Lina

Lina was a woman with a thin physique, but she had a lot of strength in her muscles.

Last Saturday I went to visit some friends in Pawtucket who lost their mother and shortly afterward Lina arrived and I didn't recognize her. She has a fuller body, lighter skin, rosy face, very pretty. During the conversation, I told her that she looked very familiar to me, but I couldn't remember where.

Did she reply, “Really”? When I heard her voice, the memories took over my mind, and I asked “Lina are you Lina”?

We held each other tight for a long time and then we started reliving the past with a lot of emotion.

Lina sold cow's and goat's milk. She lived in a very remote village on my island, island of Brava in Cape Verde, and had no access to transport up to a certain point along the way. She had to climb a lot of steep hills to get to the main road, when she got there she didn't take a ride.

She carried a bowl on her head full of bottles with about 5L of milk each and mugs to measure the milk, she went all the way uphill from Lavadura disassigning milk until she reached the city of Nova Sintra where I lived.

Around noon Lina arrived at our house to deliver the milk, which was her last delivery. She was very skinny, arrived very tired, with the bowl on her head where she always wore a flowered scarf, with her slippers full of dust from walking and full of sweat, she often arrived accompanied by her oldest daughter, Patricia, and screamed by far, “djam bem” which means “I`ve arrived”.

She spoke quickly and in a high tone of voice, typical of people who live in villages that have no communication, taking care of animals and talking from one house to another screaming.

We offered water and lunch, but first she would wash her feet and face to freshen up. After lunch, we would sit and watch Brazilian soap operas and while the soap operas were not over, she would not leave.

After a while she emigrated to the United States and I to Portugal, we lost all contact until we met again in the city of Pawtucket.

~

Margarida Rodrigues - Cape Verde
10/03/2022