The city of São Tomé das Letras is located in the south of the State of Minas Gerais, up in the hills and surrounded by indescribable natural beauty, such as mountains, waterfalls, caves, trails and enchanting streams.
Most of the houses, including the church from the colonial days, were made of stones from the region.
The city attracts tourists from Brazil and from overseas who go there in search of peace, tranquility and positive energy, especially attracted by the intense mysticism that reigns in the area.
Several legends permeate the history of São Tomé das Letras. Some say that at night, strange lights, and possibly, flying saucers, rip through the skies. Another says that one of its caves, called Carimbado, finished in Macchu-Pichu, Peru.
According to the legend, in the central cave, located next to the church, a fugitive slave hid out for many years. One day, a mystical figure appeared to him and wrote a letter with beautiful writing, asking that he be granted his freedom. The charismatic handwriting so impressed the slave’s owner that he freed him and that is how the city got its name, Saint Thomas of the Letters.
Like most visitors, Rod first set up quarters in an inn, and then he tried to get to know some the city’s magical points. When he learned about the slave’s story he became fascinated and decided to go the legendary cave.
When he arrived at the site, Rod was driven by an intense intuition and entered the São Tomé das Letras cave.
The young man could feel an inner vibration. It was something very intimate and strange... For him, already accustomed to extraordinary feelings, when bursts of his paranormality were manifested, this vibration seemed to take on a new and special meaning. Under the magical effect of this unusual feeling, Rod felt driven to penetrate even deeper into the cave, as if a magnetic force was pulling him.
He suddenly noticed that something was moving from amidst the cave’s foggy mist. It was a shadowy figure...
The shadowy figure of a woman.
Rod stopped, instinctively. Little by little, the figure approached and a young woman of rare beauty soon stood before the fascinated young man’s eyes. Through a tiny opening in the cave, a soft ray of sunlight dyed the hair of that dream image a deeper gold. The deep black eyes sparkled as they gazed deeply at Rod. If it were not for the modern clothes she wore, a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt with a sweater tied around her waist, he would say it was definitely a mirage.
Rod and the young woman stared at each other for a moment.
A magical moment.
“I have always loved you!” he said, in a sudden burst.
The young woman stared at him with an air of incredulity, without uttering a word.
“I have always loved you! And I always will!” continued Rodrigo.
The young woman smiled mischievously and then looking all about her, she asked Rodrigo with her finger pointing at herself, “Are you talking to me?”
“Who else could I be talking to?” answered the young man, acting naturally.
Perhaps feeling a little unsure, the young woman began to move away, but Rodrigo positioned himself in front of her, blocking her path.
“Please, don’t go. Not now that I have found you, after such a long search...”
“Search?” she asked, intrigued. “You have been looking for me? Do you even know who I am?”
“Yes,” answered Rod, whispering in an almost passionate tone. “We have known each other for centuries, since infinite existences... many past lives... Our links are lost in the mists of time...”
She couldn’t resist and smiled again. “That had to be the most original pick-up line I’ve ever heard. A supernatural pick-up line! Well then... if you really know me, you must know my name!”
Rodrigo could have mentalized an answer and tried to obtain her name through intuition, but there was no time. He hushed for a moment and looking at a necklace around the young woman’s neck, he replied, “Your name... begins with the letter ‘D’!”
She instinctively raised her hand to the charm on her necklace, a letter D.
“Tell me another one! That one didn’t count! You saw the charm!” she exclaimed with a smile of reproval.
At that exact moment, they could hear footsteps and the sound of people approaching.
“Dani! Dani!” a female voice echoed throughout the cave.
Rodrigo realized they were calling for the young woman.
“Dani...” he said. “Daniela! Your name is Daniela!”
Before she could say anything, a group of young adults caught up with them.
“Dani!” said one of the young women, while the others headed for the exit. “Where have you been? Come on, everyone wants to head back now!”
And then, looking at Rod, she asked her friend, “Who’s he? Aren’t you going to introduce me?”
“Well, Vera, this is...”
“Rodrigo. Rodrigo Scudero,” the young man concluded.
Vera smiled and extended her hand.
“My pleasure. Rodrigo Scudero, huh? Spanish name... of a hero... El Cid!”
“Certainly!” smiled Rodrigo, his blue eyes sparkling, oozing charm. - But... friends just call me Rod, okay?
“Well... let’s go then?” asked Vera.
Dani and Rod didn’t answer. They didn’t seem to hear Vera’s question. They still faced each other, as if hypnotized, eyes drinking in eyes, in a silence of accomplices...
Vera detected a feeling in the air, and smiling, moved away, “Okay! I’ll go on ahead, okay?”
Rodrigo broke the silence as he grabbed Dani’s hands, “I’ve never seen you before... yet, I’ll always love you!”
Dani rebutted, “That one didn’t count either! It’s the name of a movie!”
“Movie...,” stammered Rodrigo. “My life has a lot to do with movies...”
“Why? Are you some movie star?” she asked.
“Sort of... let’s just say I’m a movie bug.”
Dani fell silent and continued to stare at him, curious. She couldn’t understand what it was that made her stay there, next to that mysterious and enchanting young man. She felt divided between the need to get back and the desire to remain by his side, looking deep into his eyes, holding his hands, indefinitely. She felt wonderful warmth in that light physical contact, as if an inexplicable energy was passing from one to the other.
“I’ve got to go...,” she stammered, finally, in a soft voice.
“Of course! Let’s go!” said Rod, in a decisive and at the same time affectionate tone. “But don’t try and run away, Dani...”
Dani... Her name, spoken in Rodrigo’s warm, sweet voice, filled Dani with an indefinable feeling of pleasure.
They exited the cave side by side, smiling, in silence, holding hands, as if they had truly known each other for centuries. They were still in a bit of a daze from the magic of the encounter. Words were not necessary... twin souls use inexplicable means to communicate with each other...
Dani’s group was outside waiting for her.
“Come on, Dani! You don’t want to miss the sunset in São Tomé, do you? Everybody’s already climbing the Pyramid!” shouted Vera.
Dani invited Rod, smiling, “Would you like to see the sunset?”
“With you?” he answered. “Of course! Every sunset of our lives... And every sunrise, too!”
They all headed off towards the Pyramid, a strategic site in São Tomé das Letras, at the top of a hill made of rock from where you have a 360 degree view of the region. Most of the spectators were young people who patiently waited for the ever so special spectacle of nature as they sang songs by the likes of Legião Urbana and Raul Seixas.
Rod and Dani made themselves comfortable on a rock and stayed there holding each other while the king of the skies painted the infinite landscape of Minas Gerais in incredible nuances of color until completely disappearing over the horizon.
Night was falling.
The infinite range of afternoon colors melted away making room for the stars that began to appear, sparkling silver dots in the sky of São Tomé das Letras. The temperature dropped slowly, spreading a welcome chill.
“Everyone’s planning on spending the night outdoors on Witch’s Rock or on Cruzeiro, and wait for the sunrise,” said Dani. “They say that at night here in São Tomé extraordinary phenomena happens, that there are magical lights in the sky, flying saucers... what do you say?”
“Are you inviting me to spend the night with you?” asked Rod, smiling with a seductive air.
“With the whole group, let’s make that very clear...” answered Dani. “You know how it works: everyone brings their own blanket, wrap themselves up in it, because the cold up here can get pretty nasty, and then spend the night, at the very least contemplating the stars in the sky...”
“At the very least? The very least never did cut it with me...” smiled Rodrigo, in a mischievous tone of voice. “Will you share a piece of your blanket with me?”
“How about a whole blanket? There are a bunch back at the inn! Grab your own! Actually, I think we are going to take sleeping bags!” replied Daniela charmingly. “And they are invader proof, with airtight closures!”
Later on, armed with thermoses containing tea, hot chocolate and coffee, Rod, Dani and the whole gang got together to enjoy the night on the Cruzeiro, the highest point in the city, near the Pyramid. To spend the night there is a fantastic experience for nature and cosmic mystery lovers.
Wrapped in their blankets, Rod and Dani sat at the foot of the campfire talking for a long time, long enough for them to trace a parallel in their lives, as they talked about themselves, their likes, their beliefs and hopes, and so they discovered countless dreams in common.
Rod told her he lived with his aunt and uncle in São Paulo. Dani said she studied in Piracicaba, but spent her weekends on a farm in the neighborhood of São Tomé das Letras. Frequently, like now, she accompanied the people from the College of Agronomy, planning hikes and research in the surrounding areas.
“My parents are separated,” she said, “and they went off in the world. They were both born for adventure. Mom, maybe because she was raised here around São Tomé, became a mystic, an esoteric. She participates in NGOs in Africa, the Far East, always serving the needy. She’s part of an organization called “Volunteers without Frontiers”. The last time she contacted us she was working in some village in India. As for Dad, he’s a photographer. He spent some time with the Indians in Peru, and the last we heard, he was in the Balkans.
“Well then, we have the fact we live without our parents in common,” commented Rod. “But, at least it’s a consolation to know that Piracicaba and São Paulo are relatively near. That’s a good sign for us... We could be together in less than two hours, whenever we really started missing each other...”
Dani smiled when she realized he was already making plans that included the both of them and she began to feel increasingly captivated by that magnetic look in his deep blue eyes...
The place’s inviting and captivating magic encouraged romance...
Rod, who could not stop admiring Dani’s silhouette, caressed her face with both hands, sliding his fingers through her golden hair that glowed in the light from the crackling fire. Very gently, their faces slowly merged and Dani surrendered to the taste of that first kiss that announced a hot, love and passion filled future life. Finally, embracing each other, they leaned back on the ground of that dream retreat and remained there all night long, together, between endless expressions of affection, oaths and caresses, and then, with the stars and moonlight of São Tomé das Letras as their accomplices, they appreciated for the first time, together, the magical dawn over the mountains of Minas...
The small crowd that had been waiting for daybreak with them began to shout in glee, greeting the first rays of sunlight peeking over the hilltops and pouring their light over the exuberant Minas landscape.
A Mystery Romantic Series
