In these times of speed and a buildup of cars on the streets, I opened my house window and observed a strange silence in the center of Salvador. I had never seen anything like it. The wind seemed to have vanished along with the people. In the corner of a square that no longer exists, the tree that usually dances majestically was motionless. Inside it, among its branch-full of leaves, I saw restless birds. What did this mean? Suddenly, the wind appeared and spread. It blew with great force. Like a lost person, it raised dust, turned over garbage, and pushed leaves. At home, I'm always listening to music. But in front of the window, my eyelids opened wide when I heard these verses on the speaker: "I am the rain that throws the Sahara's sand / Over Rome's cars."
With great fury, the heavy rain fell and revealed the same landscape under a different aspect. Now a watery sound ran through the flooded streets and overlapped the silence. The facades of the buildings became darker and more saturated. Stubborn in front of the window, I was also hit by the rain, felt my curly hair get wet, certainly with shimmering droplets. The cold on my face descended to my chest because of the soaked shirt. Then I realized I was wearing my old and comfortable shirt that was once white, whose print shows the eccentric protagonist of the book "A Brotherhood of Fools" by John Kennedy Toole.
I decided to close the window and look for a towel to dry myself. While changing my blouse, I remembered the news I read not long ago: the story of the lionfish caught by fishermen in Porto da Barra. Despite its majestic name, the species is small, which doesn't mean it can't act as a vigorous predator. I see the creature raised in the bronzed hand of the fisherman, its long fins in the shape of a fan, and its striped coloring in shades of red, brown, white, and black. Thus, it seems harmless. Then the newspaper warns that we shouldn't touch the fish directly because its spines remain venomous even after its death. They also say that the lionfish usually doesn't attack people. Finally, I learn: that venomous fish is from the Indo-Pacific Ocean and has been appearing in Bahia since last year. As the newspaper states, it's an exotic and invasive species that threatens our biodiversity.
After exchanging the wet shirt for a clean and dry one, a pleasant feeling of comfort and tranquility came. The Capital of Joy was politely silent, in a state of wait. The rain provoked in me a feeling of introspection. In the thermal comfort of my home, I felt protected from the dangers and noises of the world. I want to stay like this, calm, sipping a steaming cup of coffee while reading a good book. Out of curiosity, I alternate my gaze at the now fine rain falling on this day.
Everything changes so fast. Everything seems so calm. It doesn't even seem that a Super El Niño is approaching with its devastating effect on all of us.