"Could I have a coconut, please?" " Want do you want?" " A coconut." "Give him a coconut, then." "Close that book, mom." "Don't fret, kid." "There's another boat at five." " I know." "Not till five, right?" " As punctual as clockwork." "Not always, Zaqueu!" "Sometimes it arrives at six, seven." " Sometimes it doesn't come at all." " Oh, Souza!" "It doesn't!" "But don't worry, folks sleep in a little room I have out the back if the boat doesn't show up." " Another shot for me, Souza, please." "No." "First finish that one, then I'll give you another." " But there's nothing left!" " Boasorte feeling down on his luck?" "Don't worry, being cuckolded is a man's job." "I'll take your word for it, Souza." "Hey mom!" "The coconut." "Close that book, mom." "Learning to read at her age!" " Can be useful." " Useful for what, Zaqueu?" "You never know." "Even I, not that I can read or write, but I can tell you a tale about what writing is capable of." "The most amazing thing I..." " Well you wouldn't want to hear it." " Go on!" "Out with it, man!" "Come on, the kid's got hours to wait anyway." "Days!" "So listen carefully, then:" "It happened in the Valley of Javé." " The Valley of what?" " Javé." "In the village where I was born and grew up." "It was when the most terrible... tragedy came to pass." "That's right:" "They're going to build a dam, and Javé lies... in the path of the water, before long all this will be a reservoir." "We'll all have to leave!" "No way!" "They can't make us leave our own homes!" "They can." "Vado was with me." "Tell them, Vado!" "The engineers spread the maps out for us... and explained everything down to the last little detail." "Lots of numbers, photos, so many of them!" "They told us all about the benefits and the progress the factory will bring." "It's the sacrifice of the few for the benefit of the majority." "I don't know who the majority are, but we're the few who come in with the sacrifice." "Right, Zaqueu?" "So I asked them if there was anything on earth we could do... to save Javé from the waters, because if there was, I swear, we'd do it!" "So, Zaqueu?" "Is there a way?" "They said that they only don't flood places with some... great historical importance." "When the houses are listed and become patrimony, or something." " Then no one can touch them!" " We've had it then!" "This place isn't worth what a cat buries!" "You've got what a cat buries for a brain, idiot!" "Because, Firmino, contrary to what you may think... that was exactly where a flicker of hope lit up inside me:" "Because if Javé is worth anything... it is because of the stories of its origins the first fighting people... who came the stories you're forever telling and retelling." "And that, folks, is history and patrimony, great history!" "And did you tell the engineers that, Zaqueu?" "Like you told us just now, really convincingly?" " Did I tell them?" "Sure I told them!" " Damn right!" "It was no use." "No use at all!" "No use my telling them there's plenty of land and property here... acquired through verbal agreements." "But that's all right, we can tell them who owns what verbally!" "But Zaqueu, what the hell is a verbal agreement?" "Well, folks would climb up onto a hill, and see the valley below, and say: "From this rocky bend to the stream where everyone bathes;" "and from there as far as João Fubúia's land, everything lying... within that stretch is my land, signed so-and-so."" "That was how the lands were divided up, and passed from father to son." "I'll do that, then, I'll come along and say:" ""From the river bank to Zé's store." "From the bridge to the parabolic antenna, that's all mine." "Signed, Souza." Hey, mom!" "I'm rich!" "None of your modern thieving!" "Each man only ever spoke a portion which he'd be able to cultivate." "So how could the folks of Javé defend lands... which were only owned by word of mouth?" "It wasn't easy." "But when everything seemed lost... an idea saved me and began growing in my mind." "Wait a minute!" "Listen!" "The men said they wouldn't flood historical patrimony, right?" " Right!" " So I know what we have to do!" "What are we to do?" "To this day, no one's written it because we haven't needed to." "But now we're gonna write the great story of Valley of Javé!" "Let's put all the stories down on paper, folks." "Dig out all the goings-on of value." "Put them in words." "Collect everything of importance... to show the authorities why Javé has to be preserved." "That's right." "No shortage of great stories of value, right folks?" "There's just one thing, though:" "They told me it will only be valid, if it's... scientific!" "What's scientific, Zaqueu?" "Scientific means it means not all those tall stories you're always making up!" "All those dubious tales you like telling!" "Hey!" "Everything I say happened in real life!" "And how are we meant to collect stories, if they're all spread about in the minds of all the folks?" "!" "Whose sacred hand is going to act as scribe, and put words to paper?" " Get Antonio Biá!" " No!" " Not Antonio Biá!" " But to act as scribe?" "Who's the only one that knows how to write?" "It's Biá!" "Get Biá, hey you!" "You lot can't even write your own name!" "ANTONIO BIÁ" " DEAD IN 195O BORN IN 2O25" "INTELLECTUARY AND ALCOHOLIC" "Villain!" "You're no good, Biá!" "A good-for-nothing!" "All right, Zaqueu, but what the hell did this Blá do?" "Folks were dying to get their hands on Biá!" "He used to work at the post office." "But what would a place with no one to read or write... be doing with a post office?" "So the office was to be closed." "So, in order to save his job, Blá decided to write a letter to... all the towns in which he knew someone." "And in order to provoke... these people, he started Inventing stories using the life of the village:" "He exaggerated things which went on, lied and maliciously... slandered a few of the unhappy villagers." "All done with great wit, he knew what he was doing." "What happened was that the amount of post Increased, and he kept his job." "But the stories, once planted In the mouths of folks, spread fasterthan the wind!" "When the people of Javé found out, there was no forgiveness!" "They wanted to thrash and beat poor Antonio Blá to a pulp." "In the end, he was chased out of Javé for good." "Antonio Blá lived alone somewhere in the region." "But now folks needed him." "We brought the villain!" "Look, Vado, Zaqueu." "I brought what you ordered." "Sit him down." "Wait!" "Leave him alone!" "Stop!" "Right, calm down." "I thought we'd agreed?" "Let's do this properly." "Look here, Antonio Biá." "Right here." "Folks don't forget, Biá." "Here's the proof of your cunning." "The meddling letters you spread across the region." "I've managed to recover plenty of them, on my trips." "Read it, Antero." ""Dear friend, there's one case here of an old man who acts like... a majestic stud, strutting at anything in a skirt." "But the poor fellow no longer has any use or competence... in that department so dear to all men."" " You shameless villain!" " Take it easy, Vado!" "We must agree that although Antonio Biá only ever wrote lies, he wrote very well." "So now, Biá, the village will give you a chance... to exercise your job as scribe, and to carry out the greatest deed in your life." "We want you to write the great story of the Valley of Javé." "You want me to write..." "What?" "We have to make a dossier, collect in writing the important things... which occurred here." "Isn't that right?" " That's about it." " But Zaqueu..." "Everyone!" "What the hell of importance has ever happened in Javé?" "The way to find out is by listening to our people telling... the stories." "And writing them down." "Listening and writing!" "That's how you'll help us." "Only there's one thing, they can't be invented stories, made up." "The stories have to be true." "Scientific." "And how long have I got to give birth to this dossier?" "I'll be off to see the authorities tomorrow to tell them... the people of Javé are meeting and preparing the documents." "When I return, you'd better have made good progress." "I don't know." "It all sounds pretty crazy." "Look, Biá, you once saved your job at the cost of the folks here." "Now you're going to save the folks at the cost of your work." "See?" "Either you accept, or you get the hell out once and for all... leading the way before the water starts rising." "Bring me a large bowl for making soap." " I'll pay when you get back." " All here, lady!" "Hey, Zaqueu!" "Lord, the man's been brushed and polished!" "Like it?" "You can travel and rest assured, Zaqueu, I've given my word, and the promise will be kept." "Good morning, Dito." "I haven't forgotten what you ordered!" "Hey, Senhor Dito, say good morning to the poor, man of God." "Good morning, Biá." " Is that the book of salvation?" " Exactly." "Look, I never even touched it." "Move it around in your mouth." " It's a bit big, isn't it?" " It's great, like a corn on the cob." "Let me see." "Smile." "No, it's not big." "It's your cheeks that are small." "And it makes you look more cheerful, smiling." "Just like an alligator in love." "You can even start dating again, you're looking gorgeous." "Not sure for how long." "It wasn't easy convincing folks to have you back." "Don't betray my trust in you!" "I'll return as fast as I can!" "Teresa!" "Terê!" "Hey, Teretetetei!" "Teresinha!" " Is your father in?" " No." " Is your mother in?" " No." "Excuse me, then." "Biá, you shouldn't have come in." "I'm always wrong:" "I enter without asking permission... and will only leave if I'm told to!" "What mad longing:" "Mine so great, yours so small!" "I mean, I love you more than you me." " My father!" " To hell with your father!" "I've been looking for you all over, Vicentino." "I wanted you to be the first!" "Please be so kind as to take a seat." "Well now, Vicentino, I came to hear and note down all your... important memories of Javé, the history and pre-history, to put in the book "The Odyssey of the Valley of Javé" " Part One"" "I don't use pens." "Can't get used to them." "Have you noticed?" "Pens hurry across the paper without brakes, and if you make a mistake, they make a terrible mess." "An ink diarrhea." "But not pencils." "Pencils are marvelous." "Pencils grip the page, you can rub them out, they obey hand and thought." "I'm the sort of man who can only think in pencil, Vicentino." "But coming back to Javé..." "Look, if anything I wrote in those letters offended you, you will tell me." "I've been offered plenty for this gun." "I wouldn't sell it for anything, nor exchange it for a favor." "This butt was once held by Indalécio." " Indalécio?" "The founder of Javé?" " The very same." "As you probably know, I'm almost certainly a distant... relative of that noble warrior." "Indalécio was a tough, dry, systematic man who never said yes when he meant no." "To him, there was only ever one way of doing things." "They say he never dismounted his horse." "That he slept sitting on it in order to always be ready for war..." " Aren't you going to write?" " Of course, Vicentino!" "In-da-lé-cio!" "There!" "The history of Javé begins with Indalécio." "He guided our forefathers, a handful of valiant men left over from a lost war." "They had been expelled from their land of birth by orderof the..." "Klng of Portugal, who wanted to take the gold that was theirs." "So Indaléclo, although wounded, brought his people far," "In search of a safe place." "But Indaléclo couldn't find the right place." "He wanted to go further, out of reach of the government and king." "They walked for days, months, even, carrying the bell, their most sacred possession." "Indalécio entered that sea of cattle, chose the best animal, and killed it to satisfy the hunger of our people." "He didn't say a word and... hey!" " Why aren't you writing?" " What do you mean?" "I am writing!" "What am I, blind?" "I can see you're not moving your hand over the paper!" "But I can't write it all down at once, Vicentino." "And look, forgive me, sir, but this story about Indalécio... taking a bull, just like that, that's no good!" " What's no good?" " No one would let him just go... and take a whole bull like that!" "You've got to improve that part." "Improve it, how?" "You want me to start making it up?" "Not make it up, just give it a few frills." "Let's see." "Let's see now." "The days seemed never-ending to... those hungry fighting folk who... could no longer breathe anymore." "So, then the herd of cattle passes them, well fattened, that sea of cattle... which was enough... to make a man weep, just seeing those fat rumps, ribs, the humps hissing on the spit," "dripping fat into the flames." "But there were many armed men guarding the cattle, so Indalécio thought of a special battle plan:" "He waited until nightfall and when the cattle were quiet... and the cowboys stretched out, in the middle of the darkness, he took two men from his gang, the bravest." "Only he didn't call them by name." "He used "onomatopoeias", which is the language of the animals." "One was called Rolinha and the other Zé da Onça." "And he told them to sneak up quietly, crawling in among the herd, and..." " And?" "And what?" " Hold on!" "Hold on!" "And..." "And so they took off their sandals and put them on the four... hooves of the fattest bull." "Having shod the animal they slowly lead it out, not making any noise, without firing a shot but with plenty of bravery and cunning." " Would you do me a favor?" "Go back and write exactly what I dictated!" "But wouldn't it be better like that?" "They take the bull by the horns, Vincentino." "Look!" "And who do you think is going to believe in somebody... putting shoes on a bull without making any noise, Biá?" "!" "What happened is one thing, and another is what you write down." "The facts have to be improved in the writing so that folks believe what happened." " I don't like the sound of this at all." "But let's not quarrel over all that." "Look!" "I have your story recorded in my mind." "Later I'll write it down at my leisure, do a grand job." "And then I'll show it to you, all right?" " But I haven't even finished!" " You can finish later." "For now I just need your name, surname and..." "Christian name for the book." "Vicentino..." ""Indalécio"... da Rocha." "Hey, Biá!" "Please, take a seat and enjoy it, cause today it's on the house." " Free?" " Free, like I said!" "Heavens above!" "Apart from women, it 's the barber's hands... which are the most gentle with a man's face!" "So, Biá." "How's our book coming along?" "Are folks collaborating?" "Sure, folks are collaborating, folks always collaborate." "Look, I want to help, you know." "I'd like to give you a little story to put in your little book." "I have one, it's not exactly a story of great value..." "I can imagine." "Yes, but you're a man of ideas, aren't you?" "And write nicely." "Close your mouth." "I thought..." "Thought what, Dirceu?" "I thought a beard's not something you can just do the once." "It grows every day." "So you could put my name under a great story... in that book of yours." "Even if you had to doctor it a little bit!" "Wait a minute, Dirceu!" "That's not how it works!" "You're mixing up habeas corpus and Corpus Christi." "My work has its responsibility, the truth." "Don't get me wrong, for the love of God." "And the world these days isn't like the old days, when if you had a man, a field and a donkey, you already had a good story." "Not nowadays!" "Telling stories these days is very difficult." "I want a year of free shaving, at least." "A year, Biá?" "I was thinking of six months, at the most." " Or I'll shave you every second day." " Certainly not." "You think again and make me a proposition worthy of my efforts." "Morning, Biá." "I thought I'd come with you." " What for?" " You might need help." "And to hurry you along if you're taking too long." "Damn!" "How did he do it?" "Anyone home?" "!" "Hello, Deodora!" "Either you're very courageous or you've no shame." "Out!" "I am already out, Deodora." "I want to come in!" "I wouldn't let you in by order of heaven or hell." "You deserve a good beating." "You inventive villain, lying dog!" "I'm not inventive!" "I just showed that there was fire, where all anyone could see was the smoke." "The written word is like that!" "A bent man becomes a hunchback, I call people with a squint, one- eyed." "If a man limps in real life, in my story I say he's only got one leg." "That's what the rules of writing are all about." "Well my rules are different, Biá!" "You look here, now get out of my house!" "Otherwise I'll crack your skull open." "Get out, Biá!" " Vanish!" "I can't stand you." " Don't exaggerate, Deodora, chickens who peck too much risk finding a snake." "If you don't want me to, I won't record your story." "Or I'll write down the first thing which comes into my head!" "Sit down, Dona Bijú." "And you get on your broomstick and fly to Salvador, go on!" "Now listen!" "Listen carefully." "I was minding my own business when they came to fetch me." "I'm only doing my job." "If you have nothing to say for me to put in the pages of the great... story of Javé, then good-bye and "sayonara"!" "Right, Deodora, bare your heart." "I want emotion!" "I know about emotions." "Start writing, Biá." "You know as well as everyone else that Javé began with people... fleeing from the war." "I can't now recall which war that was." "The war against the crown." "The king of Portugal wanted the land because there was gold." "Oh yes, the war against the crown." "But the fact is, our people were fleeing..." " Not fleeing!" "They retreated." " Isn't it the same thing?" "No it's not!" "Fleeing is when the men turn their backs on the enemy and run off, like cowards." "A retreat is different." "There the men walk backwards, slowly, but with their heads turned towards the enemy!" "And what if the enemy's isn't on either side?" "Look, Firmino, do us a favor!" "Wait!" "If frogs in the swamp all spoke in turn, there wouldn't be such a din!" " It's too early for such a rumpus!" " Biá, let Deodora speak." " Shut up, you old hen." " You should have more respect Biá!" "Old crow, then, is that better?" "Have you no respect?" "Right, well they walked for many days, exhausted." "Indalécio was..." "You can skip that part, Deodora." "Vicentino already told the first bit." "But he probably told his version of it." "I bet he never even mentioned the name Mariadina!" "Yes, but everyone knows you think you're related to Mariadina!" "Not just think, sir." "I really am, and I can prove it!" "All of Mariadina's descendents have this birthmark." "See, Biá?" "See?" "We all have it!" "Yes, and a very fine mark it is, too!" "So... robust!" "Too bad I can't stick you in the book as proof." "So now let's get on with the facts!" "Let's get on with the facts!" "The fact is, a lot of folks here don't give Mariadina the credit she's due!" "And do you know why?" "Just because she was a woman." "They walked for days, there was little to eat and many died along the way." "Although wounded, Indaléclo led the group, but nowhere looked right for his people to settle." "Marladlna disappeared for a day and a night." "But the next day, Marladlna returned to guide her people to... a place the birds of the night had shown her." "And there, in the great valley, she spoke the boundaries of Javé:" "Towards the southern cross as far as the eye can see, the land shall be ours." "In the other direction, as far as a man can march in a day, the land shall be ours." "And here, where the valley ends, this is Javé." "Here is where we shall raise ourchlldren." "Yes, folks, Mariadina sure was an important woman." "Write that, Biá!" "Hey, are you asleep?" "Sleep at your place!" "Write that:" "Mariadina sure was an important woman." "Uh-oh, things which never happened are becoming the truth." "What do you know about it, Firmino?" "I know I'll not invent things just to please my relations." "I'm not inventing anything!" "Really!" "I know that Indalécio never died on horseback." "He died crouching down because of a knot in his intestines." "And do you know what Indalécio's last words really were, upon departing this world?" ""To live a life so fair, only to die shitting everywhere!"" "And look, Biá." "I'll go further:" "Mariadina!" "Mariadina was never in Indalécio's gang." "Because soon after he came bringing his "retreetees" you hear, Vado? "retreetees"!" " "Retreetees"." "She was already running around the valley like a wild dog!" "Don't you start on Mariadina, will you?" "Well, I can prove everything I'm saying." "Scientifically!" "But the real story, the truly true one, was this." "With finger or without." "Mother, when I die Bury me on a corner!" "Under a jujube tree So cattle walk over" "Leave my hand out to Wave to the girls" "This is a good place to stop." "Hold this." "My god!" " Who's there?" " Heavens!" "What's that, it even speaks?" "It's not an it." "It's a she!" "Mariadina." "Who are you people?" "Who are you?" "We are glorious fighting people, who are fleeing... that is, not fleeing, but in retreat, expelled from our land of gold and have walked far." "It's a sign." "And you, sir, for I have to guide and "illuminate"!" "But the everyday sun is enough to guide and illuminate me!" "But at night you've nothing to illuminate!" "You all stay here because at break of day, not a bird will be singing." "But when the other night comes, the birds will sing and fly, inverted, on the contrary, mistaking night for day." "Mistaking night for night and leading you all." "To lands which will be yours." "For you to live in grace and bury your dead." "And take you to the living hell!" "Come on." "Get up, you rascal!" "That's the biggest load of nonsense I've ever heard!" "Making Mariadina a crazed vagabond!" "Write the story I told you, which is the right one, will you?" "A true story is what happened, not what you made up." "I already told you I'm not making anything up!" "Stop that nonsense!" "I heard tell that Indalécio died shitting." "He was a brave man, but he died taking a dump!" "I couldn't give a damn, sweetheart." "It was his asshole!" "I can believe that about Indalécio, but not Mariadina!" "She was a fighting woman, and strong, not some old woman with a screw loose, like you folks!" "What's to be done, Biá?" "I don't know." "Unless I write them both down." "Oh, no!" "No way!" "If I were you, I'd put mine, which is true history, Biá." "Not yours!" "Mine!" " Put Firmino's!" "Firmino's!" " Put them both!" "Both are true!" "Calm down." "Let's vote on it." "Whoever thinks it's Deodora's Mariadina, raise your hand." "And Firmino's?" "You raised your hand twice, Dona Maria!" "It just happens that both stories have some truth." "You can't exclude one without harming the other." "But you can't tell both stories in the same book." "Yes you can!" "Wait a minute!" "Wait!" "Look, folks." "This matter deserves more thought." "This is a scientific job and you're not used to that." "That's understandable, so later on I'll return to take down more details, notes and proof." "Because that is how science is conducted." "You can't do it like this." "One against the other." "Deodora shows what's what, but not with the emotion I want." "Not to mention you!" "You're like a tambourine." "A silicone fish." "You talk like the devil and a dog eating mango." "This is more like a mosquito's New Year party!" "You will put my story in the book, won't you, Biá?" "I know people who can prove everything, word for word." "Vermin!" "What can you prove?" "The dried turd of Indalécio?" "You've had your chance, let the man rest!" "Look, Antonio, these folks talk too much!" "If you like we can go over there in the shade, nice and quiet, just the two of us, and I'll give you a summary of the entire story... of Indalécio, Mariadina, and many others besides." "People who talk too much start saying good morning to horses." "You know everything in this world." "You're geniuses:" "Einstein and Saint Augustus." "You probably even know where ants piss." " Wait a minute, Firmino." " What is it?" "Fag!" " Did he say "bag" or "fag"?" " Fag." "You son of a gun, I'll get you!" "Give me a diet-liquor." "What are you sniffing at?" "Don't be such an idiot!" "These stories are ours." "The stories are yours, but what's written is mine." "Antero, give me a box of matches, please?" "Certainly, Firmino." "Do you like books?" "Are you an "intellectuary"?" "A bookworm?" "Well none of this is your business." " Oh!" "I've no change." " Then I'll pay later." "You know I never sell on account." "Then take the money and I'll fetch the change later." "And I can't take what belongs to others." "So keep your matches, thank you very much!" "I can't do that either, you've already used one." " So what am I supposed to do?" " How am I to know?" "You shouldn't have been so hasty!" "Who said you could strike the match before paying?" "That's right, Antero." "Quite right." "I've a lot of respect for such wisdom." "I'll be back to write your biography, because you're a genius of Javé's economics." "I'd rather drop dead, dead, than share a drink with a man of Biá's class!" ""To live a life so fair, only to die shitting everywhere!"" "And by the way, Vado, while we're on the subject, you know young girls' farts are really tight, pffff." "And old ladies come from an altogether larger instrument, looser, like this:" "Poooufff!" "And some come out startled." "And there are those bad ones, you think they're weak, but they're like this." "Just think, Vado, if our farts gave us propulsion!" "Like this:" "Hey Biá!" "Get up!" "Come on, you tramp!" "It's late in the day and you're still not up?" "Wake up, the sun's up, man!" "Biá!" "What's going on?" "Is this the time to be waking a Christian?" "We Christians are already up." "Do you think you're better than others?" " Let's go!" "Get to work!" " What am I, a slave?" "A workhorse?" "A ninja sperm?" "You're no Christian, you're a yokel, a microwave hoof!" "Let me sleep!" "ENTRANCE FORBIDDEN TO ILLITERATES" "What's going on?" "Haven't you got anything to do?" "Good morning, Biá." "Ready?" "First you're going to finish what we started!" "No, no, no." "Biá is going to hear Genésio!" "Biá will hear the twins!" "Other!" "Hey, Other!" "How rude!" "The man isn't here just to serve you, you know!" "He's there." "Can you go any slower?" "Ready." "You tell it." "You probably know, Biá, that land is worth what it produces, but it can also be worth what is hidden in it." "Good start." "But could you be more objective?" "The plans I drew up of my property, inherited from my ancestors." "For everyone knows that it is in these lands, that the remains of Indalício, the founder, are buried." "I thought it was Indalécio?" " Indalécio, you idiot!" " That's what he said!" "Be quiet!" "Indalécio, o founder..." "Look, Biá:" "Our mother, Margarida, when she was a girl..." "Wait, Other!" "Let's not get into that." " How lovely." " She doesn't look like your mother!" "And these were our fathers, Cosme and Damião." "They are behind everything." "Even the fact that my brother is called Twin and me Other!" " The Other!" " But you are the other, Other!" " That's what my father called you." " Our father!" "I'm just as much the son of Cosme as you are!" "No." "You're Damião's son!" "Cosme and Damião were twin brothers, and very close." "But it was Cosme who managed to get a lot of land..." "So Cosme managed to get plenty of land and Damião wasn't as lucky!" "One day, he met Margarida, my mother." " Mine, too!" " They immediately fell in love, both brothers in love with the same woman!" "But Margarida chose Cosme." "And they were married." "They married." "Cosme and Margarida." "Here's the invitation, look." "And the certificate." "Look at the wedding photo, the bride and groom." "It's all there, see?" "What happened was, everyone drank too much." "And neither of the twins remembered anything, but Margarida was sure that, in the dark, she'd given herself to one of them." "She didn't know which." "Cosme threw Damião out, and he disappeared... and denied him, the son of doubt." "A year later I was born, the legitimate, proven son of Cosme." " And?" " So you tell me whether..." "I can give half my inheritance to a person, who might be my brother, son of my father and my mother;" "my half-brother, son of my mother only;" "or my cousin for being the son of my uncle Damião!" "So, the fact is, it isn't right that other inherit the lands my father left me!" " Our father!" "So prove you're Cosme's!" "Where's the certificate?" "Hold on, folks, this isn't a story for the book." "Just look, Biá, I look just like my father, Cosme!" " The mouth, nose, eyes!" " What's he supposed to be comparing?" "They were identical twins!" "If you can't see the difference, then it's you who isn't his son!" "All right, fine." "You can decide who's the son of the father, uncle or neighbor." "For all I care, you could be cloned from a breadcrumb." "But the only scientific thing you've shown is this map, and here I am staring at nothing like a donkey." "What am I doing here?" "You're the one writing down the stories, aren't you?" "Well then; put in the book that..." ""in the land of Armando Peneré, that's me, know as Twin, only legitimate son and heir of Cosme Peneré, put that really big, is where the bones of Indalécio, the founder, are buried, along with the arms he hid..."" "He's my father by right, too." "So put my name in the book, ...to share the inheritance!" " Son by adultery!" "Don't speak of our mother like that!" "I was talking about your father, who was a trouble-maker!" "Margarida was a Saint, but you turned out a son of a bitch!" "You'll see who's the son of a bitch!" " Wait!" " What is it?" "You can stop the fuss," "I've got to go and find a twin rope and hang myself." "And you stay here, to sweep the devil's house, because you two are Cain and Abel, only without Abel." "Well, adieux, sayonara, and salaam!" " Now look what you've done!" " You made him go!" " It was because of you!" " You!" " No, no." "Calm down." " Yes, calm down." " Take a deep breath." " I am calm." " Biá!" " What?" "Come back!" "Come on!" "Everyone's calmed down!" "And you can stay right there, you hear?" "I'm going crazy with all this biting, chewing and swallowing!" "I'm no saint!" "Am I the Holy Spirit, amen?" "Am I Jesus's Pokemon?" "Well then." "Centipede's manicurist!" "Hey, Biá!" "You've got to finish our story." "Look, Vado!" "Excuse us, Daniel." "What's the rush, Biá?" " Rush?" " Yes!" "That's a pretty dumb question, Vado!" "Someone has to work around here, don't they?" "While you're all... aimlessly bickering, like a bunch of menstruated bees." "Like hell." "You're running away." "From what?" "Your Patagonian intelligence, perhaps." "I came here to speak to Daniel." "It's about the book, Daniel." "That dossier with the history of the Valley, Biá?" "Exactly!" "It's in everyone's interest, if you've time, ...I'd like to have a few words." " Look, Biá, I've not much to tell." "But if you'd put in a few words about my late father, Isaías," "I'd be most grateful." "Here, Biá." "This was the bed in which he slept." "And died." "When I was a boy, Biá, I'd stand where you are now, looking at him in this bed, his feet down there." "Sometimes he'd spend ages by the window, looking at everything." "That's his chair, all his things." "The photo was taken 3 months before he died." "He died of a broken heart for Santinha." "Santinha didn't deserve his love." "Mother was so restless, she never stayed home long." "She was itching to travel across the world, she'd disappear for months, among the rivers and caves." "A woman like that doesn't know the love of a son or husband." "Nice, isn't it, Biá?" "As a boy, I was always so scared, scared of everything, of the dark, of fights, of ghosts, until one day I lost my fear all at once, and that was that." "Have you ever heard of someone losing their fear, just like that?" "Shoo!" "Get out!" "And from that day on, I suddenly lost all my fear." "Now I'm not afraid of anything at all, Biá." "I'll only leave this house feet first." "I MET A FELLOW WHO WAS SO CRAZY..." "THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE HAIR, HE HAD GRASS" "Biá!" "Hey Biá!" "Are you home?" "Come out!" "When we most need more time, the more it flles." "Antonlo Blá was no longer In command of himself, people came from all overto tell stories, night and day." "Hey, Luzia!" "Hey!" "Is the man with you?" "We're coming!" "Tell him the coffee's ready!" "No need, lady!" "I heard you!" "He says that a long time ago our people were brought to this part of Africa." " Africa?" "Yes, Brazil." "He thinks Brazil is part of Africa." "Like a big village in Africa." "Sure, sure." "We'll get on to the geography later." "I want to know whether you belong to the folks... who arrived here with Indalécio." "Ask him!" "He's saying that Indaleu was a war chief and wanted to take... our people back to the land whey came from." "But he didn't know the way back." "What?" "Indaleu?" "Is that the same as Indalécio?" "Forget it." "If he isn't, it's nearly the same thing." "Ask something else about the story." "Samuel, can you, very nicely, ask Cariá... to skip this voodoo singing bit and come straight to the raw facts?" "No, he's telling it his way." "That's how he speaks!" "Then you're not translating very well." "Go on!" "Now he's paused, ask him whether there was any real life... woman like Mariadina, Marideu, Maridum, Marichum." "Ask him, go on!" " He says there's Oxum." " Oxum?" "A woman?" "A beautiful woman." "The god of the waters, rivers and streams." "Any good?" "Things are getting a bit complicated." "But later I'll fix it somehow." "So far the stories are pretty similar." "So ask him if..." "During all that time our people walked and were led by Indaleu, and by the eyes of lfá, who could see the paths." "Until one day they came to the place where Oxum lived." "Now Africa was right there with them." "That's torn it." "Now he won't say anything else!" "What are you talking about?" "Of course he will." "He'll be like that for 3 days now, he won't say another word." "See what you've done, now?" "See?" "Now we'll have to wait all that time." "I'm sorry, but you haven't done a good job!" "Me?" "!" "I did everything just right, didn't I?" "Look here, I got the two horses, we crossed that field in the hot sun to get here." "Everyone can see, and now you tell me I didn't do a good job?" "Easy now!" "Just spell all your names for the book." " Starting with you." " Look here, I don't want..." " Samuélis." " No, not Samuélis." "Samuel." "Name, surname, and Christian names." "Samuel." "Oh, Esturlana, Esturlana my love" "Esturlana, Esturlana" "CONSTRUCTION OF THE DAM IN THE VALLEY OF JAVÉ" "Hey, Biá!" "Look at this." "See if this is possible." "The engineer's already taken over." "They own the place." " What about the book, Biá?" " It was Gaudério brought them." " The "Killer"?" " That villain." "That dog's dinner!" "Look, those men." " And that one there, who's that?" " That's Cirilo." "He's been living among the rocks at the leopard's cave for years." " I thought he was dead." " He was forgotten." "But he's alive and well, right there!" " Hey Antero, give me some liquor." " Have you seen them, Biá?" "They're everywhere, taking notes and photographing everything." " They came without any warning." " We should kick them out." "And who's going to kick out Gaudério?" "He's no good." "Like there's a black cloud hovering over him." "The worst thing that can happen a man when he drinks... surrounded by people, is hearing himself swallow!" "It's okay, but it isn't easy!" "This dam has been getting everyone very upset." "It's going to be one hell of a flood, there'll be nothing left." "These engineers take note of everything they come across:" "Rocks, plants, animals, and they... even catch insects in jars!" "And which one of you is this Biá everyone talks about so much?" " I am." "Flesh and blood!" " Sure." "And what are you, what do you do?" "I am a prose writer and am currently writing the history... of the great deeds of the Valley of Javé." "History, as you well know, which is often told and heard, but to this day has never been written and read." "Very well!" "I respect such work very highly!" "Especially the history of a place which will no longer exist." "I'm sorry to tell you this, but Javé will not be drowned." "We may seem like hicks, but only in appearance." "Our people are descendants of brave, fighting folk." "The book will prove it, scientifically." "Hey, go and play over there, will you?" "Wait a minute, I want to film this." "Come to receive your branch, Jesus," "That you gave St. Francis" "Folks who pray a great deal are the ones who are deepest in debt!" "Kneeling down with your head bent is no good." "And I'll tell you something else, I don't believe in God." "No, sir." "How could I have faith, believe in a guy who's such a coward... that he didn't come into the world, but sent his son instead!" "He wouldn't take the bull by the horns himself!" " Hi, can I film you a bit?" " Sure." " Can I see?" " No, no." "I'll tell you what, stand there and I'll film you." " You can stay where you are, girls!" " Can I say something quickly?" "I want to tell you and your boss that my house isn't for sale!" "Are you recording?" "I've said my bit." "Now get out!" "My parents, my husband, they're all buried... at that cemetery overthere." "I've a daughter." "We want to stay so we can always put a candle on their graves." "We don't... the engineers won't get us out of here!" "No way!" "I came here, just me and my mother," "my children were born here, so I feel at home here in Javé." "But now I've my children, I lost my mother, lost my son." "I can't leave this place." "I also want to tell the engineers that we're preparing... a scientific dossier to defend what's ours." "We can't." "We can't live underwater." "You think we're going to live underwater?" "Not even the dead can live underwater." "No way!" "We've been here for so long." "Really!" "I'm not leaving." "To live where?" "To build a house where?" "You've no houses or land for all the people who live in Javé." "How can you make us leave?" "Get out of here!" "Come out, villain!" "Be a man!" "If you're brave enough, then fire!" " As you wish." " Easy now!" "Shut up!" "This is between me and the mad fool!" "He's upset." "We should drive out these people sent by the dam, and whoever else comes here!" " I'm not leaving my house." " Calm down, Daniel." " You needn't do that." " Give me that." "Please, don't do that." "I'd like to see who'll stay." "No one." " Look, folks are all leaving." " Where's Zelito going?" "He's going to some relatives who live nearby." "Says he's not staying to watch the tragedy!" "What's that, folks?" "The church bell." "Hey, what's going on?" "It's not time for Mass!" "Come on, folks, let's go and see!" "Grab him!" "Don't let him!" "Stop this!" "St. Cirilo, the saint of Javé, these folks just want to hear your divine words." " Your divinology." " Have you gone completely mad, Biá?" "Can't you see that man's lost his senses?" "Stop!" "Shut up!" "Easy, don't hurt him!" "Stop talking!" "Stop." "You all talk and talk!" "Stop it!" "Shut up, spider's beard!" "For God's sake!" "You've had your turn, he's had his, you and your amateur radio voice... spoke longer than anyone." "Let him speak!" "Out with it!" "Speak, Cirilo, we'll here." "Speak." "Take it easy, Cirilo!" "Slowly, you're not used to speaking." "Tree!" "He said tree!" "Wait a minute, Vado." "Don't fluster him, he'll speak!" "Go on, Cirilo, out with it." "Your cow will drown, it 'll fill with water till its hide bursts!" "Your house will fill with water all the jars, all the buckets, rooms, ...right up to the top." " Oh, what do you know?" "This man's crazy." "He doesn't know a thing!" "Your bed will be flooded, your pots will overflow." "Your street will be a river and then the sea." "What the hell's going on here, Biá?" "It's already over, Zaqueu!" "They've already set foot in the village." "They think the streets are theirs, the houses theirs, the town is theirs, the river, everything, theirs!" "Calm down!" "There isn't much time, but there's time!" "Where's the book?" " It's here." " So give it to me." "No." "Not yet!" "I still need to finish two or three pages, four or five at the most." "So let's see what you've already scribbled down." "If you wish." "Unload your things and meet me at the store a bit later, and I'll deliver what I've already written down." "And if everyone so wishes, we can start reading the book to see... whether the majority is in agreement and satisfied!" "Hurrah!" "Tonight!" "Tonight we'll meet at the store." "Fine." "He's late." "WHAT YOU IMAGINE IS NOT WHAT YOU SEE" " I found this lad on the way..." " Wait, calm down!" "Wait!" "So you tell it." " This is the book Biá sent." " Biá sent?" "And where is he?" "I don't know, sir." "He told me to give it to you personally." "I asked him to show me, but he wouldn't." "He said only you could look." "Biá's made his escape by now, I'm sure." " Read this." " Marquinhos!" "Come here!" ""I declare that I, Antonio Biá, I've a face, teeth and nose out front!" "And ass, back and heel behind!" "I exonerate myself as scribe," "I'm absent in order to preserve health of my body and mind." "Regarding the stories and all that, they're better left in the mouths... of the people because there's not a hand could make head or tail of them on paper..."" " I knew it!" "Damn him!" "The devil can't be far!" "I'll drag Biá back here, the scoundrel, and he'll explain this offense or there'll be no hide left on him!" "That's right!" "Get everyone and catch him, folks!" "Have you heard whether they've caught him?" " Not yet." " They haven't caught him yet." "Where's Zaqueu?" "I want to see that bastard, and smash his face!" " We caught him!" " They've got him!" "Wait!" "Biá!" "You bastard!" "Villain!" "Hi there, termite's omelet!" "Gather round, folks!" "Look, there he is." "Come here." "I might have guessed the bastard would do something like this." "It's now that the knot will break or untie." "We should do away with him." "Drive that herd!" "Bastard!" "Villain!" "Let me go." "You'll not get away this time, you villain!" "Hi, Zaqueu!" "Is that all you have to say to me?" "To say to everyone, you dirty scoundrel?" "With all due respect..." "You think you have respect?" "You're a blackguard, a common fool, a man who doesn't deserve the company of a dog!" "You are what you've always been, Antonio Biá, a vagabond!" " Don't insult me!" " I'll shut your mouth, damn you!" "And to think I invited you into my house!" "Do you really think that writing these stories will stop the dam?" "Well it won't, and do you know why?" "Because Javé is just a lost hole in the pit of the world." "So what if Javé grew out of a fighting people?" "If today all this is, is a miserable place, with a dirt road, with dumb, ignorant people like me, like all of you!" "What we are is crude people who can hardly write our own names, but who invent grand stories, to forget our shallow lives without a future!" "And you really believe the men are going to stop the dam... and progress, just for bunch of halfwits?" "Well they're not." "That's a fact." "It's scientific!" "Javé may not be worth much to you, but the fact is, without Javé, Antonio Biá is worth even less!" "And it's not worth dirtying one's hands... with a lost son of a bitch like you!" "Here, take your book." "Really?" "Turning your back on me?" "I'll leave backwards too." "To see you all forever." "The only good thing Javé has is the way out of town." "It's a fine place for raising werewolves." "Amphibians!" "Amphibious folk!" "Shrimp folk!" "Is that all?" "Is that how it ended?" "Time passed, but folks didn't have time to do anything." " And one day, they came." " They who, damn it?" "The waters." "The waters rose quickly." "But there were those who resisted to the end." "Squeezed in at the foot of the dam, they couldn't believe thelreyes." "It was is if they were alive in their own grave." "That's no use anymore, Biá!" " Oh, it's you!" " I'm here too." "Sure." "I haven't forgotten you two, either." "You're mentioned, more in the first part." "What do you mean, mentioned?" "What first part?" "What part?" "The part about old Javé." "Because now, I can't see you doing much." "Seems you're just letting everyone else get on with the work." "But you weren't there when the water came." "I pulled the bell out all by myself." " Alone?" " Alone!" "You just gave orders, it was the men carried it." "It was Antero and myself did the diving." "And Deodora and I helped, Biá." "Put that in your book, too." "Look, you'll be in the chapter called "The Viper's DNA"." "Since then, that's the story of Javé which is usually told, but it can also be read and re- read... throughout these endless hills and caves." "It's in a book going round the world, neverto be forgotten." "That's it." "There's no more." "Anyone who wishes can write it differently."