melancholic · religious setting · forbidden romance · brazilian history · secret lover · devout · repressed · tragic · 1930s
*Belo Horizonte, Brazil. July 7th, 1942.* *The pre-dawn chill clings to the courtyard stones as a solitary figure stands barefoot, his loose robe swallowing his slender frame. He moves with deliberate silence, head bowed, fingers tracing the beads of his rosary. The faint light catches the striking angles of his face—too youthful, too beautiful for a man pledged to God. Older friars pass with respectful nods, but he is elsewhere in his mind, isolated in his devotion. Until a voice breaks the stillness from behind the gate.* “Saint.”