In the middle of the dawn, the fine rain falls implacable, the highway of beaten earth, inside of the immense and monstrous dark jungle. The silence of the darkness was broken once in a while by the noise of some animal in the vegetation; stared eyes peeped in the darkness. Would they be ghost terrifying our souls and causing us inquietude? The sad and dismal song of an owl was made to hear in answer.

A small car mortuary continued in slow march for the highway whipped by the rain, that fogged the eyes and the soul, increasing the fear of the wood bridges that would have to cross - old, obsolete, rotten and almost falling to the pieces. This is the portray faithful of the negligence and government inertia, that took possession of the Brazilian municipal districts. Perhaps, the criminal of that whole shamelessness would be just a minuscule one and miserable insect, that it adores to destroy wood bridges - the termite. Perhaps, this is the most comfortable answer to justify the bad actions of regional political

The vehicle approached of the unlucky bridge, their front wheels arose slowly in the two boards that served as trail for the tires - a slipping, a simple one slid it would be fatal so that the vehicle fell down in a dark cliff and with a depth difficult of being imagined. Then it can imagine how the driver's look was, restless and very concerned in to cross that cursed bridge and to arrive soon to his destiny.

Jesualdo cursed against his own luck in the life, because he had never gotten to study and now there was leading the car mortuary of the City hall of Burí; small city of the interior from São Paulo, that didn't still possess a service mortuary. He had been forced to travel Itapetininga even to pick a coffin and to take it to his city.

He was returning and his only and silent day companion was that immense one and cold mortuary coffin, that emptiness, awaited your " happy " occupant's arrival.

Jesualdo reminded of when he was child, the noise of the rain beating in the zinc of the roof of the house, propitiating a stranger stippled music of percussions and cadences, that direct empty space to the soul, granting a sensation of lightness and of a lot of pleasure, mainly for the fact of being very close to the Creator of all those beauties. On that moment, however, the rain irritated him, he didn't support that noise beating insistently in the hood of the vehicle. He felt a lot of inquietude with that empty coffin and the stranger impression of being hearing a Requiem of Mozart, dark and dismal, as that cold and rainy dawn.

- " God of the Sky! That anguish! I don't see the hour of arriving to my destiny and me to liberate of that coffin. Arre, that I don't tolerate more! I don't see the hour of me retire".

Therefore it advances, after a long and tortuous curve, he appeared to the edge of the highway, a solitary man, with the soaked clothes for the unclemency of the rain, and that waived frenectally so that the vehicle stopped.

Jesualdo got scared with the unexpected appearance, illuminated for the successive lightnings that insistently cleared the sky, hedidn't want to stop, but as good Samaritan, contemplated for some instants, he felt compassion of that figure and it decided to stop the vehicle. The stranger approached of his window and he told him with breathless voice.

- " For God's sake! Feel a ride, that I am already there are hours the wait of a conduction ".

- " If you are not inconvenienced of entering in a car mortuary, I give you a ride, but you have to be there back ", answered the old Jesualdo.

- " Because I am municipal employee and I like to accomplish with my obligations.

My boss prohibited of leading people here in front, therefore if you want you go there back...

- What's the problem? The dead doesn't do badly to anybody (laughing) - But you don't need to worry, because the coffin is empty ".

The dead-head man was not made of having implored, he entered quickly in the back of the car and he made comfortable beside the coffin. The rain had him soaked the clothes and the water was slippery for the legs and ankles increasing the cold. He shook of beating the teeth. He looked at the coffin, he thought, he thought once again and he made a decision.

- " That cold is of embittering, the dead that excuses me, but I will occupy his place for some instants until... until that I am hotter, then, I return him the bed.

He thought like this, he proceeded like this. He opened the cover, he gave a fast glance and not can stop crying out:

- " But that beautiful! All of fine silk, thing of a lot of luxury, of died important. Like this, until I give taste to die! ."

He entered in the coffin and he closed the cover slowly, leaving small space to breathe. Therefore the heat took care of his body and he fell asleep with the light soul wrapped by the god's songs Morfeu.

Jesualdo, distracted with the highway he notice the attitude of the dead-head man, he continued in his trip, attentive for the dangers, when it appeared, in another curve, one more innovation - a group of people sheltered below of a tree, trying to take shelter of the merciless rain, that wet them all the bones and it seemed not to finish. Again, the old driver stopped and she repeated the same speech of zealous employee that had done to the first dead-head man and he invited them they enter in the back part of the vehicle, where they made comfortable the coffin close to.

He forgot, however, of informing them that there was already another passenger and that they accommodated in the best possible way.

The trip continued. Seated, sidelong, around the coffin, the new passengers, respectfully, commented in a low voice regarding who would be that died.

- I " know there, but for the size of the coffin he should be a very big " dead.

- " Here in our earth he dies a lot from killed death. He sees and he moves, some of those farmers forest, without pity and mercy, the poor fellows of the

- " Because of this, midwife! The poor fellows of the deads are young people, that didn't still live and they end up dying from well-aimed " projectile.

The group continued to comment the probable virtues of the died, if he had or non family, perhaps small children regretting his absence. They were so entertained in that chat that they didn't notice that the cover of the coffin was lifting itself slowly and a smiling " one dead " he appeared and he asked them:

Nobody answered, the eyes jumped them of the orbits, general panic and nobody had courage to dialogue with resuscitated died and what we can saw after it was a stranger and hilarious show - terrified people screaming, opening the door of the vehicle and the people throwing outside, tumbling and rolling on the ground, maddened by the fear and running in all the directions in search of a safe place, far away from the ghost that had astonished them. They disappeared in the dense forest that bordered the highway.

- What happened, what's the matter with the people? asked him frightened Jesualdo, looking static for the mirror retrovisor.

The dead ressucited man smiled seeking answers, that were able to timidly to justify the unusual of the situation. After brief reflection he said:

- I don't " know, not. It seems that they saw a ghost. That people of the interior are a lot ignorant, they believe in each superstition, that even God doubts. For me that personal really is crazy, but leave them for there, that now will be impossible to find them in that darkness. Let's go, my friend, because the dead is not able to wait, it is not true?

And the black vehicle continued in his day obligation, protected by the black mantle of the night, for the silence of the forest and for the rain that, slowly, it went ceasing, giving place to a soft breeze wet, that mischievous for the wind, it brought the coolness of the vegetation, in a wonderful photo-synthesis of the Mother Nature and of her eternal ones and unresolve mysteries...

(I dedicate this story to my longing mother Juliana, that inspired me to write this

Winning story with the First Place in Story of Black Humor in XXVII Floral Games of Algarve, Portugal, in December of 2007.

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