CHAPTER ONE
The summer had been great. Marina had worked part of her holidays, but she enjoyed every single moment of freedom to go to the swimming-pool or to the beach. She hadn’t read any book nor studied a single word, which contradicted her status of an applied student or, as they said in school-slang, a geek. ‘Geek’… That was a word with which she didn’t like to be associated, although the alternative didn’t attract her either. It was true that she liked to study and have good grades, so why not do it? To be the best she could be was her goal.
As someone devoted to studies, her group of friends was very small, consisting only of Ana. Putting the two of them side by side, there weren’t many resemblances. Marina was tall, had brown hair with a few blond highlights, and wore it straight, a little below her shoulders. Her almond-colored eyes revealed how introverted she was. She wasn’t fat or thin, but medium, although she didn’t worry much about that. As for Ana, she was smaller than Marina, with rich blond hair and large golden curls that tumbled onto her shoulders. Her eyes were green and she had the physique of a top-model. Perhaps that’s why guys would do anything for her but not for Marina. Ana also had a personality that matched her physical beauty: if someone thought that she belonged to the stereotype of ‘dumb blonde’, they would be mistaken. Her weakness was in thinking with her heart before her head. In turn, Marina wasn’t impulsive at all and always thought about the consequences before doing something. Though they were antagonists, the laws of Physics dictated that ‘opposites attracted’ and their solid friendship showed just that.
Ana had spent her summer vacations with her parents in the Algarve, located in the south of their country, Portugal. Her father worked as a tourist operator and group animator, which in summer was an asset, because he’d go where the agency sent him and he could take his family with him. Of course Ana’s vacations were always eventful, so when Marina saw her crossing the school gate, she knew the news ahead would be filled with romance and drama, and she would have to listen to her for the next few days. Yes, days! When Ana started to talk nothing would stop her, unlike Marina, who was a lot more reserved and preferred to keep most things to herself.
Ana was wearing a green mini-skirt and a cream top with brown and green accessories. Her sandals and coat were brown. Her hair was loose and tamed, which was almost a miracle since during summer it stubbornly resembled steel wool. Marina contrasted with her pal: she wore blue jeans, a half sleeve blouse in red tones, cream All-Star sneakers, and her hair was caught in a pony-tail held at the top of her head.
When they saw each other, they ran to hug. The time they were away from each other seemed like an eternity. Mobile phones were part of a teenager’s life, but Marina didn’t have one. Without this useful device, during the vacations they could only speak on the land phone, but it was complicated.
After an emotional hug, Ana exclaimed, “How long, babe! You can't imagine the news I have to tell to you.”
“Oh, Ana, I already expected that! You, returning from vacation without news? Impossible!” joked Marina.
“Hey, you make me sound predictable! And your holidays, how were they?”
“The usual. Say, have you eaten? I wasn’t hungry at home, but now I’m starving! Do you want to go with me to the bar to buy something to eat?” proposed Marina.
“I had a glass of milk, but I sure fancy one of those warm croissants with ham. I haven’t eaten one of those in ages! Mmm…!”
“Yeah! Let’s go then and then you can tell me everything. We have a lot to catch up.”
While heading to the bar, they viewed the school. It had been almost three months since the holidays had started and everything looked the same, as if they had left the previous day to return the next one. The seats and tables were students ‘killed’ time during breaks were in the same places, the lockers were in the exact same corridor that led to the bar, and the sign announcing the location of the Head Master’s office continued to hang over the door. They could have changed a few things during that period of time. For example, they could have taken care of the Headmaster’s sign or have painted the school entry. Still, it felt comforting knowing that, in a changing world with so much uncertainty, the school remained unaffected.
Once at the bar, Ana chose a croissant with ham, while Marina chose the one with cheese and a mango juice. Marina hadn’t even taken a bite of the croissant when Ana started to chatter about her adventures during the holidays. As she knew, Ana had gone to the Algarve; since her mother wasn’t able to join them right away, Ana had to babysit her younger brother for a few days, which had been a major bummer.
“You can't imagine! That little bugger is a lot of work. I couldn’t even have a good swim at the beach, because I had to keep an eye on him. And you'll never guess what he did to me. I was hit by a wave, lost the top of my bikini and he didn’t return it to me,” complained Ana, her face a mask of frustration.
“Geez! I can only imagine…” answered Marina trying to look serious and not to laugh.
“I was so embarrassed! There was I, with water up to my neck so that no one realized that my top was missing, and he was in the sand waving it for everyone to see. And he kept yelling ‘Is this what you’re looking for?’ I just wanted to strangle him.”
Carlinhos, Ana’s little brother, was eight years old and was considered a genius. However, that led other kids of his age to leave him out of their games and even make fun of him. Angry about that, he subjected childish pranks on others; his favorite target was his big sister. He did everything to her: he took her diary and left it on the couch for her mother to read; he hid her favorite clothes; he gave her favorite shoes to their dog to chew them… Bearing in mind his behavior, Marina believed that Ana had suffered some difficult days taking care of her brother.
“What about you Marina, did you meet your younger sister?” questioned Ana before taking another bite in her croissant.
“No. She spent the summer with my grandmother in a village in the North. I don’t know what she sees in that village, but if she likes it, let her enjoy it.”
In a lower voice, Ana asked, “Does she still live with your father?”
Marina’s parents were divorced. 'Irreconcilable differences' was the reason they presented when they told her that they had decided to take a break. The days and the months turned into something more definitive, and the divorce seemed the natural course to follow. Sofia, Marina’s sister, was very attached to her father, so they decided that she would stay with him during school calendar and would spend her vacations with her mother, while the contrary process would apply to Marina. However, things seldom worked that way and the visits were also getting rarer.
After sighing, Marina commented, “I’m already used to it, but this is very hard on my mom. She can’t visit her often and Sofia doesn’t want to come here.”
“That’s a bad situation,” noted Ana.
“Indeed. But much can’t be done to change things if there’s no willingness on both sides.”
An awkward silence installed. That was a delicate matter and Marina didn’t like to talk about it. Luckily, the bell sounded. Only then they realized that they hadn’t checked their schedule yet. They knew their first lesson was at 9.30, yet they still hadn’t gone to the board to verify what subject they would have and in what room. Marina thought she was really rusty. Usually, by this time, she already had the timetable at home and knew it almost by heart. It was better to get into the normal rhythm of school work as soon as possible, after all she wanted to keep her grades up to get into college with no trouble.
They walked back to the lobby in a haste to consult the boards and found that they would have Philosophy in room number two. “Yay! Divagations right at the beginning. What a good way of starting the year,” commented Ana with sarcasm while sighing. Philosophy was a subject that Marina enjoyed, but for Ana it was a major torment. Stoics, existentialists, gestalt's… what the hell was that and what did it mean anyway? It all mingled in her head and was worse
than a tangled string ball with the end hidden.
As they were preparing to head to the room, a boy passed them at full speed and crashed into Ana, making her jump in the direction of a wooden bench by the wall. Without apologizing or even turning to them, he kept running like a speeding bullet towards the classrooms.
“Damn, that one is really in a hurry to hit the classes! He has enough enthusiasm for himself and for me. I have no desire to take Philosophy,” commented Ana.
“What a rude guy! He didn’t even apologize for pushing you,” criticized Marina.
“At least he seemed cute.”
“And I suppose it fixes everything else, like his bad manners,” said Marina with a sardonic voice.
“No, but it’s half way there,” answered Ana, winking her eye.
They marched into the classroom. When they got there, they found the room’s door open and the students sitting down. Nice. The teacher was Manelito, the philosophical terror of the school. Great news for the masochistic.
Seeing them, the pedagogue looked over his glasses, coughed slightly to clear his throat and began his moralist speech, “Punctuality, kids, is something that I value very much. Arriving on time can make the difference between a positive and a negative grade.”
Ana and Marina looked at each other in a silent dialogue, and prepared to sit together at a table in the back row. “And enjoy today’s opportunity to take a seat randomly, because next class you’ll sit in numerical order. That way, when I call your names according to the list, it’s easier to figure out who’s missing,” announced the teacher.
Yep, the year was starting well…
As the professor was speaking, a student snorted ironically. Nobody had noticed that he was there, and he would have gone unnoticed the entire lesson if he hadn’t decided to be a smart-ass by challenging the teacher.
“Do you have something to say, boy in the back?” asked the teacher abruptly.
Only then the friends noticed him: it was the guy that had pushed Ana in the hall earlier without apologizing. Marina thought that Ana was right; he was kind of cute if she looked at him closely, though he might go unnoticed at first glance. His face was long and sharp, he had deep dark eyes that seemed to hide a sea full of secrets, and both his ears were pierced with small ethnic round earrings. He wore his dark hair short and spiky with a smidgen of gel, and his lips outlined a devilish smile, full of indecent promises. He wore dark jeans and a light-blue t-shirt that allowed one to guess that he worked his muscles. Hey, what description was that? Focus on class, Marina ordered herself while shaking her head. Her mind, nonetheless, kept wandering around the topic.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t even realize that the boy was staring at her, fully aware what he was the center of her attention. Oops! Her face blushed without delay. It couldn’t have been more obvious – how embarrassing. The boy smirked, satisfied. He flicked the pen between his fingers and turned his gaze forward, focusing on the teacher, who was continuing the conversation he had started.
“Let me guess, you’re the transf
erred student. And you don’t have the best of references. This is your third time in the 11th grade. You should be in college by now. Do you like the 11th grade that much or are you reconsidering your life choices?”
The boy continued to draw a derisive grin and just shrugged his shoulders against the assertions of the teacher.
“Will you answer me, boy? Tell me your name!” demanded the professor, getting irritated.
He ran his tongue over his lips and presented them with his voice for the first time. It was a deep sound, slightly cavernous and cold, but at the same time crisp and appealing. And his pronunciation? Awesome.
“Lucas, sir. My name is Lucas. And I take the second choice - I’m rethinking my options in order to choose the best future for me.”
“Let’s hope you think fast so that you move on, because you've been in the 11th grade for far too long.”
The teacher then turned his eyes to the class book and announced that he would make the call to check who was missing. As that was a presentation lesson, the name he called should confirm the presence and also do a short presentation.
Since her name started with the first letter of the alphabet, Ana was the first one to talk. She stood out instantly with her liveliness. “Hello! For those who don’t know me, I’m Ana. I live here, in Alcácer do Sal, and I’m 16. I like to listen to music, hanging out with my friends and shopping. I don’t dismiss a night out and I like to meet nice people. Future ambitions? Predictions only made after the game.” The class erupted with laughter. The teacher stared at her sternly, showing her that there was no room for jokes unless he authorized it. Though this presentation had lightened the heavy air that prevailed, the pedagogue’s reaction meant that the next ones would be more contained.
When it was number fifteen’s turn, Lucas was dismissed, because Manelito thought that he already knew enough about him. Moving on, the teacher called, “Marina!” As if it wasn’t enough to have the entire classroom looking at her, Lucas turned in his seat towards her. Why was he staring at her? He didn’t pay attention to what the other students had said, so why would he listen to her? He could just continue with his attitude of one who didn’t care about what was happening. Embarrassed, her cheeks turned pink.
With no will to face the crowd of the twenty-two people in the room, Marina chose an empty spot on the concrete wall ahead and began her short speech. “Hi. I’m Marina, I’m 17, and I live here too. I like to read and go to the cinema. As for ambitions, I want to be the best that I can be, and to get as far as I can.”
For the first time, the teacher intervened after a presentation. “Wow! Someone with ambitions, although you didn’t present any stone goals. Do you mind explaining yourself better?”
Now she glowed as red as a tomato. Silly professor! Wasn’t enough what she’d said? Why did she have to add something more? Stammering, the girl carried on, “Err… what I mean is that I believe that work pays off, so I want to be good at something and achieve the desired reward. For example, if I have good grades, I’ll get into university right away.”
“Yes, I’m following your reasoning. Please, continue,” asked the teacher while nodding his head.
“In college, if I have good grades, I might have the door half opened for a great job. In my point of view, if I’m good at what I do, I can achieve many positive things.”
The whole class was examining Marina with question marks mirrored on their faces, as if to say 'what the hell is she talking about?' Her eyes automatically scanned her colleagues’ visages and their expressions made her want to disappear.
Everyone's attention turned away from her when Manelito continued with the presentation of the rest of the students.
“I hope the rest of the day is not equal to this, otherwise, when the last bell rings, I won’t even know who I am,” commented Ana on the sly to Marina.
The time went by and soon the professor announced that it may be the first lesson, but there would still be homework.
“Your task comes in the sequence of what we did: today we presented ourselves, we said who we are and what we want for our future. But where do we come from, and how does that influence who we are now? Research kids, and write at least a page about the subject. And with beautiful handwriting, because it’s to be given to me,” said the teacher.
“Great, we start right away with homework!” grizzled Ana.
At long last the bell rang, giving everyone permission to get up from their seats and hurry into the hall, to enjoy a deserved break. With a sigh of relief, Ana and Marina grabbed their handbags.
The first one to go out of the door was Lucas, which earned him a comment from Ana that sounded like "The first one to get in must be the first one to get out." Marina didn’t pay attention to it.
The breaks used to end very fast in a typical day of school, as students spent their time running around. However, in that first day of classes the short breaks seemed to last long enough to update the talk about the holidays, and between classes that was what the two friends did. When the bell rang at 5.10p.m marking the end of the day, it was with satisfaction they headed to the school gate. They hadn’t done more than presenting themselves, writing summaries or making notes on what were the goals of the teachers for the first period. The talk about the vacations wasn’t over yet, but they would leave the rest for the next day, because Ana saw her mother's Jeep as soon as they crossed the gate. “Well, my love, it’s time to meet mom, to go and get the little devil from school and go home,” announced Ana.
“That's fine. Oh, and don’t overbook your agenda, because tomorrow we're going to the mobile phone store to choose my super machine” warned Marina.
“Okay. See you tomorrow, babe.” Ana got into the Jeep and waved goodbye to Marina.
The autumn was nearing very fast. The days were getting shorter and it cooled faster than before. With an icy chill down her spine, Marina crossed her arms in front of her and rubbed them with her hands to warm up. After breathing a lungful of fresh cold air, she went home. Marina and her mother lived in an old small building, marked by time with austerity, located down-town of Alcácer do Sal, not very far from school. Despite the temperature dropping as the time went by, Marina decided to walk along the wall near the river. The wind there was less serene, but the view made up for that. She crossed the road to the bulwark and walked at a snail's pace, watching the river and admiring the view.
Soon the sun would begin to go down, slowly dipping until it disappeared on the horizon. Marina loved watching this show from the pedestrian bridge or sat on the benches across the south shore. Anticipating the sunset, she decided to turn back and cross the bridge. Right at the top, she could sit down and enjoy the orange becoming pink, then purple, until finally darkness arrived.
With small steps, she climbed the wooden platform of the pedestrian bridge and touched the green protection grid lightly with her fingers. Skirting the bars with her hands, she moved towards the center of the bridge. When she arrived there, she supported her elbows on the railing and looked at the horizon. She observed the brown and gold snaking contours of river Sado, the once high and green paddy fields now being harvested, the old railway bridge, and the highway where cars went at full speed. Delighted with the tones that the landscape took on, Marina didn’t notice the voices that rose, nor realized what was going on.
Two men had meanwhile begun a discussion in a nearby café. One of them was clearly drunk, confirmed by the way he was walking and speaking. The mood grew to rage and, from the café, they moved over to the street. Wanting to get his way, the drunk man grabbed a stone, threw it with full force against his opponent and hit him right in the head. Being sober, the wounded guy might have had the sanity not to mess with the one who was tipsy, but his insight was clouded by anger and justice had to be served. Noticing that the fight would not end yet, the inebriated man wobbled up to the pedestrian bridge, to the concern of all who were watching. Stumbling, he quickly reached the center of the walkway, where Marina was,
but his opponent was right behind him, stretching out his arm in a punch to get him. The drunk guy lost his balance and landed right on top of the girl. Caught by surprise, she tried to hold on. A second thump, given by the man wounded in his head, forced Marina to climb the railing. A new attack projected her outward and she became suspended in the air, holding on only with one hand to the side bars. Distressed, Marina screamed as loud as she could, as she tried to reach the grid with her free hand; however, her body swung and it was very difficult to reach.
Incredulous at the scene happening, people began to approach. A woman then ran towards the café where it all started and called up two men to go break up the fight, so that they could help the girl, who had finally managed to grasp with both hands. Still, she wasn’t save. The men ran to the bridge, but the fight was still ravaging and it was pretty heated.
The drunk man decided to try to kick the other guy, but instead he stepped on one of the girl’s hands. Faced with excruciating pain, Marina screamed and felt her strength ebbing away. So that was it, that was how she was going to die: young, without having known the true flavor of life, and without having achieved the bright future that so many people had said that she would have. Where was the justice in that? Why did she have to be sacrificed in the middle of a stupid scuffle that had nothing to do with her? There was still so much to do… Sometimes, she thought of doing something and ended up leaving it for another day, because there would be another day. At that second, nothing was certain beyond the fact that nothing was certain. Tomorrow might never come to her and why? Why did she have to pay that high price?
She never had much strength in her arms and, to make matters worse, her hands often perspired. Although she tried not to think about it, her palms became more humid and the hand that was still clinging to the railing began to slip away. It was common to hear that life passed in front of one’s eyes when someone was about to die, so Marina thought soon she would see all the important moments of her short life passing through her mind in a photographic record. She tried to calm her spirit, preparing for the terrible tragedy. Contrary to what she intended, tears began to stream along her face. In a last effort, she gave a boost up and launched herself toward the fence to grab it. However, it wasn’t enough: her right hand didn’t reach the handrail and the left slipped off.
In those milliseconds she seemed suspended in the air, she looked at the sky and saw him. Was she dreaming? Was he the last vision in her life? Why him and not someone important, like her mother? Lucas extended his body out along the railing, but didn’t arrive in time and his hands just grazed Marina’s fingers. The floating sensation was rather ephemeral, and soon gave way to shortness of breath combined with the dreadful dive into the icy water. As her body obstinately dropped to the river bottom, not responding to any orders, Marina closed her eyes and decided to let go. That was how she was going to die. That was it.
All of a sudden, the water stirred around and she came face to face with him. Him again... Maybe he was a death angel and was there to take her with him. She remembered the concept ‘to cross over’ and never thought it could be so ironic; the death angel was about to help her to make the crossing to the opposite side of life - death. Suddenly, she expected to wake in a barge with a helmsman, who would tell her if she was going to paradise or purgatory, just like in the dramatic play ‘Auto da Barca do Inferno’, of the writer Gil Vicente. However, and to her surprise, the air returned to invade her nostrils. She received it with an urgent gush that made her choke. Her arms waved frantically in the water, in a botched attempt to swim or, at least, to claw at the surface. Soon she found herself surrounded by something stronger that hugged and pushed her towards one of the pillars of the bridge.
“Come on, swim now. Kick your feet with strength! We have to reach the pillar,” she heard. Stunned by what was said, she took a few clumsy kicks in the water, trying with despair to get to her destination.
“Put your arms and legs around the pillar. Hold on to it, as monkeys do to the back of their mothers.”
That sounded like a good joke, except nobody was there to laugh and she felt her lips paralyzed by cold, which kept her from smiling. Although her hands felt numb and trembled, she managed to cling to the column of cement. Then she felt a body behind her, also trying to hold on to the pillar and pushing against her, so that she didn’t slip and remained safe and sound there until help arrived.
“Are you okay? Hang on. The fire fighters are already on their way.”
That voice... Trying slowly to gain her reasoning ability, Marina realized at last that the one who saved her life was Lucas. It was he who was there with her; he had come to her rescue.
Her arms began to lose strength little by little, and her legs insisted on not holding on to the pillar. She began to lose consciousness; she was in shock and into hypothermia. How long had she been in the water? Was the water so cold to the point of dropping her body temperature that much? Marina let herself go with the numbness and felt her body floating in the water. She wasn’t afraid; she knew he was there to save her and wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her.
Without prior notice, the force that kept her at the surface disappeared. Her body began to sink, but was soon pulled up - the firemen had arrived on a boat. A fireman held on to her jersey to keep her from sinking; another came up, each grabbed her under her arms and hoisted her into the boat.
The emergency sirens of an ambulance sounded by the avenue, attracting the girl’s weak attention. Boat and ambulance arrived almost at the same time at the dockside, and a semi-conscious Marina was moved from one to the other. As they lay her on the stretcher, she looked at the waters of Sado seeking the face of the one she knew that had in fact saved her; however, her eyes met only darkness and emptiness. She lost consciousness.
During the time she was transferred to the ambulance and driven to the hospital, Marina dreamed, but it wasn’t a clear dream nor did it make sense - it was all weird and confusing. She felt she had died in fact and made the cross over with the death angel, except he wasn’t really an angel. In her fantasy, she turned around and saw Lucas, moving through barren red land with no hurry, and wearing only a pair of jeans held up with a belt. His naked and muscled chest was breathed upon by a scorching wind that burned his skin. Looking tired, he sat on some dark rocks and stared out at the emptiness. Since she couldn’t quite see Lucas’ face, Marina - that in the dream was wearing a white tunic made of a fabric that danced at the taste of the hot wind - approached him. As soon as the boy looked up from the floor and his gaze met hers, Marina felt a sudden lack of breath and grasped her neck begging for oxygen again. With a growing eagerness, she fell on her knees in the barren land and extended her arm in the direction of Lucas, so that he would help her. With calmness, he lowered his body towards her and whispered to her ear "You have no idea of what they do to you in here!" The red began to gleam in Marina’s eyes and she awoke at the hospital, gasping for breath.
“Easy! Calm down, Marina. Everything’s okay,” the doctor tried to assure her.
“What’s happening?” she demanded to know, feeling disorientated.
“Your mother is on her way here. When she arrives, we’ll take you to Setúbal’s hospital to do some routine tests, just to make sure that everything is fine with you. Relax now.”
Marina nodded. She had known the doctor for many years and trusted her. She knew she was safe.
In response to a slight tingling, Marina looked at her arm and noticed that she was on intravenous fluids. But this wasn’t the only oddity. The mask itched her face, so it wasn’t hard to realize that she was also receiving oxygen. She tried to clear her mind and remember all that had happened; however, she was too tired. Summarizing everything to the fact that she was safe in hospital, she allowed herself to abandon her body and fell into a deep sleep. This time, she didn’t dream and everything was closed in deep darkness.