[Letter]
Hi Mom,
How have you been? Do you believe in love at first sight?
Sorry to cut right to the chase, but I need to talk to someone, and who better than my own mother?
I know you didn’t always have the best time with Dad, but try to think back to when you two first met, before he ran off and everything. How did he make you feel? Was it love?
At yesterday’s service, Pastor Sérgio said a prayer for my birthday, and they all sang.
I’m really well-liked within the community and I’m realizing that has boosted my morale, really made me excited about the path God has in store for me.
After all these years in the big city, I know I can be thin and get a good job in IT.
I know I can be happy, you know? I feel at home.
At the end of the service, he pulled me aside and said a lot of nice things to me, like that he loved me like a son, and I took the opportunity to talk a little about you, about my upbringing, what made me who I am today.
The pastor said he wanted to introduce me to a girl he also considered like a daughter, an honest and decent girl from an upstanding family, who attended church whenever she could.
I was a little embarrassed, but he didn’t even wait for me to answer, he brought the girl over and, wow, she was gorgeous.
Mom, you have no idea. Her name is Cora and she smiles like I’ve never seen anyone else smile.
She studies literature and keeps very busy teaching English.
She’s kind and shy and she loves poetry.
She recited a poem to me by Cora Coralina, do you know her?
She’s a poet from Goiás who began publishing her writing when she was pretty old, like in her seventies.
A simple woman who made a living selling sweets.
I googled her. And I even downloaded some of her books to read. I want to impress Cora, you know?
I’m in love, that’s the honest truth. We talked a little inside the church while Pastor Sérgio said goodbye to the other congregants.
Then he invited us to dinner at an Italian restaurant nearby.
I think Cora enjoyed my company, too. I talked a lot about home, about you and about Bishop Lygia.
She wanted to know about my time here in Rio de Janeiro and I told her a little about my degree and the diet I was on that got me down to 215 pounds.
She said she likes that I’m chubby and I think she’s the first person to not make fun of my name, which just goes to show what a nice girl she is.
After dinner, Pastor Sérgio went home, but I didn’t want to say goodbye to Cora and I asked if she’d like to go for a walk with me along the beach promenade.
We walked side by side. I wanted to take her hand, but I didn’t want to seem disrespectful.
We sat at a kiosk, ordered coconut water, and chatted for I don’t even know how long.
We were made for each other. I didn’t even need to kiss Cora or touch her to know, just hearing her speak in that quiet and humble way of hers was Heaven enough for me.
When we finally said goodbye, I held her hands, which were warm and gave me this peaceful, comfortable feeling.
I kissed her on the cheek and smelled her minty scent.
I think I need to gather the courage and ask Cora to be my girlfriend.
I want to live with her, have kids with her. Do you think I’m moving too fast?
She was a birthday gift from the Lord. The guys here at home gave me Blu-rays, as always.
God bless you.
With love,
Leit?o