Sunday the 6th of August 2023:“An Unexpected Encounter at the Park”!!!

Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro: 25^oC, warm, sunny, and clear sky.

Sunday was interesting; it was something I would have never expected!!!

The beginning of the day was normal: getting up early even though it was a Sunday, having coffee at the Portuguese bakery, and walking to the park to exercise. Nobody was there when I arrived at the park; perhaps it was too early for a Sunday. The old man from yesterday was also not there.

I did my series of exercises and then went home. I was surprised that Yasmin was already up at about 10:00 am. It was a miracle to see her up before 10 on a Sunday! I tidied up the house and did some things on the computer. Nothing exceptional, just a normal, lazy, and slow Sunday.

In the afternoon, I bought lunch for Yasmin and decided to take Perola to the park. Nalva doesn’t like to go to the park; the truth is that she doesn’t like anything different outside of her comfort zone and routine. It was about 3:00 pm, so I put the lead on Perola, and we walked to the park.

The park is located between two main roads, one of which is a dual carriageway. The Stonewall around the park acts as a fence to keep dogs and people inside due to the heavy traffic from Aterro on the other side. The park is split into three parts, forming a rectangle – the left, right, and middle. On the left are children’s play areas, swings, and a few trees, making it more of a family-oriented area.

In the middle of the park is an octagonal building that supposedly was designed by Oscar Niemeyer, a famous Brazilian architect. This building is known as the Museum of Carmen Miranda, in honour of her as one of Brazil’s few international artists from the past.

When I had the dogs 15 years ago, the museum was open and operational, but very few people ever visited it on a daily basis. It eventually closed and was abandoned until a short time ago. I don’t know exactly who is responsible for it, but it has been restored to its original condition as the original Museum of Carmen Miranda. The opening was last Friday or Saturday, and now it is open to the public once more.

As Perola and I entered the park through the main entrance, which is in the middle and almost directly in front of the museum, we walked to the left towards the museum. I wanted to ask somebody about what was happening or the current situation with the museum.

Then Suddenly, to my surprise, I found myself face to face with Anna Lucia, an ex-girlfriend of mine, and her boyfriend, who had just left the museum.

I was astonished for many reasons. Firstly, she does not live in the Zona Sul; she lives far away. For some reason I had been thinking a lot about her recently, even though we have not met for over a year. We had a turbulent relationship from about July 2018 until about November 2019, a little over a year.

She was and is a very beautiful morena (dark brunette). While we were going out together, she was studying at the federal university to be a social assistant. Our love life was very good; we always had a deep attraction for each other. It was outside of bed that there were problems.

I always felt that our conversations were a little immature. They were good, nice, and sometimes funny but childish. She has two adult sons, both of whom are gay. I have no problem with this; both of them always treated me very well and with respect.

The younger son was studying at a federal university in the South of Brazil. The older brother, who was 30 then, had been going to university but changing courses for the last eight years or so.

He always performed well in entrance exams but never finished what he started. He also tended to stay awake the whole night and sleep during the day. At the time, I told Anna that I thought Ian was autistic. She said that he had undergone various evaluations, and the final diagnosis was negative for autism, but I always thought he was.

Six months after we separated, she sent me a message informing me that Ian had just been diagnosed with autism. So, my hunch was correct. Now, it will be easier to treat his condition.

When Anna’s father passed away, her sisters decided to sell their mother’s home. As a result, their mother had to rotate between her daughters’ homes, spending a week in each, for a total of four homes every month. This arrangement, in addition to being ethically questionable, was quite chaotic. Learning about this situation left me deeply disappointed in Anna’s family for not taking better care of their mother.

Needless to say, after some time, the constant moving caused a lot of family stress, for which they can only be blamed. Giving Anna the benefit of the doubt, she always said she was against selling her mother’s home and putting her mother in this situation, but her sisters were the majority.

For me, it is unthinkable to do such a thing, and considering the emotional aspect, it was evident that it would cause so much stress in the future. People will sometimes be naive or inconsequent in their actions, or even both, and it is a pity, as naivety is not an excuse in today’s world.

I had decided never to enter a relationship with a woman who was not wholly free from past relationships before meeting Anna. I communicated this to Anna initially but later found out that despite being separated from her ex-husband for five or six years and him living with another woman, they were still legally married.

So, for a normal, decent man, you would give the person the benefit of the doubt. Later, however, I discovered that her ex-husband was a dishonest and complicated person. I asked her why she hadn’t filed for divorce, and she told me that he was applying for a Portuguese passport and that she would be entitled to one, too. For me, it was pure smoke.

I realised that Anna didn’t know how to set boundaries in her life, and I was concerned that this situation might continue indefinitely. Considering her husband’s troubling track record, I questioned why I should subject myself to a situation where I might end up feeling deceived if she didn’t receive the passport, leading to a hold on our relationship because of someone else. It all seemed too stressful and confusing for me. However, I miss her; she was a special person in my life.

So then, I was suddenly with her and her boyfriend. We shook hands, and I asked about the exhibition while they inquired about Perola. After that, we departed ways.

I was amazed when I realised I had been thinking about her for the last few weeks. I had looked at her profiles on Instagram and Facebook a few times, and then suddenly, she appeared out of nowhere in front of me. It was the first time I had seen her in about a year. The odds of this happening are less than 0, but anything is possible when you consider the power of the mind and the universe.