Building My Life

Chapter 12 - Finding Something to Begin

When Josias went down to the bathroom, he decided to simply wash his face and brush his teeth. He no longer cared about other men bathing uninhibitedly in front of him; he had taken to showering late at night, just before bed, specifically so he wouldn’t encounter anyone.

As he approached the reception, he found Teodoro nearly moved to tears by the debut of “Lady” by Kenny Rogers, which was playing on the radio on high rotation. “The man sings so well, how wonderful...” Teodoro noticed Josias’s presence. “Hello, boy, good morning. Are you heading out again?”

Josias reached out his hand to stop Teodoro before he could offer him more money. “Not today, Seu Teodoro. I’m going to take a walk right here in the neighborhood.”

Teodoro raised an eyebrow. “Really? Well, I must warn you that around here, you’ll only find the kind of work that requires a lot of effort for very little reward.” He made a “money” sign with his fingers.

Josias shrugged. “What else can I do? No one downtown is going to hire me, not until I’m dressed properly and better prepared. I haven’t taken any vocational courses; I can’t speak English or type. It’s time for me to start from the bottom.”

Teodoro smiled, admired by Josias’s resolve. “Boy, you’re going places. Everything will be fine; you’ll find something.”

“Remember, Seu Teodoro,” Josias smiled back, “I’m not looking for something I like, but something I need to do. Anyway, I’m going to help myself to some coffee and bread in your kitchen, and then I’m off.”

After finishing his breakfast, Josias left and began walking down the main street. For the first time since his arrival, he headed toward the furthest part of the slum, where Melissa likely lived. Who knew? He might even run into her out there.

Josias shook his head. He hadn’t gone out to meet girls, but to find a decent, honest job. However, as Teodoro had warned, the area wasn’t exactly teeming with commercial or business options. All the local shops appeared to be family-run. For instance, there was the bakery, where the husband was the owner, the wife was the clerk, the eldest son was the baker, and some cousin or nephew delivered the orders by bicycle. In a shop like that, the chances of them hiring an outsider were zero.

Further along, Josias came across a scene that caught his attention. At a construction site, he spotted a boy, likely his own age, practically wrestling with a hoe as he tried to mix cement and water to make mortar for laying bricks. The boy was thinner than Josias and lacked the strength for the mixing. Feeling a surge of empathy, Josias approached him with the same helpful spirit he had shown Melissa at the pharmacy.

“Excuse me, friend,” Josias called out as he drew near. “Let me show you how to do that.”

Among the countless tasks Josias had performed in the past, he had served as a bricklayer’s assistant. He gently took the hoe from the other boy’s hand and performed the task with practiced skill. Just then, a gentleman approached them, a man nearing forty, with dark skin and hair already turning gray.

“Boy,” he said in a deep, admiring voice, “you really know how to handle that hoe!”

Josias stopped working and turned to him humbly. “I’m sorry; I just wanted to help my buddy here. No offense intended,” he added, turning back to the boy.

The boy was quick to chime in. “No problem at all! I was getting beaten by that hoe!” He turned to the older man. “Seu Romualdo, is there anything else I can do? This guy here is much better with the cement than I am.”

Romualdo let out a pleasant, warm laugh. “Young Uélton, since the hoe isn’t for you, I’ll assign you to carry those bricks to the mason building the bathroom walls. Can you handle that?”

“If I can’t handle that, I might as well jump off a bridge after embarrassing my father!” In high spirits, Uélton thanked Josias and headed over to where the bathroom was being built.

Romualdo then realized that Josias hadn’t left yet. He was still facing the construction, watching the progress of the work.

“Are you from around here, son?” Romualdo asked, breaking Josias’s trance.

Josias was startled and replied to the older man, “No, I’m living on my own nearby, trying to start a life without my parents. I was looking for some work here in the neighborhood.”

Romualdo smiled, looking satisfied. “Then you don’t have to look any further. You’ve already found it.”