Inner Babel / Babel Interior

I'm walking alone in the desert
I've walked now for miles 
In silence
The grains of sand blown by the wind 
Leave little cuts on my burnt face

I am alone  I cover my head with a dark magenta shawl  the color of wine or blood 
I walk  My feet sink in the sand My legs feel weak and wobbly  The way they do after a tough swimming practice  I'm a swimmer  But there's no water here
I cover my face with the shawl  Leaving only my eyes free  Being free, they look around  Towards a vastness of nothing  
I keep walking  I am now the mahgrebi everyone says I could be I search 
There's something I need I know I need it  A drink A drug  A magic potion
It's why I keep walking  I gotta have it  I couldn't find it where I came from So I wonder in the desert  but I find no one 
I see a tent in the far distance  to the north of me I recover some strength  I march on the tent's direction but it's never there  where it's supposed to be 
Alone and weary  I lay down on the sand I close my eyes I let myself b…

In a world of meritocracy, you receive an inheritance. Not a big fortune, but some money to help pay your debts, help a relative who fell ill. You are grateful, but you did not merit this. You never did anything for it. You think about how many will never be covered by a rain of golden coins fallen from the sky, while some swim in pools of money, modern times uncle Scrooges destilating hatred towards any step directed to the sharing of wealth in the world and holding on to the belief that they earned what they have. It is such the world. 
Your daughter helped a friend cheat at a school test and got caught.  She was punished with a big F on her exam. She cries and explains to you she was only trying to help a desperate friend. Deep inside you understand her feelings,  but you agree she has to learn that helping a dishonest deed is the same as doing it. Some other parents heard of the situation. They talk to you and seem shocked by the school's decision to punish the accomplice and n…

Gripada, entupida, o nariz ressecado ardia ao tentar respirar, ferido.  Lenço de papel por todo lado. Aquelas bolinhas amassadas. Tinha passado o dia de pijama, um robe de flanela por cima. Arrastava o cinto do robe aberto pelo chão. O celular já tinha tocado umas três vezes. Não quis atender. Primeiro, porque não tinha voz. Depois, porque não tinha o que dizer. E era ele, ela sabia. E ela tinha certeza que ia ouvir um sermão. 
Lembrava vagamente da besteira que tinha feito. Não queria saber os detalhes. Ele sabia que ela não queria ter ido. Festa de rico chato. Uma pista de dança enorme e uns gatos pingados dançando os mesmos movimentos ensaiados, com muito cuidado para não assanhar a chapinha, nem derreter o gel. "Gente errada com a conta corrente certa!" A turma era péssima, mas a bebida era farta. "Acho que nem eles se aguentam se não encherem a cara." Provou um drink azul. Rafael conversava com um cara de sorriso tão simétrico que era impossível que fosse real.…