A Road to Hope: Brian's Struggles and Triumphs: contos, #1

By Ricardo Almeida

"A deeply moving narrative full of nuances, revealing Brian's journey through a life marked by overwhelming tragedies and impressive resilience. From the outset, we are immersed in the struggles of a man battling the incessant tremors on a solitary train, longing for the security of home and the company of his beloved family. As the story unfolds, we witness the ups and downs of Brian's life, from his enchanting love story with the lovely Caroline to the devastating losses that shattered his heart into pieces. The vivid and detailed description of his struggles at work, fleeting moments of joy, and heartbreaking despair evoke a range of profound emotions, taking readers on an emotional rollercoaster of empathy, compassion, and reflection. In this journey of love, loss, and redemption, we are confronted with the fragility of life, but also with the unwavering resilience of the human spirit, a poignant reminder of the ability to find hope even in the darkest of circumstances."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ricardo Almeida
• Release date: Nov 7, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223674177

Book preview

Table of Contents

A Road to Hope: Brian's Struggles and Triumphs (contos, #1)

For the second day in a row, Brian was shaking on the train.

Just five more hours and he would be home.

How he missed his family and his hometown.

He was also happy that he would be celebrating New Year's not in a smokey train car with

men, but at home.

It had been his fifth year working on shifts, and it was the first time that his boss had

suddenly given him time off for the holidays.

Brian was both happy and a little sad as he looked at the huge plush teddy bear sprawled

out on the third shelf.

He was bringing it for his four-year-old son, Eric.

The boy would be amazed by such a huge toy animal.

Do you have a son or a daughter?

Asked Carl, his fellow traveler, and also a shift worker.

Carl was from Florida while Brian had been working on a tractor in Houston.

They met on the train.

A son, Brian answered with a smile.

I have a son and a daughter, Carl nodded.

I'm also bringing them gifts.

They're so huge though, a doll, a remote control car, and a fur coat for my wife.

What about you?

What will you give your wife for New Year's?

I don't have a wife, Brian said after a brief pause.

She passed away.

I'm sorry, Carl sympathetically touched his shoulder.

Maybe he wanted to know what happened to Brian's wife, but he didn't talk much during the

whole journey and remained silent.

Carl looked expectantly at Brian, but realizing that he wouldn't get any further information,

he went to the vestibule, and Brian just sighed and stared out the window.

Outside, the scenery was already flashing by, similar to the familiar landscape, and

Brian was thinking and remembering.

He and Caroline had been friends since first grade.

They lived next door to each other, and then their first love swept them off their feet

in ninth grade.

Their parents argued and worried that their children would want to try adult life too

soon.

They dismissed the idea, thinking they were too young.

Yes, and how could Brian hurt offend his Caroline?

You can't pick a bud before it's ready to bloom, he remembered.

He liked that phrase, and he treated Caroline like the purest, brightest flower.

They never had anything in school, although everyone in the area had long teased them

about being engaged.

After school, Carolina enrolled in a medical college, while Brian wanted to attend a technical

university but failed.

He joined the army instead, and after a send-off party, they had one secret night together

by the lake in a shack.

Will you wait for me?

Brian asked while hugging her.

How else could it be?

We're together now.

Together forever, Carolina whispered back.

Two years in the army passed an agonizing waiting.

Carolina wrote Brian so many letters, no one in their unit received as many.

Even the other soldiers envied him, and Brian himself was afraid of jinxing it.

As he left the army, he thought to himself, well, why is this taking so long?

Hannah was the first to run up to him at the train station and hug him.

Brian picked her up, kissed her, and then they snapped out of it.

Carolina blushed and stepped away from Brian, looking at his parents who were standing nearby.

His mother was already smiling, and his father too.

Oh, my son chose a good girl for himself, he's been watching her since childhood, he

said.

Then there was the wedding.

Their village was small, so half of the residents congratulated the newlyweds on their

big day.

Around 100 people were celebrating.

Carolina and Brian were the happiest of all, their married life was beginning, and they

imagined it would be cloudless and joyful.

By that time, Carolina had already graduated from college and was appointed as a paramedic

at the local factory in their village.

Brian got a job as a tractor driver in the collective farm.

His parents pitched in and bought a house for the newlyweds, and their family life began

to flow.

Oh, how happy Carolina was when she realized she was pregnant two months later.

Carolina, are you sure?

Brian couldn't believe it.

I'm sure Carolina laughed.

I'm a medic myself, and I've already been to the district clinic.

I'm seven weeks pregnant.

Carolina, my dear, how much I love you.

Brian exclaimed, spinning his wife around, and she laughed and kissed him on the head.

And then that terrible incident happened in the fall.

Carolina was walking home from a call when a huge dog jumped out of a dark alley and

attacked the pregnant woman.

And she was already about seven months pregnant, almost on maternity leave.

The dog jumped on Carolina, pushed her, and she fell.

It's unclear what else he would have done,