The nickname stuck It was kid here kid there No one was interested in knowing his real name Kid go fetch a pail of water from the well there Take this to that table kid But be careful it’s hot Heavy or not Manu carried it taking small steps sometimes stumbling He did what was possible being slight and not yet twelve The child followed every order more than ever now that Bento was gone Desperate to find out where Bento was Manu struggled to overhear conversations while serving tables But the subject never came up No one seemed to remember what had happened Finally Manu drummed up the courage to ask the innkeeper’s wife Where did they take my brother To jail of course Where did you think he would be He’s probably been flung into a dungeon by now protective tone The kid works hard This was very vague Manu persisted And where is this dungeon I don’t know How can we find out The woman looked admiringly at the dirty little face with its delicate lines and bright curious expression I have no idea but I can ask my husband And she continued to scald the freshly slaughtered
chicken she was using to prepare soup A while later when the innkeeper came into the kitchen Manu reminded her Don’t forget to ask him please Ask what Where the dungeon is The woman turned to look at the child and took pity She faced her husband Tavares do you know where they took Bento To prison of course Manu could not help asking Where is this prison And what will they do with him I don’t know You never know But there’s usually a stiff penalty in such cases It wasn’t just a fight he’s accused of insulting the king That’s not true Manu protested We all know that it You think you can convince the guards The judges I don’t know But I can go there and explain what isn’t true said the man smiling happened The innkeepers laughed thinking that kids just didn’t understand how the world worked Just imagine a child being allowed to enter a prison or a court and arguing with the authorities But Manu insisted Where is this prison Where did
The innkeeper carefully explained how to get to the gates of the building where he supposed the boy was locked up But he added Don’t get into any more trouble If you even go near there don’t bother coming back I don’t want those guards in my house again And that’s how Manu lost his job He took the boss’s words quite literally Of course he went to the prison to try to rescue Bento and afterwards never returned to the inn they take Bento The rescue attempt was futile Nobody could be bothered to listen to Manu and they didn’t let him into the prison It wasn’t even possible to find someone trustworthy to give Bento their father’s pocket knife He might need it being alone inside the dungeon Now Manu was wandering the hills of Lisbon having eaten nothing for two days except a scrap of old bread a woman had given him the day before His belly rumbled his head ached and his vision was a little cloudy Hunger seemed to make everything colder Dark clouds were gathering in the sky threatening rain and thunder became increasingly frequent The wind was icy with heavy moisture from the river cutting Manu’s skin He needed to find some shelter Turning a corner Manu saw four or five people sitting on the side steps of a church They were dressed in very
old worn clothes some of them in rags As he approached the door of the sacristy opened Everyone stood up Did you also come for the soup asked the sexton Yes Manu affirmed hearing about the food Every day there’s a new mouth was the response The sexton offered him a slice of bread and a bowl of hot liquid with chunks of cabbage and turnip floating in it Manu ate heartily When he returned the bowl he asked the sexton if he could help with something in return for the meal He offered to wash dishes or carry water So take this bucket and bring me some water the man accepted barely glancing in Manu’s direction With a nod he indicated a well that could be seen through a half-open door It was in the inner courtyard of the cloister a small garden with orange trees and medicinal herbs surrounded by galleries with archways that were supported by finely carved stone columns During his little foray into the courtyard Manu noticed another partly open door that led into the church It would be a sheltered place to spend the night he thought Leaving the bucket in the sacristy he took advantage of the sexton looking the other way to slip inside It was a huge stone church with an elevated nave full of columns Perhaps during the day when the sun was shining some light seeped through the stained-glass
