"THE MURMURING COAST" ""Then, the bride, who had only arrived the night before, but whom everyone was already calling Evita, opened her eyes. "" "I enjoyed reading your story and I came to the conclusion that many things are exact." "What you intend to clarify you clarify and what you try to hide remained submerged." "You were right not to worry about the truth." "For you, for me, having gone where we went, having been where we've been, a modest correspondence suffices, plain things." "I particularly remember the water, the animals, the smell of the fruit, some men and women, a ball." "Do I remember Evita?" "Yes, I do." "I still can see her today crossing the terrace of the Stella Maris Hotel and I quite esteem her and, in a way, I even miss her, the time when she had an elegant waist." "In those days that was what I was called..." "In those days, Evita was me..." "So, what do you think of our Africa, madam?" "People have crazy, totally crazy ideas about this land." "They think Africa is a virgin forest." "Lions eating blacks, blacks eating rats, rats eating the green crops." "Everything green and black." "But that"s a mistake, as you may have the opportunity to confirm." "Africa is yellow, madam!" "As bright yellow as the whisky!" "Captain." "This is Helena." "And the captain of my company, Jaime Forza Leal." " A hero." " Do not exaggerate Luis." " Congratulations, Evita." " Thank you." "Shall we have a seat?" "Are we all drinking the same?" " Does Evita drink whisky also?" " Yes, I do." "You, bring me 4 whiskies with plenty of ice." "Listen." "I don"t want those little cubes you usually give us in the mess." "I want real ice, understand?" "You didn"t tell me your captain had such an attractive wife." "Do you know what people call her here?" "Helen of Troy." "Don"t stare so much." "Second lieutenant, can I borrow your bride for a dance?" "Please." "That was the bride crying out." " What happened?" " They are all on the terrace!" "My God." " How did some many people drown?" " They didn"t drown." "Over there, look, close to the cabaret." "They"re still picking up lots more of them!" "In my opinion, they cut each other to pieces." "Seasonal killings aren"t unusual among these people." " Do you think they kill each other?" " What do you mean by "each other"?" "There isn"t only one ethnic group, there are many of them." "They kill each other and then they blame us." "That"s their strategy." "There"s no blood, is there?" "Can anyone see if there is blood?" "The news is about to start!" "Daily News." "The robbery of big cans containing methyl alcohol that was kept in the port might be connected to the death of dozens of people." "The police believe that the cans still to be found may have been taken to the local quarters where its content may be sold as white wine." "People say most of the victims are longshoremen who might have drunk the liquid unaware of its danger." "The health authorities are nonetheless optimistic and guarantee that gathering up the corpses won't take too long, thus allowing the city to get back to its daily normal life." "This occurrence will not disturb today's regatta, which will depart, like every other year, from the Nautical Club." "Doesn"t this noise get on your nerves?" "No." "Are you my great mathematician?" "My Evaristo Galois?" "Don"t you ever call me that again." "You called me that back at the terrace, I didn"t say anything at the time, but I"m telling you now." "But you used to like it." "I never did like it." "I put up with it." "But I don"t want to put up with it anymore." "But you remember that you wanted to be like him?" "Do you remember you used to sign letters with that name?" "You want me to tell you what really happened over the following days?" "But what's the point of now remembering a time that we have all made for so long such a great effort to forget?" "It"s closed." "The negro who made those cocktails died last night." "Poor fellow." "So, what now?" "So, where are we going?" "Captain." "What if we went and exercised our fingers?" "L"ve got the stuff here in the trunk, but we have to take the women home." "I don"t want to go home." "I want to go with you." "You want to come?" "You really want to know what it is to exercise one"s fingers, don"t you?" "Now Helena is going to guess what"s in here." "It"s a piece of the boat"s engine." "No." "It"s a dismantled picnic table." "Oh come on?" "You know." " No, I don"t." " Yes, you do!" "Look!" "A Star, nine calibre." "I don"t want to see it!" "You know I"m afraid." "Eh!" "Come back here!" "A guy gets hit by a toy like this it"II lift him off the ground." "And what about this one here?" "What is it?" "A Winchester." "And this one?" "A Kalash." "Now, look closer." "What"s missing here?" "I don"t know." "You don"t know?" "Of course you know." "Say it!" "The revolver." "Say it louder!" "Say it louder so they can hear it!" "The revolver!" "The revolver is missing!" "There was no one there." "Shot or burst?" "Shot." "Look at that!" "The bastards don"t even move!" "They don"t give a shit about each other." "Helena!" "Get out of the way!" "Don't change a thing." "Leave it as it is." "I'm glad that in your narrative no one ever left the terrace." "It's so much prettier like this." "The way the couples keep dancing even without the sound of the orchestra, the way the groom stifled the M of Mathematics on Evita's mouth." " My God, where are we?" " Heading for the last calculation." "How can you say you never want to go back to Maths." "What a shitty place this is." "Stay." "Easy, easy..." "Leave her alone!" "Who is the son of a bitch?" "I kill him!" "Whore!" "Cow!" "My captain should teach these guys a lesson." "What would your captain do?" "He would do what he did." "One day, he found his wife in bed with some fellow." "He sorted it out with Russian roulette." "There were no screams, no denouncing, no confusions." "Only the revolver and chance." "He won, and that"s it." "No one found out anything about it." "And you think that"s right?" "It depends." "It"s better than this disgrace." "Turn the light off." "Luis!" "Luis!" "This is the way I do it." "Right, Helena?" "I like it to be her who packs my bag." "I put all my things on the bed, she packs, and I watch, and I always think that some day it will be the last, some day we will finish them off." "We will finish them, whom?" "The guerrilla fighters." "The Turras." "Do you think that the people"s will to be independent will then cease when "you finish them off"?" "Excuse me." "Considering the current situation, don"t you find it more reasonable to seek a political solution?" "Don"t be naive." "The political solution they want us to accept is to deliver this land to the enemy." "Do you think that is fair?" "If the land belongs to the enemy, I think so." "Don"t deceive yourself!" "This land belongs to those who make something out of it, to the people who live here and fight for it!" "Excuse me." "So, ready to leave, my captain?" "Kick them hard up north." "Kick them well!" "Don"t worry." "Do you know what your name means?" "No." "Haec Helena:" ""There"s the reason for conflict"." "It has to do with beauty." "And what does that mean?" "Nothing." "It only means that." "It"s a curiosity." "It"s Greek." "Here you have everything you need." "The house is just ready to be inhabited." "Aren"t they coming back?" "These people are the ones who started to have nightmares straight away." "Started to imagine the niggers bursting in and slitting their throats." "They only thought about that." "About fear." "Suddenly, from one day to the next, they took the children and their pets and left everything as it is." "Even their car was left outside in the garage." "So?" " So what?" " Don"t you like it?" "Yes, but I don"t want to stay." "You"II be sorry." "Are you afraid to stay here on your own?" "Maybe." "But Helena can tell you there"s no danger at all." "Isn"t that right?" " Helena?" " Indeed." "Yes, but I already had told Luis that I didn"t want to stay." "But you hadn"t seen the house." "And what if your husband tells you this is where you"II be okay?" "Don"t you believe him?" "Of course I do." "But if I have the right to choose, I"d rather not stay." "Damn it Luis, your wife is a tough one!" "Yes, it's true." "That night we didn't talk anymore about war and for that reason the day ended in harmony." "With an image of harmony." "And that's how I still remember Helena, dropped off on the lawn of a house, sprawling about in a khaki huntress suit." "Aren"t you afraid?" "I am." "What would you do for me?" "Lot of things." "Why didn"t you want to stay in that house?" "Didn"t you understand how important it was to me?" "Yes, I did." "Tell me then, what would you do for me." "Everything, as long as reasonable." "Do you think it"s more reasonable for you to stay here by yourself with these people?" "And what will happen to me if I stay here?" "I think you"II have to change the way you are." "You don"t need to go around showing everyone what you think." "Once, some years ago, we talked about this." "About the difference between being and seeming." "And we promised we would be, and "fuck seeming"." "Do you remember?" "Or did you also forget it?" "And what about you, do you realise you"re not in Lisbon?" "We"re not sitting in a stupid little cafe talking nonsense about what we want from the life we"II have." "Now is serious." "This is the life we have." "This is our life!" " This is the life we"ve got." " And a good thing we"ve got it." "It"s better than fooling around discussing politics and all that childish babbling, while here people die for real." " And people also kill for real, right?" " You"re really tough!" " Shut up!" " You shut up!" " Luis, forget it." " Fucker." " No." "Forget it." "Would you make a promise and stay here locked up, in this bedroom, until I come back?" "L"m not kidding." "A servant would bring you food." "He would take your laundry and stay here at the door whenever you needed anything." "Would you stay here locked up until I come back?" "No." "You give me the locks..." "That"s it." "Good afternoon." " Is the lady in?" " Yes, she is." "Excuse me." "Madam, you have a visitor." "I saw you on the beach." "I was on the beach and thought of coming to visit you." "You did well." " Please sit down." " Thank you." " Will you have a drink?" " Yes, thank you." "No, leave it Odilia." "Thank you." "I didn"t get to show you around last night, did I?" "Come on then." "This is the dinning room and here is a door to the kitchen." "Does Jaime enjoy hunting?" "No, the house was already furnished when we moved in." "It was abandoned by a mining engineer who loved hunting." "Jaime loves these trophies." " And do you like them?" " Me?" "No." "Not at all." "They even scare me." "But you don"t get up-set with Jaime over it." "No." "Odilia." "You may go to the kitchen." "The bedrooms are upstairs." "The other day I realised you already know people call me Helen of Troy." " Who told you?" " I can"t remember." "But I find it a very beautiful name." "It"s very flattering." "But you mentioned a conflict." "It"s an old saying." "It associates Helen"s name to the dispute over beauty." "But that only adds value to what is being disputed." "It"s nice, the bedroom." "This is where I spend most of the time when I"m alone." "Did Jaime tell you how long this operation would take?" "He only said: "few months. "" "You know, he is sure that this operation will put an end to the war?" " You"re optimistic then?" " No!" "The statistics really frighten me." "Terrible things will happen." "We"re expecting a hundred casualties on our side, even if everything goes well." " Wounded and dead?" "Dead!" "A hundred dead." "The wounded will be three times more in number." "That"s terrible." "Indeed!" "That"s why I wanted to ask you if you believe in the strength of thought?" "Odilia!" "What happened?" "Was it carrying someone?" "No." "Come, do come in!" "Do you know the reason why I was talking about the strength of thought?" "No." "Because I know a way of making all this look less terrible." "We must think of our husbands every day, every single hour until they come back." "This time I"II accompany Jaime till the last consequences." "You won"t see me either on the streets, or on the beach or any other place." "I decided to make this promise." "Even if I go crazy and start banging my head against the walls," "I"II stay locked up in this house until the day he comes back." "It"s called psychological war." "The purpose is to call them to reason." "And how do you call the rebels to reason?" "It has been two days since the Dakotas began flying over the rebel area and shouting messages through loudspeakers, pledging for peace with their Portuguese brothers." "And what do those loudspeakers say, Lieutenant Fernandes?" "They say: "Rebel, surrender!"" ""We are your true friends and our nation is only one, the Portuguese!"" ""Take your wives, your family, your goods and surrender to the Portuguese army. "" ""The Portuguese are friends of yours." "Everything else is bullshit!"" "Does that mean that peace is for soon?" ""Robbery of Metal Drums"" ""The health authorities remain on the alert. "" "Jornal Noticias..." "I would like to talk to Mr. Alvaro Sabino, please." "One moment, please." "Yes, I"II wait, thank you." " Was it you who phoned?" " Yes." "Show me it then." " Where did you find these bottles?" " They were drifting along the coast, on one of those beaches close to the lighthouse." "I don"t know if it has a name." "Here every place has a name." "All things have a name, just like in any other part of the world." "I believe so." "I don"t know the name yet." "But I can show you the exact place." "If you"ve been reading the newspaper recently you might have noticed that there is a bunch of people drinking methyl alcohol, around here, in all forms and kinds." "What did you find strange about the bottle?" "I found it odd the way they"re packed." "It is as if someone has packed them already with the intention of throwing them into the sea." "Well then." "Thank you." "Have you seen anything similar before?" "Yes, one or two." "It was so sudden." "He gave out some horrible screams." "I cried from here "Mateus!" "Mateus!", then he rolled up, rolled up as little as a baby and then, suddenly, he stretched out, as he is now." "And so he stayed." "How could you let him drink that thing?" "You were the one who should take care of him." "I'll show you." "Madam!" "Come with me!" "Come!" "Many people caught the bottles." "Here are some of them." "You know that Mateus was the only servant that I chose." "The others were all chosen by Jaime." "This was mine." "He had another name when he came here." "Then Jaime named him Mateus Rose." "All the servants have wine names." "And now he's dead." "Mateus Rose died." "Don't think about it." "Let's get some rest, now." "Sometimes it seems like you don't like to hear me talking." "That's not it." "What is it then?" "I don't know." "Some things are hard for me to hear." "Yes, that's right." "Some things are hard." "Was it Jaime who asked you to remain here locked up?" "He used to ask and I didn't want to." "I didn't understand, I was too imperfect." "But then Jaime made me realise how weak a woman I was." "Now he doesn't need to ask." "Now I'm the one who wants it this way." "Do you know something?" "I've been looking at you and I think you are not only a person who doesn't like to talk." "You're also a sad person." "Is it or is it not true that you're a sad person?" "Maybe." "I'm also a sad person." "We are two sad people." "Come." "What I'm about to show you are State secrets." "Jaime keeps this because he says that one day, when the white independence comes, a face on a photograph will be the best way to prove who really fought for this land." "It starts here." "Operation Poisonous Viper!" "That's the Kalash you saw." "Jaime kept it." "Look, this old woman was hidden inside a thatched hut throwing arrows against our soldiers." "One of the arrows actually hit an officer's chest..." "The soldiers wanted to kill her right away, but Jaime immediately said that one couldn't harm an old woman who had faced, all by herself, with so much courage, the Portuguese army." "Then he ordered someone to make a crown of lianas and leaves and she enter Mueda, on top of the Unimog as a queen." "That's how Jaime is." "This is another operation." "This woman is pregnant." "Have a look." "In this picture the baby is already born." "Jaime never told me where they took the baby." "Those are the cleaners." "Singer and Husquvarna." "Singer died during that operation." "Jaime said that Luis cried a lot over Singer's death." "Can you see your husband?" "Are you feeling any better?" "Yes." " But I won't go back this time." " Excuse me." "And Luis, is he all right?" "He's all right." "Luis told me your company is achieving the best results?" "It's true." "He told me that one of the cleaners died, not long ago." " Yes, my husband told me." " It was Singer." " Luis felt so sorry." " He behaved like a kid." "He even cried." "But it's understandable, we were all very jumpy that day." "There had been several arguments with the captain." "Did Luis also argue with the captain?" "Luis always agrees with the captain." "But it was difficult even for him." "It was the day after we helped to deliver a black baby boy." "Later on the night, when he started to cry, we even warmed up some cans of milk with our hands, we made some diapers with our own handkerchiefs." "But he wouldn't shut up." "We were in the middle of the woods, with fourteen prisoners tied up to the rope and we had to get to that night's aim, but the prisoners didn't want to walk." "They were disabled, elderly, sick, then the woman and the baby..." "And the captain had to make a decision." "And what about the kid?" "The kid was already the company's mascot." "He was Baby Jesus." "But he wouldn't shut up, he barked like a hyena." "He wouldn't shut up..." "Then you took your scythes and drove them, one by one, into the bushes and killed them up." "The elderly, the disabled, ... the mother and baby Jesus?" "We had to." "It was either them or us who would die, we had to." "That's right!" "Then you're punished and get hit in the head." "What do you mean, get hit in the head?" "Do you want war without someone taking it in the head?" "War should be fought by everyone, men, women, children, elderly, lame and disabled, so they can't blame each other." "And Luis?" "I was told he climbed up onto a thatched hut carrying a head stuck on a stick." "But who told you that?" "It wasn't like that." "I only saw him doing it once, and that was because the captain made him drive some blacks away who were wandering around." "He didn't really want to, but then he obeyed." "Do you know what he really fancies?" "He enjoys shooting chicken's asses." "Chickens and cocks." "We even call him Luis Galex." "And Mathematics?" "Didn't he ever mention Mathematics?" "Luis?" "Yes, didn't he ever say he found a new mathematical formula?" "Did he?" "But when?" "A long time ago." "I never heard him mentioning it." "I even thought he was a man of letters." "He was the one who composed our company's battle anthem." " It goes like this." " Don't sing that!" "You're sick!" "In this war There will be no shit" "And if it happens to be It won't be too much" "But if shit happens During the war" "Think that ass Is equal to mouth" "Listen!" "Are you lost?" "Even whores are sad." "The Moulin Rouge whores are so sad." "When you first arrive you don't understand." "You'll see that the Moulin Rouge are not that sad." "I can understand how much you love this land." "Everything's so spontaneous, so unruly." "Everything gets mixed up." "Life and death..." "That's why you don't care about the truth." "Isn't it?" "Who told you I don't care about the truth?" "Denounce it then!" "Reveal it!" "Write in your newspaper that there are people being poisoned on the sly!" "Write how many die every day!" "I take my chances as far as I can." "It's no use denouncing it in such a way." "Here you don't read, you interpret." "That's it." "Let them die." "Don't you want me to take you to the hotel?" "No." "A phone call for you, madam." "A gentleman." "Do you want to know why?" "If you really think about it, why would I not accept the journalist's invitation?" ""Come and see", he said." "And I went." "I don't know what you were told, but the truth is that the journalist and I never went dancing nor ever dined by candlelight." "We were together several times, that's true, but in other places." "So, won't you come in?" "Who is this woman?" "Three kilos of rice?" "Only three kilos of rice?" "How am I supposed to feed your children with three kilos of rice?" "Fucker, mother-fucker!" "Come back here, you fucker!" "I shouldn't have come." "Why not?" "This way you just met my first problem." "The finest whore on the street." "That was enough for me to fill her with children." "Just my luck!" "Why didn't you go back to talk to her?" "I can't now." "I must go and see my black woman." "I also have four children with her." "And you have never lived with them?" "No." "I only pay them a visit when I've got money." "Well then?" "Come on!" "I think your life is a tragedy." "I'll wait here." "This isn't exactly the best time for you to give me a lecture." "Say goodbye." "Say goodbye." "Go, Odilia!" "Go sleep in the kitchen!" "I asked you to come here because I wanted to talk to you about Lieutenant Fernandes' death." "Do you know what happened?" "I only know what I heard in the hotel." "That the plane crashed at dawn, trying to land at Mueda." "People say he was very tired recently." "He came a few days to have some rest." "Then, yesterday, that mission came up." "His wife wanted him to be the pilot in the region with the most flight hours." "It seems she forced him to accept every single mission." "Do you think she encouraged him?" "I don't know." "I didn't know them that well." "But they lived in the room just beside yours." "Did you never hear anything?" "Nothing of the kind." "But I need your opinion." "Do you think she encouraged him?" " Why?" "Is that so important?" " Of course it's very important!" "Help me!" "Do you think we can include Fernandes in the statistics of the four officers dead during this operation?" "If we consider it an accident, no." "That's what I think." "I need something good to happen up north!" "I really do!" "Where's Alvaro?" "That man is after you." "When he's interested in a girl, he brings her here and make's her jealous with one of these." "The girl is inevitably jealous and fool for him by the end of the night." "That's what I call "girls' psychology. "" "You know him well, then?" "I've known him for a long time." "He is a very weird journalist." "He prefers poetry to writing articles." "He has a newspaper column, a bullshit column that no one understands." "Haven't you ever read it?" "No." "I didn't even know." "You haven't noticed it either?" "It's just like I say." "No one understands shit!" "Can you take me home later on?" "Of course my little dove." "Little dove?" "Yes." "Little dove!" "Well done!" "Now, whatever you do, you belong to this land, to this place!" "This is the way things go!" "Come on!" "Don't take things so seriously." "Leave me alone!" "Don't you ever show up again!" ""INVOLUNTARY COLUMN by Alvaro Sabino" "Revive Clay-coloured people" "Rise from your lodgings Made of dust" "To judge the Vulture Who killed you" "Don't ask me If the sun is innocent" "I don't know myself Who killed you" "So, Lieutenant, how are things going up north?" "Bad." "The enemy hasn't been cooperating." " Hasn't been cooperating?" " No, it hasn't." "It ran away, escaped." "It hasn't been fighting." "Then the psychological campaign is not working?" "We expected to receive thousands of families in our settlements but until now only an old blind woman and a young boy as her guide." "But you only know what's happening at the place where the company is located, isn't that right, Lieutenant Zurique?" "Are you sure it's the same everywhere?" "Maybe you don't have a complete vision of the events." "Where have you been, Lieutenant?" "For God's sake, I can't answer that." "That's state secrets!" "You can come in!" "Well then Helena, what seems to be the matter?" "I'm feverish." "Do you want me to go and get you anything?" "It's very hot in here, you can hardly breathe." "Wouldn't it be better if you went to the bedroom?" "Have you heard the news?" "The operation will soon be over." "They're coming back." "I've been on the phone all morning and I found out that 15 wounded arrived yesterday." "Seven more today." "I also managed to find out that there have been 5 deaths in the last two days." "We can count 57 real casualties." "But no officer has been hit until now." "Don't you find it amazing?" "Not even a single one." "According to my sums how many of them were predicted?" "Four." "Four, you remembered it." "There are still four officers to get hit." "Don't think about it anymore." "That's only statistics." "Do you think the number might be lower?" "I think nothing." "I think you should go and lie down." "Since you're sick..." "Don't be like that." "Can't you see?" "The operation will soon be finished and I am afraid about the casualties of the final days." "Go away!" "You're like a shadow!" "This black woman's shape always behind me reminds me of death or something of the kind." ""CRIME." "Methyl alcohol kills Grand Hotel pianist"." ""Terrorism comes to town." "Who will protect us?"" "I'm asking you to stop calling me here." "No, but now you must stop calling here." "Yes, I read." "Alvaro..." "But what do they really want?" "They're furious." "Because of that artist's death." "Artist?" "That drunken pianist?" "What?" "The one who could only play La Cumparsita?" "People say he was poisoned by the alcohol the blacks stole from the docks and bottled, to kill the white people." "And the blacks?" "Who's been killing the blacks?" "You live here at our expense and do nothing!" "Do your job as officers!" "Kill the terrorists!" "Go away." "Get back to the jungle, you niggers!" "Murderers!" "Murderers!" "We don't want you here!" "Niggers, go back to the jungle!" "Kill the Turras!" " Let's talk somewhere else." " No." "We can talk here." "All this mess goes to our hotel." "Idiots!" "Can't they see this is all going to change, and when it blows up they'll be the first to get out of here." "It's over and they can't see it." "They've got their eyes closed." "But your eyes are wide open, isn't that right?" "Of course they are." "Is it very hard to pretend?" "Yes, it is very hard to pretend." "Come with me." "Where to?" "Let's stay here." "I've got this gun here to protect us." "Look." "Have you ever touched a revolver?" "No." " I don't like weapons." " Neither do I." "But I know how to shoot if anything goes wrong." "It's easy, see." "You only have to do this." "Jaime taught me how to shoot with this gun." " Did you ever think about this?" " Like everybody else." "Because of Luis or because of that man?" " Neither." " Why then?" "For no special reason, because I think everybody thinks about those things." " But it takes a lot of courage." " I guess so" "I don't have any courage at all and I'm very afraid of dying here." "Imagine I might die here, in this land, alone." "I don't know anyone." "Tell me the truth just once." "Is the only reason why you don't leave because you're afraid of Jaime?" "Are you thinking of leaving?" "If I have to, I'll go." "You know I also had a lover once." "I don't have a lover." "He was a very sweet boy." "He enjoyed seeing me." "He kept staring at me." "Just staring." "He used to tell me the same thing:" ""Go away, you must leave Jaime"." "One day he almost managed to persuade me." "I went home and could only think about that." "I took a bath, when I got out of the bathroom, I couldn't find my clothes." "I'd left them nearby." "I searched all over and then I saw Jaime, leaning there against the wardrobe, with a gun in his hand." "I tried to lock myself in the bathroom, but he grabbed me by the hair." "He pointed the gun against my head, he asked my lover's name, he beat me up, he stood over me with the gun." "He told me he wasn't joking." "That he would kill me." "I was afraid and told him his name." "Then Jaime opened up all the doors and windows and said, "you can go out, if you wish"." "You'll be a witness!" "Come on!" "He looked at me, and that hurt me more than anything else." "Then Jaime said he was an honourable man and that chance would choose who would have me." "They gave the revolver back to my lover..." "I couldn't look at him anymore..." "He pointed the revolver at his head and nothing happened." "Then it was Jaime's turn, and then again my lover's turn." "I didn't watch him die but I heard the shot..." "Then what?" "Then they took him out in our boat and dumped him, far out at sea." "The corpse only appeared three days later..." "Do you know that no one noticed he was missing?" " No one?" " No one." "Now they're coming back and only bring death with them." "I promised to myself that I would stay inside this house until someone gave me the news of Jaime's death." "I don't want him to return." "I want him to die." "Shall we take revenge on them?" "No." " Why not?" "Are you afraid?" " Yes." "Very." " Odilia!" " Helena, what's wrong?" " What's wrong?" "!" " Nothing." "Get out of here!" "There's no need to shout." "That night there was indeed a cloud of locusts that passed through the city." "You were right to resume all that moment to the so happy image of the women at the Stella Maris high up on the terrace." "Don't worry about the truth now." "It's our duty to preserve the physical grandeur of the Portuguese space, just as we've inherited it and as we must leave it to our heirs." "Portugal is not in Africa." "Portugal is also Africa!" "This Overseas is as much as Portugal as the ground of home." "We're treading on Overseas ground, were treading on eternal Portugal!" "In a simple manner, on this map we have marked the areas that, after this operation, can be considered areas free of terrorism, areas of unconditional security." "Our troops have destroyed the enemies' main sanctuaries." "They have captured guns, munitions, and have driven out the enemies from our borders." "Do you think that we are now capable of taking the first steps towards white autonomy, sir?" "Either Lisbon favours Western Civilisation and gives in to white autonomy or our efforts will have been in vain." "The instability will continue, people will still be afraid and will run away, leaving their homes and businesses behind." "How did it go?" "It was a load of shit." "Wasn't it a victory then?" "It was general's ass's victory!" "It was no one else's victory!" "We were inside a hole during all these months." "Everything was bluff." "Ask my captain." "It won't be too long until the blacks are everywhere." "It will be even worse." "Why don't you go downstairs and say the general is lying?" "Tell who?" "The journalists?" "Do you know we had to make a fake war, just between us, only so that they could film it?" "It was me." "A call for you, madam." "A gentleman." "Tell him I can't talk to him at the moment." ""The military situation in Mozambique gets better each day"" ""and is leading to the final victory. "" ""The chief commander of the armed forces has pointed out"" ""that in order to hasten the end of subversion in the remaining, now weakened places"" ""all we need is to believe and have faith. "" "Son of a bitch!" "Everything's a lie in that newspaper." "No, I don't think everything's a lie." "Do you want to hear this?" "Oh how the sky has lit up In green fire" "Where it didn't even need to" "And all the fires of the coast Gained the same colour" "Even those Which were swelling up our hearts!" "And what to do With our swollen hearts" "If not to lie down With each other?" "We lay down and lay down With each other in all our lives' dimension" "We released all our movements" "Even those most kept In secret from ourselves" "And from the bed where we lay We saw thanks to the comet's light" "The sketch of Africa Shaking off Europe" "Who, laid on top of it Had always possessed her" "And impaling it As a male impales..." "Stop!" "Stop it!" "Say that again." "Who impales whom?" "Africa impales Europe?" "Yes." "Africa impales Europe." "What a joke." "Who wrote that?" "Alvaro Sabino." "Odilia, where's the lady?" "Jaime!" "Where's Helena?" "She's okay... when I got back she was lying down." "But that's fine, because I like women who stay in bed..." "That's where they should be when the men return..." "It's their place, don't you think?" "Helena?" "Helena, open up." "I need to talk to you." "Helena, open up." "I know who you are." "But people call you by another name." "They call you Luis Galex, because you enjoy shooting chickens' asses..." "And as far as I know you're the best..." "Look at me." "People also say you wrote the lyrics to the company's anthem..." "Is it true?" "I'm going out." "Get ready, I'll pick you up in a minute." "I don't know if you did the right thing in coming down from the terrace to finish your narrative, but at this distance who am I to say it wasn't like that." "Was it the journalist who told you that they went to pick him up at home and took him, handcuffed, to a room where there was only a table and four red chairs?" "I can understand that today, after so many years, the journalist sees me like this, sitting on a red chair, being a witness and an accomplice to this moment." "Someone told me," ""you turn the revolver barrel"" "and I obeyed." "Did he tell you that?" "You can end like this, I don't mind..." "But there was in fact a slight difference." " Are you looking for Alvaro?" " Yes." "Alvaro got away yesterday on the last plane." "A guy with a gun came round asking of whereabouts." "He came here to the newspaper, asking for him, shouting, and he even went knocking on my door last night." "In the middle of this confusion, Alvaro took off." "He left..." "I stayed." "I'm not afraid of men with guns little dove." "Didn't he leave any message?" "No." "Disappointed?" "I waited for three days." "The naval police told me they found the body of the second lieutenant Luis Galex, on a beach, far beyond the lighthouse."