On an autumn sunny day in São Paulo, came into the hands of Mrs. Marina, Terra Brasilis’ school librarian, a cardboard box containing several books received as donations.
As she opened the box, Mrs. Marina found them to be very old, dusty, yellowed by time. Mrs. Marina began to clean the books up in order to catalog them, when suddenly, something fell out of a book.
It was a closed envelope, apparently with a letter inside, addressed "To my dear parents."
- Weird... a closed letter... so old and, if it hasn’t been opened, probably not even have been read by the addressees... - Thought Mrs. Marina, while wondering whether or not to open the envelope and at the same time realizing that the envelope, due to its thickness, should have more than one sheet.
Finally, Mrs. Marina surrendered to curiosity, opened the envelope and found not one but two letters of sixty years ago. One was for "To my dear parents" and another, smaller, almost a ticket - "To Rodolfo, my apology."
Both letters contained the name and signature Matilde. Mrs. Marina began to read the first letter addressed to the parents – supposed parents of the sender Matilde. In this letter, Matilde apologized to his parents and a guiltless person named Rodolfo.
"My dear parents ... as you know, I am traveling to São Paulo, but decided to leave this letter to explain how ashamed I feel, because I raised false witness against Rodolfo. He is innocent. I said he was guilty, out of spite and envy. Now I regret and I beg forgiveness for this coward attitude. Along with this, I leave a letter to Rodolfo and I beg you to surrender to it, so he may be acquitted.
With love, Matilde”
- What an intriguing story - the librarian thought, already thinking about a way to elucidate the mystery of the letter, which however, did not have the sender's location or last names of those involved.
In the following days, after attempting to locate the donor of the book, without any success, and with the help of some high school students, Mrs. Marina went through the Internet searching for the names of those involved, what however had no result. A student, however, after being aware of the story, found a possible alternative:
The students decided to find the journalist Fabio, friend of the young paranormal couple Rod and Dani.
***
In a cool autumn morning, on the porch of Carmo Park’s mansion, surrounded by the singing of the birds, Dani and Rod were waiting for the arrival of their friend Fabio, an independent journalist, always searching for a good story – who had already told them about the mystery of the letters by telephone.
Rod and Dani, young, in love, involved in an aura of passion and romance, amid kisses and caresses, were discussing about the letters. It was, after all, a letter that wasn’t delivered to its addressee; it was forgotten in an old book for sixty years with an apology... A woman named Matilde beg for forgiveness for having slandered someone named Rodolfo... What tragedy might be hidden in these lines?... Would still be alive the characters of those pages?
As soon as Fabio arrived with the letters, Rod and Dani took hold of them in order to have a physical contact with the material. This procedure was important in the process of paranormal mentalization.
Each one of them took a letter, touching gently. Both looked at each other and mentally Rod saw a young man in jail as well as a girl crying.
- Do you feel anything, honey? – asked Dani, while saw a landscape, a mountainous place.
The couple exchanged some views, when, feeling the same as Dani, Rod saw distantly a gray-toned blueish mountain.
- Serra Azul! - Dani then screamed, catching the mentalization of her boyfriend. - These people are from Serra Azul!
- Serra Azul? - Interfered the journalist Fabio. - It is small place in Mantiqueira, isn’t it?
- Yes - agreed Rod - If we want to elucidate this mystery, we must go there.
- How about now? – asked Fabio, excited.
At that same afternoon, they went to Serra Azul taking the letter with them, taken by the curiosity they used to feel in similar situations. Although they were already used to investigate cases of suspense and mystery, an exciting atmosphere always surrounded them. The three were talking about what they had already deduced: the young man in jail was probably Rodolfo to whom Matilde asked for forgiveness. And the young lady crying... would be herself?
- No... I don’t think so... inferred Rod – I didn’t feel it was her... perhaps may be someone else involved in the matter. It is possible that Matilde raised a false witness about Rodolfo and he suffered an injustice being arrested. If this was the case, the town might have registered the event, even though it happened a long time ago.
Still in the morning, Fabio had contacted a journalist in Serra Azul, Carlos Ramiro, who was already in charge of the mystery investigation.
The three friends arrived at Serra Azul at dusk and were welcomed by Carlos Ramiro. The local journalist had collected some old material from the newspapers and remembered of having heard, in his childhood, stories about a love scandal that occurred in the 40s in the town.
- You know how these stories are – said Carlos Ramiro. – Mostly have already turned into urban legends... Reality merges with legend and creates myth... But this time I think we have something real in our hands.
The journalist then showed the material to the friends and reported what he discovered about the event.
- In the 40s, here in town, there was a young man called Rodolfo who was engaged to a young lady called Luciana.
- The girl who was crying in my view – murmured Rod, looking significantly to his friends.
- They had already scheduled the marriage – continued Carlos Ramiro - when Rudolph was accused by another girl, Matilde Sobreiro, of having harassed her. It was a scandal. Matilde was from a traditional family, powerful, who managed arrest Rodolfo immediately, since he refused to marry her. His engagement with Luciana was fell into pieces. Months later, Matilde was traveling to São Paulo, but her car skidded off the highway and rolled down a bluff. She died instantly.
- When was the accident? – Asked Rod – intrigued.
- Look here - said Carlos Ramiro taking hold of an old newspaper. - It was in August 1947.
- The letters! The date! - Rod said - Look, the accident happened a day after the letter had been written!
- So that's it... - Said Fabio. - Matilde would travel to São Paulo, wrote the letters apologizing, saying that Rodolfo was innocent, and in the next day died in a disaster...
- Indeed... – agreed Dani. - Probably, among the confusion of her death, the letter ended up going astray into the book, I wonder how... Neither her parents received it, nor poor Rodolfo... and everyone kept thinking he was guilty...
- Yeah - continued the journalist, Carlos Ramiro - but the story doesn’t finish in here. Rodolfo spent two years in jail and when he left, his fiancée, Luciana, had married and was quite unhappy, because they were reconciled in secret and runaway together.
- What a story! – said Fabio, thrilled – And where did they go?
- Nobody knows – answered Carlos Ramiro – Adding more ingredients to the scandal, his family also moved. They were embarrassed, because Rodolfo was known as “the pervert of Serra Azul”.
- Crazy stuff, huh? – said Fabio ironically.
- Well - said Rod - now we know that he was innocent... and justice must be done. And, if he’s alive, must also receive the letter that recognizes his innocence. Either him or his family has the right to receive this letter! Let's try to follow his trail...
- It will be difficult - Carlos Ramiro argued. – Some say they runaway to another country, fled abroad, Europe, dunno... No one has ever heard of them.
- A moment... - Dani interfered, taking hold the old newspaper clippings. She tried to visualize something from that material. Rod, observing that his lover could visualize something, touched her hands, capturing the feelings and saying loudly:
- Argentina!
- Argentina!? - Asked Fabio. - They went to Argentina?
- What you see, honey? - Asked Dani to Rod.
- A lawn, a ranch or farm... yes ... I think it's in the Argentine pampas... an elderly couple walking through a path...
- Alive! They’re still live! – Cheered Dani - Rodolfo and Luciana are alive!
- Well, it makes sense - said Carlos Ramiro - they should be around 80 years old now.
- We need to contact them – said Dani.
- How are your mileages, huh? - Fabio asked his friend, quietly.
- I think we can go to Argentina - Rod smiled
- Argentina, here we go! – screamed Fabio.
A week was enough to Fabio, Rod and Dani, through mentalization and web researches, find Rodolfo and Luciana living in a bucolic town in Argentina. They were now a nice elderly couple, visibly happy. Placed alongside with the discoveries of the young friends, both lived moments of intense emotion, recalling the memories of the escape to live their dream, in peace, but always with that shadow of the past present in their lives. But they were in peace. Left the past behind, hurts, resentments...
- This letter is very important for me, not only by the apology, but because it confirms my innocence – said Rodolfo - I've forgiven Matilde a long time ago...
- As for me - said his wife Luciana -, after the trauma of the moment passed, deep down, I had always believed in his innocence... My first marriage was a thoughtless act, a mistake as well.
On the returning to Brazil, the three friends discussed about the end of this exciting adventure.
- This story needs to be set right - Rod said - It is necessary to restore the dignity of a person who was so offended, who suffered such injustice. We must tell the truth to the people of Serra Azul.
- I take care of it - said Fabio. - I made a partnership with Carlos Ramiro in order to spread the saga. Serra Azul will change color... will become red, blushed of embarrassment.
In Buenos Ayres, Dani expressed the wish of visiting the cemetery of Recoleta.
- Why?! - Asked Fabio. - Well, in hindsight, talking about you this is not a weird wish, he, he, he...
- Well, Fabio, to see the cats that live there. It is known that many abandoned cats live in Recoleta...
- Okay... since you do not decide to stop conspiring with "other people" there, he, he, he ...
Dani sighed.
- Well, by the way, though, I think everyone with something positive come out of this story - the young woman sighed, snuggling into the arms of Rod - Up to Matilde. Perhaps only now his soul may rest in peace.
A Mystery Romantic Series
