You came to fill a man's heart with joy. You were like a fake jewel that at first shines brightly, but then rusts.

A beautiful girl

Márcio opened the door to the loan shark's office and was shocked.

In front of a desk at the back of the room, Francisco's new secretary said to him with great grace:

- How can I help?

Márcio did his best to disguise all the emotion he felt in front of the most beautiful female specimen he had ever seen. In his eyes, she fit his dreams perfectly. Márcio was not a flirt or womanizer, on the contrary, in his twenty-seven years of life he had had little experience with women. He had had two brief relationships and, like every young man of his time, here and there some single boy escapades. She was black, with a good body, wide hips and exuded through her pores the grace of a naughty woman.

- I would like to speak to Francisco. Is he?, he asked her, still making an effort not to appear emotional, because, even though he was young, he knew that this type of man does not appeal to most women. Despite having little experience with girlfriends, he, who had been raised with three younger sisters and, having been a teacher since the age of eighteen, spent time with many women on a daily basis, had a reasonable knowledge of feminine nature.

- He had to take a break, but he'll be back soon. Do you want to wait?, she asked him even more graciously, which only helped to increase his interest.

- Yes, he replied... already thinking about the issues he would embark on to throw his net. Little did he know that the girl had already thrown hers first.

- What is your name?

- Letícia. I started working with Francisco a few days ago.

Francisco was a loan shark who made loans using the interested party's landline as collateral. He released the desired amount by transferring ownership of the line into his name and, once the debt was paid, it returned to the owner. At that time, at the end of the eighties of the last century, it was sometimes necessary to wait years to obtain a line and its market value was many times greater than that of a new car. He had already taken out this financing several times and had gained confidence in it.

Márcio immediately went to what interested him.

- You have boyfriend?

- No, she replied, showing that she was used to this type of question.

- I found you very friendly. How about if we went out to get to know each other better, he said, without letting on all the feelings that had arisen inside him. It had been love at first sight.

They exchanged phone numbers to communicate later. Soon after, Francisco arrived and the commercial matter that was the subject of the visit was discussed. Márcio, however, could no longer have the same concentration, that girl had messed with her emotions and feelings. The young man was a non-practicing Catholic, but he had a deep connection with God. In his adolescence, he even took a catechism course at the church in the neighborhood where he lived and had served as an “altar boy”. He said his prayers daily and in them, he asked the Creator to place in his path the one who would be the mother of his children, he longed for a life partner, he dreamed of walking hand in hand with her for many, many years and, simply, being happy.

He didn't have a childhood. From the age of seven he started working selling homemade cocadas door to door to help his mother who was awaiting his arrival with the money to go to Mr. Mikio's store to buy whatever she could for the family's food. His father, at this time, was unemployed and it was up to him, as the eldest son, to do what he could so that the family would not be in need. From the moment he learned the value of money, he was no longer interested in children's games, he just wanted to work.

After that, many other informal activities would come his way. Ice cream seller, jawbreaker seller, shoeshine man, bar attendant, green corn seller at the “fair”. His mother, Nair, a strong and warrior woman, was always by his side, encouraging and guiding her son. He couldn't work, as he had to take care of two young daughters and, at the time, job opportunities for married women with young children were almost non-existent.

At twenty-seven years old, almost graduated from college, fluently speaking two foreign languages in addition to his mother tongue, with professional experience and already running his own business, he felt ready to start his own family. His better half was missing, could Letícia be that woman? To see...

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In Brazil, we call “altar boy” teenagers who take the catechism course and who are called to help lead the mass.

In Brazil, we call it “jawbreaker”, a typical sweet much appreciated in the country made with pieces of coconut and burnt sugar.

In Brazil, a “fair” is a street market that takes place once a week on a street in each neighborhood. Fruit, vegetable and other consumer products traders set up their stalls early in the morning and finish their work around 2pm, dismantling the stalls and leaving dirt for urban cleaning staff to clean up.