Page 4 // Are you sure?
The siblings continued their journey at 7:30 am. They had to cover more or less 750 km from the Guatemalan inn to Veracruz. Young bodies, however, are beautifully built to overcome those challenges. Both were having fun and felt delighted; the morning was just starting on a sunny day.
While they were chewing kilometres, the scenario in California was slightly different.
Magdalene looked at the damn clock; it was showing 9:00 am already. After having suffered stomach cramps during the night, she had taken some time to fall asleep. Today she wasn’t feeling rested at all. Her last communication with Rogério had been so tense that she could feel the blood contracting in her veins. Rogério, always on boss mode, never let her speak her mind. Insane interruptions throughout the conversation had made Magdalene feel frustrated for hours, even after they finished the chat. It was often such a daunting task trying to reach out to each other without ending in an argument.
This last time, she felt something was not quite the same. She decided to use just one more spell—her last attempt to make amends and fight for this ‘love of her life’.
The day after, she bought everything she needed.
She used a classic katadesmos—a small piece of papyrus wrapped around an iron needle. Inside the scroll, she locked a small picture of Rogério and a scrap of his clothing. Inscribing it, she wrote a rhythmic, unyielding ancient formula: ‘I bind Rogério. I bind his feet from walking away. I bind his hands from turning away. Hold him fast to me.’
At the exact hour of 5:00 pm, she completed the spell, pushing an iron nail slowly through the scroll. She didn't slam it down with anger; she did it with a desperate tear in her eye, wishing for him to just come home safely to her.
‘I love you so much, baby boy! I’m doing this for us,’ she whispered.
It was 11:00 am—three and a half hours of vibrating roads, feeling the vibe and the air—but the motorbike needed fuel, and the siblings were tired, needing to stretch their legs and arms. They stopped at a gasolinera (service station) and, in good moods, ate something very light and drank a ‘Topo Chico’ with fresh lime. A few more stretching movements followed before taking that bike by the horns again to feel the engine roar.
‘BRRR-BRAAAP!’
‘Rogério, I love you! Big brother, haha!’ Natalia just let it out with a profound, amused laugh.
‘Nata, I love you more! Little sis!’ And again, they could hear each other's laughter through the motorcycle helmet intercom.
The journey went on, and they made one more pull-over at 1:00 pm. A lunch stop in Southern Mexico was the best thing to do because both were feeling exhausted by this moment. They pulled into a Pemex station to eat lunch and drink water to fight dehydration. Rogério and Natalia lay down on the freshly cut grass.
‘Can you smell the fresh grass? Oh, this smells so good, don’t you think, man?’
Natalia looked to the side, but Rogério was taking a nap. She smiled with such tenderness while scanning his facial expressions with her gaze.
‘Look at macho Rogério. He just looks like a little boy, a helpless angel... if people could only perceive this side of him!’ She let herself get lost in her rambling thoughts.
‘Are you doing that again?’ Rogério caught her with that analysing gaze. ‘I know that I’m just irresistible, and if you need some magnifying glasses, I will get you some, haha.’
‘Idiot! That’s what you are, my irresistible idiot! Haha. We need to go! Ándale, ándale!’
‘Ooh wee, baby girl bossing up, huh? You’re right, we have miles to leave behind.’
Off they went, and at 3:30 pm they made one more stop to top off the tank, splash cold water on their faces, and push through the final stretch as the afternoon heat peaked. Sometimes they checked in with each other to talk a bit and to make sure they didn't fall asleep.
At 5:45 pm, on the Autopista 150D, thinking they were finally home-free, Rogério could swear he saw something on his left side. He wasn’t sure. He took one last glance to the left just to confirm, and...
The motorcycle crashed violently into the car ahead. Rogério had a nanosecond of distraction—it was fatal! Their bodies flew like feathers, only to crash down like smashing balls on the asphalt. Natalia died immediately. Rogério’s last thought went to Natalia and how much pure love he felt for her, and...
He left. ♱ ⎧ᴿᴵᴾ⎫ ❀◟(ᴗ_ ᴗ )
The ambulance took a long time to reach them, but the car driver announced to the EMTs that Rogério’s last breath was at exactly 6:00 pm.
No one was forced into anything. Destiny and serendipity were at play, according to everyone's free will.
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