Sapphire Moonlight

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

In a move that resembled travelling Juliana took a glance at the party going on around her. An intuition of happiness welled up inside her slowly, of uncharted joy, a feeling of a certain promise, and exciting hopes, and vague wishes. 

The moon was high in the sky in the shape of a yellow mango with part of its top missing awry. Its light wasn't cool white, but the colour of a yellow lamp. It gave the impression that it had been stuck in the sky and left there, hanging, for how long one wouldn't know or have a guess. A glow-worm's green light gleamed in between grass blades near the guava tree. It sent a magic ray. Some fourteen years ago it would have told of fairy tale worlds that certainly existed in the undergrowth, with kingdoms of insects, wonderland creatures and nymphs and airy spirits that lived in tree hollows.  

Juliana was together with Thais, Joaquim and Jose, on the grassy area that was close to the wall separating Denise's house from Jose's house.  

She thought about the conversation she had had with Zila in the afternoon. She felt how much she liked Zila and that she was indeed precious. Where would Zila be now, she wondered, or what would she be doing? With her boyfriend, snuggled against him, perhaps in her home or maybe somewhere else, at a bar or in Church Square. She hoped Zila's boyfriend would be good to Zila. He certainly would. Thinking about Zila made Juliana think about Alberta, the maid at the farm. And there was the other maid at Santa Ines too, Jerusa. They were both quite all right and she liked them very much.  

Thinking about the farm led Juliana to consider the possibility of going there. She decided she would go there tomorrow. Maybe I will sleep there, she thought. I will invite mother and Luiza and Otavio Sergio to come with me. If they cannot or are not willing, then I'll go alone. It'll be nice to sleep there at Santa Ines. I've never been there alone. I will be on my own, in my own company. Unless mother can come, then it will be great.  

She would ask her father permission to go and stay there in case her mother couldn't come. He would give his consent. If mother and father are up when I return home, she thought, I'll ask them. Otherwise I'll ask them tomorrow. She felt she was now eager to go to Santa Ines.  

Having made up her mind about going to the farm the day after next Juliana focused again on her brother and Thais and Jose and exchanged a few words with them. Then she decided to leave them and join another group. She went towards the veranda at the back of the house, where Marinalva was.  

Marinalva was leaning against the rail that ran alongside the veranda facing the wall at the back of the house. Carlos, Fernando and Alice were together with her. Carlos was telling them about an episode involving one of the town drunks.  

'But he refused to leave.' 

'What happened then?' Fernando asked. 

'Jurandir Santos, the policeman arrived. He saw the small crowd that was gathering around and stopped to check whether there was anything wrong.' 

'Did he arrest Ze Valdo?' Alice asked. This was the drunk's name. 

'No, he wasn't doing anything wrong. He was only drunk. Jurandir left and there was the shadow of a smile on his face. Then Ze Valdo said, "I've been around. I saw everything from the beginning to the end. I am from the time of the pharaohs and the pyramids."'  

This made Fernando and Alice roll with laughter, highly delighted. Marinalva also laughed. Carlos used the drunk's intonation and tried to imitate his voice. The drunk had a deep vibrating voice, so what he said tended to appear dramatic. 

'Oh this is really a party,' Marinalva said to Juliana. 

'A great idea - to invite Olacir and his band. They make a difference,' Alice said.