Just when many people think this is a society of “loose morals” and feel young people do not have the same values of old times (ours, for certain!), these very young people teach us a lesson about love and betrayal. Several times I have heard both my boys talk in derogatory terms about people who “betray” each other, namely in romantic relationships. And they always seem shocked when they describe such a situation; I must confess at first I was surprised …
Category: Family
The boys had dreamt of watching a major international rugby match for a long time, both having played rugby since they were seven. Last year I even thought of taking them to see the World Cup, as it was held in Britain, but unfortunately when I considered it it was too late to get tickets, as they were outrageously expensive; we had to abandon the idea and content ourselves with getting Sports TV for the duration of the World Cup …
The hospital emergency is packed. The old patriarch is lying on a bed in a corridor turned into an improvised ward. Most of the patients are elderly people like him. This winter has been harsh, very cold and now rainy and damp, and flu quickly turns into pneumonia…and then the whole bloody list of diseases that came with old age goes crazy: his diabetes, his heart condition…damn old age, he thinks and he closes his eyes and tries to remember happier …
“Mom, I’m starving!” This is something I hear very often, as a mother of a young adult and a teenager. And when they say this, they mean it – boys eat an incredible amount of food, especially when they come home from their training or their matches or from a disco in the early hours of the morning. Today being a public holiday, we all slept through the morning; in my case, because I’m exhausted and have to recover whenever …
One am. There is a full moon, the most incredible full moon he has ever seen. He tosses and turns on his bed. He feels restless; he can’t really say why. Finally he falls asleep, only to be startled by the sound of his phone. It’s his son from London saying his wife’s waters have broken and they are going to the hospital. The baby – a girl, his first grandchild – is going to be born today. Naturally he …
I had arrived the previous evening from a business meeting in Bergen, Norway, tired after two plane trips, but had woken up feeling refreshed and happy. I had many things to do as the following day would be Afonso’s first communion and we’d have a party at our beach house for our family and close friends. Dad and Ilda (my stepmother) had come to Lisbon for the party and had been over for dinner with Miguel and the boys while I …
She was by far the most beautiful girl in the village: tall, statuesque, with thick dark tresses and bright green eyes. She was always the belle of the ball, even if her 1,70 m made her taller than most local boys. But she didn’t mind, as she paid them little attention: she dreamed of one day finding a tall, handsome Prince Charming that would sweep her off her feet and take her away with him to see the world. She …
In summer everything is different, special, spicier…but Friday summer evenings are even more so, the promise of a sunny weekend to come. Last Friday I was really looking forward to getting out of the city and arriving at our quiet seaside village, sitting down on a terrace and relax while sipping a drink and looking at the sun setting over the sea. I got home from work and hastily packed up the rest of my things – I was half-packed already …
He was born in 1914, the year of the beginning of the Great World War. His parents had both come to Mozambique from Madeira island – first his father and some years later his mother, who had joined her brother. They met and soon they were married. He was the elder son, being followed by three sisters. His father was a successful businessman. When he was six the whole family took a ship to go on a long holiday to …
She is dozing in her chair. In the twilight zone – that area between worlds where everything is possible – she is young again and she is looking at the big, expressive green eyes of the love of her life. She had met him in Lisbon in the late fifties. She had been living in Lisbon for some time as she had insisted on coming to University to Lisbon and not to South Africa, as her parents wanted – after …