The Legacy of P'hiçá - Book 1: Lokaci

Chapter 1: Invitation to the Unknown

Alotis lived in a simple house in a poor neighborhood with his aunt. He was never one to seek new friendships, but he was kind to those who knew him, and found it very easy to make new acquaintances like his presence. His aunt, Rebecca, was also regarded with great affection by all who knew him, and was a strong woman known for her dedication in not running away from any job. She always woke up at five o'clock in the morning, prepared her breakfast and lunch, and headed for her job in a big city, which was about two hours away from her home.

Alotis lived like this for many years. He learned to be independent, not only with household chores, but also with his own defense and education, since there were no schools in his neighborhood. Contrary to what one might imagine, by the age of 16 he had mastered all the areas he had set himself to study. Both the exact sciences and the languages that made his eyes shine. A true prodigy. His life was really good despite the difficulties, he learned to deal with them and become more and more independent. It was a way to ease Rebecca's daily strain.

On his 17th birthday, his aunt gave him a book that was a family heirloom. She herself had no interest in reading it, but observing her nephew's passion, she was sure that this would be the perfect gift.

Because she had never read it, she didn't even know what it contained, since the cover revealed nothing about it. It was just a big gray book with a design that resembled an hourglass.

Alotis received his gift with elation and that very night he wanted to devour it as quickly as possible. The curiosity of not knowing what it was about made everything more exciting.

When he first opened it, he found another drawing of the same hourglass, but this one was much clearer. Beside it, there was also writing in a language he did not yet know. In fact, he had no idea what language it was, but he suspected that it was different enough to have a good chance of being a dead language.

As he turned the pages, he noticed that they were all written in this language, but there were several annotations in Portuguese, probably made by some distant relative who owned the book before.

- Why would such a book be in our possession? Or better. Why is it a family heirloom? - wondered the young man.

He went on like this for a few days, which soon turned into weeks and months, just understanding the notes. By the time it was nearing his birthday, Alotis had gone through each page of the book hundreds of times. He could not find anything about that language in the city library, not even on the Internet. His desperation and curiosity was so great that it was noticed even by Miss Rose, the library manager.

- Boy, I couldn't help but notice your constant visits to the library. It's lovely to see a young man like you taking an interest in books, but I confess I'm a little worried.

- Oh, am I causing some kind of disruption? I am sorry if that is the case, I am just looking for some information. - replied Alotis with some trepidation.

- No, no. Everything is fine! - Miss Rose led him to a table - Sit down, explain to me more about what you're looking for.

- To be honest, even I don't really know. My aunt gave me this book last year, and, according to her, it is a family heirloom. - Holding the book, she recognizes the drawing on the cover and Alotis notices her look of surprise.