Orchestral manouevres in the dark

Today I talked with the owners of the farm. They proposed me to stay with them until I decided what to do in Taurinos. Duílio and Aparecida said I could even stay for life. That they'd be glad to have me living here. That it would never redress my situation, but it was the least they could do for me. I conform a bit more to the situation. I shouldn't, but what other choice do I have?

"Sometimes I love and build castles. Sometimes I love so much I take vacations and go on a tour of hell. Am I medieval? I think I'm such a modern guy, in the fashion of the New Middle Age, in the average novelty's media."

Medieval, written by Cazuza and Rogério Meanda and performed by Cazuza.

"You'll have to forgive me for what happened the day before yesterday with Andrés…"

"No, I won't. If the five-minute lashing weren't enough, putting him on his knees was a bit too much to stand without embarrassment. Andrés himself told me he hadn't gotten the lashing he really deserved, but I don't care. I remember him on his knees in front of me, begging me to talk to you so you could allow him to deal with his bulls again. The day before yesterday I saw where he took this from. Barbarism begins at home."

"You wanted me to let him get away with it?"

"What I know is that there are more modern methods to punish someone. Duílio, he is just twelve…"

"You know pretty well he is not just any twelve-year-old."

"I don't care. Now he is a twelve-year-old. Let bygones be bygones."

"When he was my…"

He interrupted himself. The face twisted in a trance. And I saw what I had never seen before: the family man crying. He couldn't make it to the end of the sentence, but it was easy to guess what'd follow. Duílio let himself fall on the couch, tears rolling down. Aparecida sat at his side and hugged him. The confusion of knowing your life has changed beyond any reversibility. I do understand that feeling, that's what I have been living through since the day before yesterday.

Andrés had gotten down from his room but retreated quickly when he saw the scene from the stairs. Adriano wouldn't set foot in the living room for the world it seemed.

"Right now, your memory is getting longer and your life is getting shorter."

Right Now, written and performed by Van Halen.

Coffee. Outstanding discovery of the Arab and Southern Minas Gerais farmers. Master Danilo pours the black gold into two mugs. Few times have I seen him so thoughtful. He says he understands the situation. Tells me Taurinos is not that bad to live despite all we've seen. I told him I knew and even fell in love with the town when I first came. That was not the case. The heart of the matter was that I had no control of my own life any longer, so that was what it boiled down to.

Starry night on the farm Taurinos. The curiangos sit down by the side of the dirt roads and begin their night calls in the darkness. The frog percussion ensemble rehearses its first movements: orchestral manouevres in the dark.

Andrés comes to the porch; firstly he sits down and looks at the night outside. I do the same though I have been doing it for longer now.

"Orion", he said all of a sudden, "the Celestial Hunter. Fuck that's beautiful! I love to see him shooting that arrow."

"Yes, a permanent arrow."

"What happened to Dad this afternoon?", he asked, suddenly.

"He remembered he had been your son", I replied, as suddenly as he asked.

In a time like this | A permanent season

Radio Universal: Permanent Season