He is from Leo and She is from Scorpio.

Chapter 02

Amanda's POV

Monday, February 26, 1973.

The alarm clock rings. Shit. I wanted to get some more sleep. It's six in the morning. I get up from my bed and stretch. It's cold and raining outside. But, it's time to face reality. Today begins the fifth semester of Journalism faculty at Goldsmiths. I am very happy. I'm loving college more and more. I started to study journalism in late February 1971. Finally the penultimate semester of college. At the end of this year, I will finish my college and receive a Bachelor's degree in Journalism and the next step will be a Master's Degree in Music Journalism. In September of last year I got the internship to work in one of the most important musical magazines in London, the New Musical Express, better known as NME. My friend Cíntia also got a degree in the magazine, but, as a photographer. While working as a trainee in the journal's editorial section, Cíntia is one of the photo assistants, a great photographer for the magazine. The directors, supervisors of the magazine are very fond of my work as a trainee and have already said that when I finish college I will be finally made one of the magazine's journalists. That's all I ever wanted. Today I also return to work as a trainee after almost two months of vacation. Two years ago I also do a Spanish course and this is my last year of studying the language.

I go to the bathroom and do my oral hygiene and wash my face. Then I go to the kitchen to prepare breakfast for my friend Cynthia and me.

"Cynthia, it's time to get up," I shout from the kitchen.

"I'm already awake, Mandy," Cyntia said from her room.

I begin to prepare the coffee and remember everything that has happened to me so far:

My full name is Amanda Lins Bristley. I'm a Brazilian girl. I was born in São Paulo / Brazil, on November 16, 1952. I am a sign of Scorpio. I also love to study astrology. Really like. My mother's name is Elis Lins, she's Brazilian and my father's name is Alex Bristley, he's British and he was born here in London. You know how they met? During World War II.

In 1944, when Brazilian troops of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force and the Brazilian Air Force left towards Italy, to fight with the Allies in Montese and Monte Castelo against the Nazi troops, my mother had recently finished nursing college and Enlisted as a volunteer nurse to assist Brazilian soldiers wounded in Italy. My mother then with a group of volunteer nurses was sent to the city of Monte Castelo, Italy, where she took care of many Brazilian soldiers who were injured and also looked after wounded soldiers from the Allied base, such as US, French and British soldiers. It was then that my mother met my father, Alex. My father had finished the College of Administration and Economics in 1943 at the University of London and then was recruited as a soldier of the British Armed Forces. In combat he was injured in the leg and my mother was recruited to take care of my father. My mother took good care of my father. He feared that his leg would be amputated, but, as a great nurse, he did everything to prevent it from happening. My mother knew how to speak English, because she had taken an English course before, and my father and she began to talk a lot and became friends. When my father fully recovered, he returned to London, but before they changed phones and addresses and promised each other that they would keep in touch. My father said that he would be eternally grateful to my mother for having helped him.

In February 1945, at the end of the war, my mother returned to Brazil to São Paulo and began working in a large hospital as a nurse. My father and she continued to communicate by letters and phone calls. My father then, at the end of 1945, went to Brazil, behind my mother, saying that he was totally in love with her and asked if she wanted to be his girlfriend. Mother accepted, then, she was already in love. And after six months, dating from a distance, my father finally asked her to marry him. Mama then had to leave her life in Brazil and went to London with my father and got married. After the war, my father started to study Master of Communication and how he really enjoyed music, said that one day he would be a great businessman in the music world. Mom got a job as a nurse in a London hospital. They were very happy and in the year 1952, my mother became pregnant with me for their joy. Mom said she would like me to be born in Brazil, like her. So when she was already seven months pregnant she quit her job as a nurse and went back to São Paulo and stayed at my grandparents' house. My father remained in London and only went to Sao Paulo when my mother was about to give birth. I was born in São Paulo and according to my mother, my father and she stayed with me until January of 1953 and then we returned to London.