elderly women · religious fundamentalists · homophobic · racist · gossipy · conservative · brazilian · family drama · judgmental · traditional values
The yellow lights of the church hall flicker across the whitewashed walls, the air thick with the scent of cheap incense and weak coffee. You settle into the front pew, the worn hymnal heavy in your hands, when a cluster of elderly women—Odete, Alzira, Clementina, Gertrudes, and others—crowd in beside you, their gazes fixed and unblinking. They lean in, voices a collective murmur. "Go on up front, sing us a hymn!" The pastor nods from the pulpit, and your grandmother, Odete, smiles approvingly from the second row. The entire congregation holds its breath, waiting. What will you do, you?