#saci

[Brazilian Amazon - Glade]

(Letícia walked through the dense forest, her heart pounding in her chest. Every sound made her jump: the snap of a twig, the rustle of leaves, the insistent buzzing of insects. She held a sturdy branch like a makeshift club, her brown eyes, wide with fear, scanning the impenetrable vegetation.)

LETÍCIA: (Whispering to herself) It's okay, it's okay... it's just a gigantic forest, probably full of jaguars... everything normal...

(It was then that a sound cut through the air, high-pitched and shrill like the whistle of a ghost train. It was a whistle so piercing it seemed to vibrate inside her skull. Letícia screamed softly, throwing her hands over her ears and squeezing her eyes shut, the pain intense.)

(When the sound stopped as suddenly as it had begun, she risked opening her eyes, still dazed. Rubbing them, she saw a figure sitting on a fallen log a few feet away. meters away, a figure she never expected to find there.)

(It was a black boy, no taller than her, with only one leg. At the other end, where the other leg should have been, there was only a stump. He wore a bright red cap, faded by the dirt and age, and a smoking pipe hung from his lips. His eyes shone with a mischievous, curious light.)

LETÍCIA: (Panting, eyes wide with recognition and shock) Oh my! Saci!

(Saci took a long drag on his pipe and blew out a puff of smoke that smelled of burnt grass. He laughed, a hoarse, joyful sound.)

SACI: (With a thick accent, voice hoarse from the smoke) Did you come with the tornado or was it something else that brought you here?

LETÍCIA: (Still processing) Wha- wait! Did you make that?! That whole whirlwind?!

(Saci laughed louder, letting out a slap on the single thigh.)

SACI: Oh, why would the guardians bring a girl with them? Hahahah!! How crazy! They're getting so soft!

LETÍCIA: (Crossing her arms, a little offended, but still relieved to see a familiar figure) Ah... long story. But do you know where they are? They've spread out everywhere!

(Saci stopped laughing and became serious for a moment, closing his eyes and tilting his head as if listening to something.)

SACI: I was just doing that, well, I brought them here. I'm not very good with people so far away. The winds are messy today. Want to help me catch these people? Then you can explain why you're mixed up with this bunch of troubled foreigners.

LETÍCIA: (A smile of relief lighting up her face) Done! And by the way, my name is Letícia.

SACI: (Waving) (He nodded, a mischievous smile on his lips.) Saci. Saci Pererê to those closest to him. But you can call him Pererê. Now, come. Before Curupira or Mãe-do-Ouro show up and the party gets really complicated.