"If you are lucky
enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest
of your life it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast" – Ernest Hemingway
Alice Ribeiro repeated Hemingway´s phrase
softly. At this time, the flight attendant from Air France interrupted her thoughts,
she has asked:
- Madam, could you buckle your seat-belt,
please? We'll be taking off in a few minutes.
Alice thanked her with a smile, buckled her
seat-belt and went back to the movie of your
life. She decided to rewind it so far, but she was not very far...
A
passion for books since her childhood, the years that she studied Literature at
the University, her job in a small bookstore, her grief that was due to her father's
death, a boyfriend who left her heartbroken...and the desire to get over her
shyness and write her own books.
The trip to Paris was the result of this effort, she drew
inspiration from Hemingway, a remarkable writer who found, in the city of lights, the ideal environment
to start writing. Because of this, Alice
saved money for years and finally she will realise this dream.
She promised herself that, the first thing
that she would do, when she arrives in Paris,
would be to visit Montmartre. It is essential
for someone who goes to Paris,
dive into this mythical neighborhood, which breathes art in all its corners.
In fact, if Paris
were a body, Montmartre would be the heart
that dances passionately, pumping the joy of being alive. Even to forget her past
too sad, because one day, Montmartre had
lost people by religious intolerance, that's why this place was the meeting
point of the painting magic to compensate for the pain ... so the tragedy is
the target on which the paintbrushes can direct their determination. Art is a
way of evaporating our deepest chaos.
After thinking about her past, Alice has fallen asleep,
but not for long, the sleep has become a dream in which she feels the guest at a
party in a house of several rooms.
In each
room she entered, she found someone who gave her a lesson, she learned Impressionism
with Cézanne, then she saw a large
window, where Pissarro told to her about
the daily life of Montmartre, in
another room she could dance with The Prima Balerina , when Picasso took her hand, and suddenly they were in Le Bateau-Lavoir,
where he began a discussion about cubism.
Alice did not feel a mere spectator of
these scenes, by contrast, she felt her
fingers risking a few strokes on a blank canvas, felt her eyes brimming with
emotion while witnessing these streets from the window, and heard her own words
when she was trying to break up a fight between a furious Modigliani and a
moody Picasso ... She was utterly absorbed by that moment, so
that she did not realize that the plane had arrived, and that she was already
in Paris.
Hours of intense and deep dream, but reality
now called Alice
to live. She went to the Picasso Atelier, a small apartment located at number
49 rue Gabrielle. This was a luxury that she would allow herself, after she has
been working hard for years, now she would have the pleasure of staying in a
studio that belonged to Picasso in 1900.
She wanted to be immersed enough to awaken
her ability to write and increase her
desire. Provoke in herself a real transfusion of passion, receiving her own
blood renewed, oxygenated and full of imagination.
But first, she wanted to visit the
bookstore Tardieu,-which is only four minutes walk from the Atelier. For years,
the bookstore, - where she worked,- bought many books from Tardieu, it was in these books that she read about the history
of France.
She has been talking to herself for a
little time, though the dream had been strong, she decided to concentrate on
the present moment. So, when Alice
was catching Dostoievski and Goethe on the shelves,-because she wanted to read
in french: Crime and Punishment and Fausto,
a man asked her, with a strange accent:
- Have you ever read these books before in
another language, young lady?
She looked at the man, who stood before her
with curiosity. He was much taller than her and he looked about forty , because of some white hair and his wrinkled
skin. He had keen eyes, a lean body and crutches. She tried to guess his origin,
but it seemed an impossible exercise to be undertaken with a just one question,
then Alice replied, overcoming her shyness:
-
I've
read in Portuguese and English-
-
What is there in common between the characters of
Fausto and Rodion Raskolnikov? - He asked
with the same indecipherable accent.
-
In
my opion, there's a similarity in redemption, they were men who were redeemed
by love. Although there are differences between them, they experienced a kind
of existential conflict.
-
Great!
Wonderful! My name's István Kazinczy and I´m from Budapeste, Hungary ! And you, clever lady, what´s your name, and
where are you from? he asked enthusiastically.
-
-Hungary! - she
repeated the name of the country vehemently and she said:
-
The
only things I know about Hungary
are: A great football player named Puskas who my father admired a lot. He told
me, one day, that Ferenc Puskas is
regarded as the best Hungarian football player ever, one of the best football
players of all time, and football stadiums around the world knew his most
beautiful goals.
-
The
kürtőskalács, a chimney cake that is sold near my house and the book that was
written by Chico Buarque, named Budapest;
-
And
finally, she said, with a large smile :
-
I'm
kidding, My name´s Alice Ribeiro and I´m from Brazil! I was born in a small city
named Teresópolis. Actually I know a
little more about your country, for example, I read a book by the writer Tibor Déry, named Niki, a story of a dog.
-
I know this book, the story of a female dog
who had fears and anxieties, depressed and disillusioned with life, she did not
accept the disappearance of her owner, she did not want anyone that just loved her, but she wanted also someone who she could love-
István said.
-
I
identified with her several times ...- Alice said.
-
Would
you like to drink
a cup of coffee with
me, Alice ? I think I have to tell you a story he asked ;
-
Sure,
there is a bistrô, near here- she answered
We went to a small bistro near the
bookstore, he was walking with
difficulty because of his crutches. A song,- that it seems came from the
depths, was playing. Josephine Baker was singing in French, an old concert she
did in the late '20s on an old gramophone. We sat at a table near the street,
when he began to tell his story:
-
I
came to Paris
to celebrate the new year. Two years ago, I suffered a serious car accident ,
my legs had lost their movements, I stayed for almost a year in a
wheelchair. I felt all the effects, losses and damages that the accident caused
in me, but something inside me screamed and begged: -Dont give up your life! I refused any
possibility of defeat. Relearned how to walk and now I want to see the
fireworks in the sky making noises, I want to be the protagonist of my life,
not just a spectator. I want to realize all my dreams. I think if we meet here,
it is because somehow I know you came to Paris
to do something. Could you tell me, what is the dream that will happens here?
Alice looked startled at István. How can the
world have so much synchronicity in their movements? she asked herself in
silence...and said to him:
-
I also want to celebrate my life. At least,
discover that I can create something beyond me. Paris was the inspiration for many who came
before me. I'm trying to follow in their footsteps: Hemingway, Picasso,
Modigliani, Gloria Stern, etc... For them, Paris was a feast constantly, they carried
wherever they went, because it woke them. So here I am, I want to write all the
poems that were only in my thoughts. Everything that has been locked inside me
all these years ...I want to turn into something bright, effusive, intense and
put into practice ...
- Alice, Alice, Alice, this sounds good! I love your dream, and first of all, I
would like to invite you... Do you want
to spend the last day of the year with me? We can meet before midnight ... near
the Eiffel Tower! We can exchange many ideas, as
well as you, I'm a writer too!
Alice
smiled and said goodbye to István. Perhaps, she will meet him later...but now
she wanted to go to the Atelier because she felt the inspiration come to meet
her...
