Behaviors

By Rafael Lima

What is the life of your dreams? What would you do if you got it?

What would happen if humanity were judged for its behavior?

What happens when two women discover that they are pregnant? One of them wants the baby, but the other does not.

What leads a person to have irresponsible acts and be limitless?

What happens to an awesome teenager who does not have support from her parents?

 

These questions are answered in five short stories:

 

The Life of My Dreams

The Judgment of Humanity

Two Lives

Limitless

No Support

 

You will know and feel what the characters felt.

You will know many facets of human behavior.

You will enter five different worlds…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rafael Lima
• Release date: Apr 3, 2024
• ISBN: 9798215015056

Rafael Lima

Brasil, 1989 Graduado em Processos Gerenciais e M.B.A. em Gestão Estratégica de Projetos pelo Centro Universitário UNA. Cristão pela Graça de Deus. Apaixonado pela escrita (português, espanhol e inglês), poeta e romancista. Um poeta e escritor, que compartilha seus pensamentos através dos versos dos poemas e dos capítulos dos romances. Também escrevo em inglês e espanhol para alcançar mais pessoas em mais lugares. No tempo livre, gosto de videogames, filmes e séries. Fico pensando no dia em que um de meus livros será a base para uma destas produções…

Book preview

The Life of My Dreams

In a big city in Brazil, there were two homeless boys, Richard, and James. They were skinny black teenagers, thirteen and fourteen years old.

They lived in a tent, under a viaduct close to the center of the state’s capital. In that place, there were too many tents and people living, each with its history.

One morning, Richard and James were sitting on a sofa old and dirty, close to their tent. They also were a bit dirty, because they did not have the opportunity to take a shower every day. Richard said, How is the life of your dreams?

James gave a small smile. He was ashamed of his smile because it lacked some teeth, and his teeth were not white. He said, A life far from here.

Richard also gave a small smile. He had the teeth, but they were too yellowed.

Me too. But I wanna know what you imagine as a perfect life?

James thought a little and said, I imagine a life with a lovely family. A bedroom only for me. A hot shower, tasty food, and these things. And you?

I think the same things.

James said discouraged, But this is only a dream, I think we’ll never get it.

Why not?

Life is too hard, and I don’t believe in fairy tales.

Change life isn’t a fairy-tale, it’s a real possibility.

James sighed and said, Maybe. But we must live the reality.

James got up, took a little bag, and said, Let’s go to work!

Richard got up and said, Let’s!

They walked towards a traffic light. When the light was red, they juggled. When the light was almost turning green, they passed through the cars to ask for money. Some drivers gave them, but others did not.

They stayed there for some hours. Then, they went to another traffic light.

The money that they got has been used to buy food for them.

...

At night, they were lying in the tent. A black man, old and too dirty, about fifty years old, got close to the tent and said, Hey, boys! Can you help me?

James left the tent and said, What’s up, Michael?

Today I couldn’t get money for food. The unique food I got was in a garbage bin. I’m hungry now.

James was touched and said, No problem.

James entered the tent, took a plastic bag with cookies, and gave it to Michael. James said, Eat and satisfy hunger.

Michael was very grateful. He greeted James, saying, Thank you very much! God bless you!

James said, May God bless all of us.

James entered the tent, and Richard said, Some days are too hard for everyone. If we don’t help ourselves, nobody will do it.

That’s true. We must care for each other.

Even with the noise of cars, they tried to sleep and have good dreams.

...

One day in the afternoon, they were close to a traffic light. Richard saw a billboard of a rich businessman, white, about forty years old. He said, Did you already think about how his life is?

I think that is very good. He doesn’t lack anything. He can buy whatever he wants.

This is the life of my dreams.

This is the life of the dreams of almost everyone. But only a few people get it.

Richard sighed and said, One day we’ll get it.

May this day come soon!

They continued juggling and collecting money until almost night.

When they were going to the viaduct, passing through a street, they saw a group of young men walking towards them. The group was of white men, well-dressed, seemingly rich people.

James and Richard looked at each other and made a concerned expression.

The men stopped in front of them, forming a barrier. James and Richard tried to detour, but they could not because those men were blocking them.

One man said in a derogatory tone, Where are the Negroes beggars going?

Richard replied, We are going to our house.

The man laughed and said, Do the beggars have a house?

Another man said, Yes, they have a tent, it’s their house.

All the men laughed.

James said, Please, leave us alone! We only wanna go away.

The man said ironically, Of course, you can go away. It’s because you said please.

The man looked at the others. They began to open the way. James and Richard were passing when a man pushed them and said, Did you really think you would go away like that?

James said concerned, We didn’t cause any trouble. Please let us go our way.

The man replied, Of course, you have caused trouble! You are dirtying the city!

The man spit on James, but he did not do anything.

Another man said, Let’s teach a lesson to them!

Some men held them, and others began to knock the boys. They cried out with tears, Please! Don’t do it! We are only little boys!

But the men continued the violence. They knocked them with many punches, saying, Get out of our city! Dirty Negroes!

Richard and James have been thrown to the ground. The men have continued with many kicks. The boys have fainted.

At one point, a police car was passing on the street and saw the scene. The car stopped, and two white, middle-aged policemen got out. One of them drew a gun and shot it in the air.

They stopped the beating. The man said nervously, On your knees, now!

They got scared and obeyed. The other officer went to the boys and saw them very wounded. There were too many wounds on their bodies. The man used his radio communicator and said, I need two ambulances urgently, Flowers Street, Garden District. Two young boys were wounded. I don’t know if they will survive. Send me reinforcements. I have some men to arrest.

One of the police got close to the aggressors and said nervously, All of you deserve death, pigs!

The officer aimed his gun at them and said, Who is the leader of the pigs?

Nobody answered. He put the gun to the head of one and said, Tell who is the leader, if not, I’ll kill all of you.

The man was trembling and said, pointing to the leader, It’s him.

The officer said to him, Lay on the ground!

The man was amazed, What will you do?

The officer smiled and said, You’ll see and feel.

He lay with his face on the ground. The officer fired on each of his shoulders. He cried out, Ouch! You can’t do it! Who do you think you are?

I’m a man who is making justice.

Other men were too scared about what would happen to them. The officer said, I wanna the address, phones, and document numbers of each of you. You are on our blacklist.

The men gave him all the information, and he wrote in a notebook.

After some minutes, the ambulances and the reinforcements arrived. The boys have assisted, and the men have been arrested.

The boys have been taken to a public hospital, and they have received medical care. Their story shocked the doctors and nurses in the hospital. Everyone was thinking about how brutality like that could happen.

The men were arrested. All of them were from rich families in that city. Because of this, the case was notable in the media. Everyone