My name is Rafael. I am thirty-five years old and I am an engineer in Dubai. I'm used to the desert, steel, precise schedules and cold numbers. But nothing—absolutely nothing—had prepared me for that day.
For five years, we sent money to each other almost every month. I sent about eight thousand reals. Mel sent between five and ten thousand. Gui too, always on time. Bonuses, extras, everything we could. In my mind, Mom lived comfortably, in a decent house, with food and no worries. That's what I thought.
We took a taxi to the eastern area of São Paulo. We talked about projects and parties. We talked about the latest deposits, birthdays, Christmas. We have calculated that in five years we have sent more than six hundred thousand reals. Mom deserved every penny for all she sacrificed for us.
But I started to have a bad feeling. The streets were narrowing. The houses were made of wood and sheet metal. Children were playing in the mud. It was not the neighborhood we had imagined. The taxi stopped and on the way down we smelled the heat, dust and the strong smell of sewage. A feeling of anxiety came over me.
I asked an elderly lady if Dona Florência Silva lived there. When we told her that we were her children, she started crying and asked us why we had taken so long. She told us to prepare. We ran without thinking.The house was a hut on the verge of collapse, with no door, just an old curtain. Mel walked in first and screamed. Mom was there, lying on a thin mattress on the floor, so thin that she was nothing but skin and bone. When she recognized me, I was heartbroken.
There was nothing to eat. Just a can of sardines. Mom said she had eaten bread the night before. It was already two o'clock in the afternoon. Gui was trembling with anger. I had trouble breathing.
Then a neighbor revealed the truth to us. The money never reached Mom. For five years, she was deceived. Roberto kept everything. He spent everything on gambling, addictions and luxury. He forced her to fake it on video calls and threatened her not to say anything.
