The next few days pass by, and nothing out of the ordinary happens. A neighbor across the street burns the overgrown bushes and grass; children drive from the top of the hill down our street with their rollimãs15 or run down flying their pipas16. I buy a new propane tank and ask the man to install it for me because I still do not know how to do it myself. I go to church every day, I pray, I do the laundry. I cook, I clean; Reginaldo finally comes home with good news – a job at the grocery store on the corner of our street. He complains that the salary is not much, but when I remind him that he also gets to keep the rent that is 650 reais, he seems happy enough.
I gather the family in the kitchen again. I think it is time that they know the truth. “I am dying,” I want to tell them. I imagine explaining in so many words the condition, or at least the part I understand, and that the doctor gives me a few months to live – max. They would cry, even Sara who I thought would not care that much. Sabrina, of course, would not stop sobbing. My son Fernando would declare that he wants at least a second opinion, but maybe a third and a fourth as well, if necessary. I sigh. I cannot bring myself to tell them. Only in my fantasy do I tell them.
Sabrina decides to sleep over. She tells me that they renamed the dog “Mike” and the jabuti “Jack,” and we both sleep in the same bed after watching a couple things on TV – first the news where they said that some “big fish” from the gang were arrested, finally! Then a movie on Netflix, all while eating popcorn. I fall into a deep sleep, decide to enjoy my last days, make memories with my family, and pray that my end will be quick and painless.
On Saturday we decide to have a barbecue. Fernando invites us over, because his new place is much bigger and they have a grill, whereas we would just use some bricks and an old piece of metal grid for our churrasco. I bring a salada de maionese17, and even my youngest, Reginaldo, brings a case of beer. I walk up the uneven steps of my son’s new house, stopping at the middle of the staircase to catch my breath. It’s a beautiful afternoon and we are all together on the veranda. Loro is sitting on Sabrina’s shoulder, accepting pieces of apple. The churrasco tastes excellent. I like the sting of the linguica calabrese. The music is loud but not too loud; the people passing by on the street greet us as if we belong here. I no longer feel like an intruder – it’s been so long now, almost 3 months since the neighbors left. Wherever they are, they are better off there, I think to myself.
It is almost 6 pm. The sun is setting. It hasn’t rained in a few days. That is why the air is dusty and glimmering red where the dust particles meet the sun’s rays. Up on the hill, on the corner by the grocery store, I see 3 vultures. One seems to be carrying an old tube TV on their head. How bizarre! Why would anyone need that old thing? They come closer, and I can tell that one of them is using a walker and keeps stopping. She has an oxygen tank attached to her walker. And the other bigger silhouette is helping her with the walker, while holding a cigarette in the other hand and… No. As they approach, I can see their faces clearly for a moment: they are back. The neighbors are back! My head becomes fuzzy. I can’t breathe. I hear my son screaming “mãe.” I hear Sabrina whimpering, “Vó, acorda.”18 I hear the parrot screeching, “Amen, amen!” Finally, he learned it! At last, the voice of dona Sandra echoes from deep within in my head, “Até o dia do juízo final !”19 Then everything goes quiet.
(…the end…)
Footnotes
15. Brazilian toy cars, similar to a sledge on wheels
16. Kites
17. Potato salad with mayo
18. Grandma, wake up
19. Until the day of final judgement, or Judgment Day
Transadaptation Volume 7 – Via Ellipsis – Continuation of Uncertainty, Instability and Extremes Transadapted
January: An Unexpected Trip Down Memory Lane – Sarah-Leah Pimentel (South Africa)
February: Blow-up – Veronika Groke (Austria)
March: Futuros Murguistas – Alejandra Baccino Uberti (Uruguay)
April: The Nomenclature Man – Paulius Limantas (Lithuania)
May: Amanecerá y veremos – Adriana Uribe (Colombia)
June: Finding Light in Yerevan – Armine Asryan (Armenia)
July: The Last Judgement – Nadia Silva Castro (Brazil)
August: Puzzled – a collaged nivola by and of perypatetik authors (International)
September: Second Steps – Jonay Quintero Hernandez (Spain)
October: New Normality – Svetlana Molchanova (Russia)
November: Beyond Comprehension – Rahaf Konbaz (Syria)
December: Who’s Afraid of the Big, Bad Worm? (Parts I and II) – Narantsogt (Natso) Baatarkhuu (Mongolia)
Background – Context
Transadaptation Volume 6: Meaning? – Uncertainty, Instability and Extremes Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2025)
Transadaptation Volume 5: Of Flowing Vicissitudes – Life Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2024)
Transadaptation Volume 4: Material Dissent – Adulthood Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2023)
Transadaptation Volume 3: Evanescent – Young Adulthood Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2022)
Transadaptation Volume 2: Conceived – Childhood Transadapted, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2021)
Transadaptation Volume 1: In the Middle – Prelude to a Contemporary Transadaptation, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2020)
Peripatetic Alterity: A Philosophical Treatise on the Spectrum of Being – Romantics and Pragmatists by Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2019)
La Syncrétion of Polarization and Extremes Transposée, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2019)
The Codex of Uncertainty Transposed, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2018)
L’anthologie of Global Instability Transpuesta, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2017)
From Wahnsinnig to the Loony Bin: German and Russian Stories Transposed to Modern-day America, (eds.) Angelika Friedrich, Yuri Smirnov and Henry Whittlesey (2013)
Emblems and stories on the international community
Perception by country – Transposing emblems, articles, short stories and reports from around the world
Credits
Top row (left to right): 1. Santa Cruz Cabralia, Brazil – Roofs – Iryna Shpulak (Shutterstock); 2. Atins, Brazil – Village life – Rudi Ernst (Shutterstock); 3. São Miguel do Gostoso, Brazil – The fishing village – Christiano Diehl Neto (Shutterstock)
Bottom row (left to right): 1. Paraty, Brazil – In the village – JKSZ Photography (Shutterstock); 2. Alagoas, Brazil – The village – Joel Brandao (Shutterstock)