Air pump

Back from Varginha, where Duílio, Aparecida, master Danilo and I went to visit the Mayor of Taurinos. I felt very sorry for the poor man. He wasn't any better than the state of shock described by master Danilo. The Conselheiros were themselves in shock at seeing him hands and feet covered by bandages. The Mayor had left a resignation letter with Duílio given to him by one of the nurses on duty. He was sleeping and the nurse said he'd left it with her so she could deliver it to the first Taurinian coming to visit him. He'd not be the Mayor of Taurinos any longer and would only go back to town for obvious reasons of residence there. Well, no wonder he did it. I'd never place blame on him.

"The vice-Mayor will have to take on office now", said master Danilo, almost sotto voce to me while we kept a certain distance from the Conselheiros.

"And just who's the vice-Mayor?"

"An ex-patient of yours in town", said the old countryman.

"My good Mithra… Andrés???"

"Himself. Our good old Andrés, "sá" Stella."

"And now this is what we got."

"But, "sá" Stella the kid was already the Mayor in fact. The Mayor himself, the official one had no say. Don't you remember the Law of the Bulls? It was the plump one all the time in command in town…"

"Master Danilo, for Mithra's sake, there's an army of teenagers coming to town soon, how come the brat will be the Mayor of Taurinos and a boy scout at the same time???", and I added it would be no fun at all having Andrés say things to his group like, "sorry, I'm unable to help you put up the tents now because I got to go to the Town Hall for paperwork."

The old countryman scratched his head. Course he hadn't thought of it before. In the meantime even if the Mayor hadn't resigned, Taurinos still wouldn't have a Mayor with the man all battered in the Hospital of Varginha. Andrés would have to take on office anyway.

"But just what is this party that lets children be part of it?", I asked him only to realize how naive I was being.

"Come on, there's no party at all, "sá" Stella; do you think things in Taurinos work the same way as in Santos? Andrés was the Mayor and have always been, he only put the little man there as figurehead."

I was silent. Yes, what difference would it make right now? Master Danilo was right. I knew where the command in town came or seemed to come from. I bet not even their surname was something casual.

"Really not, their name Conselheiro (Counselor) comes from their very function in Taurinos' society", master Danilo explained.

When we arrived at the farm Taurinos, Duílio gave his youngest the Mayor's resignation letter. Andrés grabbed the letter confused, glanced at us all, cleaned his glasses before opening the envelope. He read it and signs of dismay clearly showed on his face.

"I'm the Mayor of Taurinos now", he said it with not much conviction.

"So you are", said master Danilo, "now the helm is in your hands, handle it wisely."

I laughed out loud. The old countryman and the Conselheiros turned their eyes to me astonished at my episode of laughter. I apologized and went home, followed by master Danilo.

"Sorry, master Danilo, but it struck me as funny that you advised him to handle the helm wisely. You're such an incurable optimist", I said the moment we took seat at my house's porch.

"I had to say something to him as he seemed so discouraged…"

"I do understand what you mean", and I laughed again.

There was a huge, extended, almost eternal pause. I turned off light at the porch where moths and other nocturnal little creatures had already started to land on the porch wall attracted by the light, casting weird and twisted shadows across the brick surface. We were contemplating the night sky. From one direction of the road, we could hear the sounds of horses in the distance. From the opposite direction, the sound of a car engine. I was going to comment on how the two sounds overlapped when master Danilo stopped me with a gesture. He squatted, positioned his ear close to the ground and stood up soon with a grimace.

"Them?"

"So it's them. They're still far, but it's easy to tell who it is."

The car I had heard from the opposite side now was at my gate. A man got off, called me and waited at the gate. I turned on the porch light and went to see who it was followed by master Danilo that showed to be alarmed by the confluence of factors we had there. Lighted only by the porch light I had left behind, coming closer, his face suggested me someone I had seen before. Yes, I had seen the guy before. But just where? Where? I was afraid of these situations when faces and voices seemed familiar to me.

"Good evening, ma'am", the man said politely, "could you tell us if we are too far past Varginha now?"

"Two hundred kilometers, I dare say. Haven't I seen your face before?"

""Sá" Stella, time is nearly out, they're coming", master Danilo was really frightened.

"Maybe. We have a band and play southern Minas a lot. We're going to perform in Varginha tonight so that's where we're heading for", the man was disturbed at master Danilo's concern and asked what was going on.

"Nothing good at the moment. How many of you in the car?"

"We are three, my friend who is driving is our singer and my friend at the back seat is the saxophonist."

When I heard the word "saxophonist" I immediately remembered who they were.

"So your friend driving is called Paula and your friend at the back seat is George, right? So you're Bruno?"

"We'll so you know us", he seemed relieved, "yes, ma'am we're just looking for the way out of this town so we can get to Varginha in time for the…"

"Look Bruno, pay attention now: you got no time to look for the way out right now. Get your friends and let's go in my house for some time before these horses arrive here", Paula already stuck her head out of the car through the window to see what was going on. I got them to step out of the car and tucked everyone in my house in a hurry, "sorry, people, can't explain it right now". I turned off the lights and we waited in silence in the dark of my dining room. The musicians couldn't be more astonished and obviously were frightened by something they could hardly understand in a country town.

"They're here, "sá" Stella", the old countryman whispered.

The horses approached the porch slowly. The air got heavy as a mantle of lead being placed on the house like a blanket on a cage. The musicians started feeling out of breath. The brass knocker knocked five times as if it were going to crack the door down.

"Miss Grisam! Open up in the name of the Law!", the voice was that of a thunder wrapped in the sound of hundreds of gasoline drums coming downstairs with the staircase being dynamited; what followed was sinister giggling sounds from a teenager and a pre-teenager, "cool phrasing, eh, Miss Grisam, now please open up. There's a car outside with a license plate from Rio de Janeiro and I guess they're there with you", said a microscopic voice outside my door. Paula was frightened as she commented she'd never heard such a weird big voice mutated into something so small and so weird likewise in such a short amount of time.

"I'm opening, just give me some time", I said nervously.

"We ain't got the night to wait, Miss Grisam", said Anderson on the other side of the door. The sinister atmosphere of the Police had been soothed but would soon return in full force. I told the musicians that there were two kids on the other side of the door that had come to kill them all.

"They kill whoever is here without an authorization. If I can't prove you are you there's going to be deep shit here."

Paula was nervous and accused the guitarist of the group of misleading her and taking them all to deep trouble. I asked them to be calm and said I'd talk to the two kids outside. Master Danilo tried to calm down the singer and the other two musicians his own way. I opened the door and the two boys stared at me with their little faces tilted as little puppies which see something weird in you. They carried a shotgun each with a flashlight fixed to the barrel and hadn't come to talk.

"So, Miss Grisam, give us the outsiders and we'll take care of the rest", Renan smiled aluminous smile and stretched his neck to try to see in the penumbra of my dining room.

"Renan and Anderson, the three who are here…"

"Yes, a woman and two men. We know. We've been tracking them since they got to Taurinos. Come on, give us the three, Miss Grisam", clarified Anderson on the edge of his good will and patience.

"Look, they are a group of musicians from Rio de Janeiro. They came to perform in Varginha and lost their way."

"Way lost, I'd say", Renan replied, "they're two hundred kilometers from where they should be. Do you know them, Miss Grisam?"

"I do. They got a group in Rio called Kid Abelha, they started back in the eighties."

The two laughed at the name of the group and only Anderson seemed to know what was being talked about. He seemed to have heard of the group even that not being his favorite kind of music at all.

"Tell them to come out. One by one", Renan and Anderson aimed their shotguns at the door.

"Boys, I don't think you need to aim…"

"Boys, my fucking ass! Isn't this how you word your things? Now tell them to come out. One by one."

The perspectives were shady. The little devil used my speech against me now. I could even see myself watching hopelessly the dismemberment, mutilation and total annihilation of the group Kid Abelha, a group that composed themes that marked many occasions of my life. I was in a hurry and was interested in so many things. But nothing that much, it seemed.

First the saxophonist came out, pale as hell from seeing the two little creatures in black aiming at his head with a shotgun each. Then the singer came out and the last was the guitarist, followed by master Danilo. All of them were aimed at by the shotguns and lighted by the strong focus of their flashlights.

"Could you possibly take off your shades?", asked Renan to the saxophonist, confused as to why one would wear shades at night, "better now, at least you don't look like a fly anymore."

"Taurinos is a party right now you know, boy scouts coming and now musicians coming from everywhere. Where will it end? I've seen this lady on the Internet, I do know her", said Anderson with his flashlight on Paula.

Anderson asked who played what. The musicians answered a bit embarrassed and the blacksmith asked them to play a song by themselves to prove who they were. The three motioned to go, but Anderson held Paula by the arm.

"The lady is staying here. And please try not to be smart and depart, we'll kill the lady here and get the two of you before you dream of reaching Varginha."

She broke loose of Anderson's grip, frightened and revolted. The blacksmith apologized to her and the two other musicians brought their instruments after what felt like an eternity. The guitarist still tried to tune his instrument, but the singer almost hit him with his guitar on the top of her impatience. Then halfway between frightened and appalled at the situation, they played what seemed to be what follows next:

"I only have time for headlines in the subway. And what is going on in the soap opera, someone can always tell me in the aisles. I choose the movies I won't watch in the elevator. Using their rating I find in the critics section of the newspaper. I'm in a hurry and so many things get me interested, but nothing that much. I only concentrate in booklets, something that's so normal. I read the touristic booklets while the TV shows the commercial breaks. I know almost the world world by postcards. I know a bit of almost everything and I know so little about it all. I'm in a hurry and so many things get me interested, but nothing that much."

Nothing That Much, written by Kid Abelha in Seu Espião, 1984, WEA.

Renan loved the song. I see that Renan is somewhat attracted by pop music from Rio de Janeiro because I've already heard him singing a funk from Rio in the shower at home. He requested other songs but the musicians said they would not be able to peform them there.

"Look, Mr. Policeman, if you're going to kill us, do it right now, all of us. Because if we miss the time for our show in Varginha, it's them who are going to kill us, so let's just do it beforehand if it has to be done."

"All right you can go away", Anderson authorized them, "all you have to do is to turn 180 degrees and go down that road two hundred kilometers till you hit Varginha. It's the only thing at the end of this road, so you can't miss it… again."

Well, thanks to Mithra, the Obscure Police called it a day and by magic we could avoid them killing the three musicians of Kid Abelha what was good enough for many nights in my viewpoint. I came back to the porch with master Danilo and called the two kids to come sit down there with us; asked Renan if he was feeling better after acting so badly towards me as I did to him. The little devil said he did. Anderson gazed at the starry sky and master Danilo followed his gaze to infinity. Then Anderson glanced at everyone and said, "my good Mithra, it was real people."

"What are you talking about, dude?", inquired Renan.

"The musicians, Renan. We could've killed them all."

"Well shit happens, dude."

"Hell, no, Renan; if Miss Grisam didn't let us know they were true musicians and were really lost we'd have them leveled to the ground."

"We could have tested them with coarse salt. But you were in the mood for some music, preferred to hear them sing…"

I was looking at master Danilo. They could test them with coarse salt and they didn't? And real people could be at risk in town? The musicians would be in a ditch right now if they hadn't met me.

And the night followed on. I pointed at another constellation I had found next to the Southern Cross and that I had been fighting a lot to locate: the Air Pump. It was not a very attractive or defined constellation; it was more like a group of stars forming a square in space. I have always wanted to find it mostly because of its unusual name. Renan asked me why the name and I said that some astronomers liked to give the constellation names of groundbreaking inventions of their time.

Master Danilo would say later in many other occasions that the night spent gazing at the night sky with me and the Obscure Police was one of the weirdest and most fascinating nights in his lifetime.