00:00Father Inciso left me there, sitting in the courtyard of my soul, with the vivid memory of purgatory burning like embers.
00:09in my chest.
00:10I thought the journey was over, but the human heart, when opened to faith, still has much more to offer.
00:18to walk.
00:19And it was on one of those silent nights, with the smell of damp earth and stars shining brighter than a lit lamp, that
00:28I heard another voice.
00:30But it was neither the voice of a man, nor of an angel; it was the sound of eternity calling slowly, like the cattle call of
00:39A cowboy far away.
00:40— Zé, come, son, it's time to see the dwelling place of the righteous, the resting place of the weary, the place where
00:51The silk runs out, but there's plenty of bread.
00:55I closed the doors and left.
00:58I felt a cool, pleasant breeze that smelled of catingueira flowers, roasted corn, and sweet nostalgia.
01:08When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in my flesh-and-blood backlands, no.
01:14I was in a high place, very high, as if the heavens had lowered themselves just to welcome me.
01:23It was paradise, but not the kind depicted in old paintings with clouds and harps.
01:29It was the northeastern paradise, made with the clay of our hope, with the sweat of our labor, and with the
01:38The faith of the suffering people.
01:40They could see the wide, dirt road, but without dust.
01:45On one side, rows of lush green jujube trees, on the other, flowering carousels.
01:52The ground was just the right amount of warm, and the sky was so blue it hurt from how beautiful it was.
02:00There was no hunger there, nor thirst, nor anguish.
02:04It smelled of a clean house and a lit stove, like a king of the armada in the shade.
02:11It had the sound of an accordion, of a boy's laughter, of birdsong.
02:17I had peace.
02:18I saw people, lots of people.
02:22Some were walking slowly, others sat on wooden benches, laughing and telling stories.
02:28They all had clean, light faces, as if the weight of the world had been left behind.
02:35And the best part was, everyone there knew each other.
02:40Not by sight, but by soul.
02:42It was as if each one had rediscovered a lost piece of themselves.
02:49That's when I saw my father.
02:51Seu Antônio, a lean and strong man, who died without often saying "I love you,"
02:58But it taught me to plant, to pray, and to respect my elders.
03:04He looked at me with those hard eyes that only softened when he saw the clear sky after the drought.
03:10He opened his arms and hugged me without saying a word.
03:14And I cried.
03:16I cried the tears of someone who finds what they thought they had lost forever.
03:22I also saw my mother, sitting in a rocking chair,
03:26sewing white cloth as if it were a saint's veil.
03:30She smiled sweetly at me and offered me a piece of thousand-dollar cake.
03:34And in that cake, she tasted her childhood, the afternoons of Saint John's Day, the nights of prayer and promises.
03:43The priest insisted, he appeared again, but this time without his cassock.
03:48He was dressed in white, as if he had become light.
03:52He looked at me with that look of someone who already knew everything and spoke.
03:57Zé, this is heaven for those who suffer with faith.
04:01Here, each tear became a rosary bead, each pain turned into a flower, each prayer became a brick of this dwelling.
04:11Here, hunger has ended, injustice has been forgotten, and love is shared like warm bread on a poor person's table.
04:20I walked further and heard scenes that left me breathless with emotion.
04:26I saw the migrants who had died of silk while still alive, now drinking crystal-clear water that sprang from an endless stream.
04:35I saw children who had never had a childhood, running barefoot through a yard made of cotton.
04:41I saw old men who had spent their lives bent over by the weight of the hoe, dancing fool with the lightness of someone who was born yesterday.
04:50The sky was having a party, but it was a different kind of party.
04:54It was joy without labor, it was peace without sleep, it was singing without weariness.
05:01There was an accordion player who never stopped, and everyone danced respectfully, as if each moment of peace were a prayer.
05:10And there was also silence, a beautiful silence that was not empty, but full of meaning.
05:17The silence of someone who no longer needs to ask for anything, because they already have everything.
05:23I saw a church without walls, just an altar and sky.
05:28I saw a teço hanging from a branch of aroeira wood.
05:31I saw a statue of saints smiling with their eyes.
05:33And I saw Jesus walking among the people, dressed as a simple man, with feet dirty with mud and a pure heart.
05:42He didn't speak loudly, but when he looked at you, your soul would kneel.
05:49And it was there, at that moment, that I understood.
05:53Paradise is not a prize, it's a harvest.
05:58Everything we plant with pain, faith, and justice flourishes here.
06:03Every hug denied becomes an eternal hug.
06:07Every loaf of bread shared becomes a feast.
06:11Each prayer whispered in the privacy of a humble room transforms into music that soothes the angels.
06:19I saw Lampião too, but not like in hell.
06:23He was lost there.
06:24Here he sat with his head bowed, listening to the stories of the saints, learning with humility.
06:33I saw Maria Bonita with a book in her hand, teaching the girls how to sew hope.
06:39I saw Podre Biapina distributing bread.
06:42Friar Damião praying with the people.
06:45And I saw the entire soul of the backlands being washed away in a river that never dries up.
06:51Father Incício led me to a large veranda, where hammocks swayed in the wind of eternity.
06:59We sat down and he spoke.
07:01Zé, now you've seen everything.
07:05The hell of damnation, the purgatory of hope, and the heaven of redemption.
07:12You'll go back to your world, but you'll go with a different perspective.
07:16Each day of your life is a choice.
07:19Every gesture is a stone on the road to your eternity.
07:23I got up.
07:25I took one last look at Cero and saw that it wasn't a far place.
07:29It was a continuation of who we are inside.
07:33Heaven dwells in the hearts of those who fight with faith.
07:37Those who cry without hatred.
07:39Those who wait without giving up.
07:41And when I opened my eyes again, I was lying on the porch of my house, with the smell of coffee filling the air.
07:49the air,
07:49The sounds of nature all around and a heart lighter than ever.
07:55Since then, whenever life gets tough, I look up at the sky and smile.
08:01Because I know, I know there's a place made with the soul of the backlands.
08:07I know Father Incício is waiting for me.
08:10I know that the faith of the people of Northeast Brazil has built an eternity that is uniquely ours.
08:16And heaven, heaven is right there.
08:20After the last drought.
08:22After the last breath.
08:25After the last prayer.
08:27And I, Zé do Nordeste, promise.
08:31I will plant kindness.
08:33To reap forgiveness.
08:35And to keep in my heart what I have seen.
08:37Because heaven, my people, heaven has hammocks, a tuned accordion, couscous on the table, and the smell...
08:46eternal hope.
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