreheads, the typical military greeting. So, Josias turns on his heel and faces his new neighborhood.

“Well, Josias!” he said to himself, trying to cheer up, “Time to get to know your new neighborhood!”

Josias starts walking. He is walking down the widest street, the main one. That's because, in Happiness Slum, there was no type of urban planning. The main street was the only one opened by the City Hall, as it was a street connecting Happiness Farm. The family who owned the farm sold all the land to the City Hall and moved to the United States. The City did nothing with the land and little by little the residents invaded the place, building houses without care around the street.

As the residents were poor and miserable people, in very low living conditions, the houses built were not of the best quality and reflected the identity of their owners. Many of these houses were not plastered. Most of them were built very close to the sidewalk of the street, which removed the privacy of the resident. Nobody thought about leaving a space for the front yard or garage, the main door opens directly onto the street.

With this type of construction, when Josias inadvertently looked at the window of one of these houses very close to the sidewalk, he saw another man totally naked looking for what to wear in the wardrobe, without caring about the open window. In another house, he accidentally saw a woman in her thirties watching the soap opera in a nightgown, lying on the sofa.

Ashamed, Josias leaves the sidewalk and starts walking in the middle of the street. At least in Rainbow Garden, the houses had a front yard, and no one was so exposed. How easy it must be to be robbed in this place if people inadvertently leave everything open!

Now Josias had to watch the street. Even though it was wide, it did not prevent people from driving their vehicles carefully. A cyclist could easily dodge Josias, but he made a point of almost running him over and demanding that Josias look where he is. Cars pass down the street with no sense of minimum speed. Bikers pass by leaving smoke and deafening noises. Josias starts to wonder if the residents here can sleep.

To complete the noise, one of the houses was listening at an absurdly loud volume “Xanadu”, by Olivia Newton-John. Josias knew the music, but now he was not in the mood. In front of the house, a group of black teenage girls tried to reproduce the choreography. Another insensitive car driver drives at high speed, very close to the girls. They scream in fright and separate to avoid being run over.

“Where's the happiness in this place?” Josias asks gritting his teeth.

As he approached a crowded and messy bar, with a group of drunks singing a samba out of tune with drums and tambourines, Josias realized that the commerce was on a corner. He passed through many alleys, but this passage had room for at least one car to pass. He noticed that the residents parked their cars on the sidewalk so as not to block the street. Josias approaches. “Hope Street”, so it was written on a hand-painted blue-colored sign. In fact, the residents maintained their optimism despite everything.