FICTION | FANTASY | FOLKLORE

Man in White

June Party under the moonlight

Elizabeth had no idea what the June Party was about. Since her family was half Brazilian, they had decided to take her to Brazil during summer break. Her freshman year of college had just ended and all she wanted to do was go to Hawaii. Still, she was forced to always think about family first and there was no way she could convince her mother to stay behind.

In honor of the party, her grandmother, an Amazonian woman, prepared the perfect outfit for her. She tried to argue, but when her grandma started cursing and mumbling in Portuguese, Elizabeth gave up. One thing she learned from her mother and grandmother is there’s no point in arguing with Brazilian women.

After taking a few minutes to dress up, she stared at herself in the mirror. “What the…”

She had been given a red-checkered dress, boots, and a weird straw hat with a pair of two blond pigtails attached to it. She ceased understanding Brazilians a long time ago.

“ELIZABETE!” She sighed. Her grandmother could never pronounce her name correctly.

If Elizabeth had known, she wouldn’t have been surprised by how everyone was dressed. All the men wore a flannel shirt and jeans. They also wore straw hats. It was quite evident that her father was rather excited about the party, as he even had a painted gap tooth. Her mother was dressed like her, except she had drawn freckles on her cheeks. Elizabeth couldn’t help but think they were heading to a circus.

The party was outside and the whole city seemed to be there. She was surprised at how much food there was. Under the moonlight, people were dancing and laughing.

“Vem dançar, Lizzy!” Some of her cousins called her, however, she had no idea what they had said.

As long as she stood there, people stared at her. Several men approached her to ask her to dance, and she refused several times before accepting the fourth time. While he cheerfully danced with her, he said nothing. They laughed for what seemed like hours until her feet ached.

When they parted, he said something and called her “gringa,” which confused Elizabeth. However, before she could say anything, he left, and once more, men stared at her. Among dark-haired people, maybe her blond hair stood out too much, she thought. She tried not to care, eating whatever they had at one of the tables in a corner.

Then she noticed a man who was wearing a white suit, as opposed to everyone else. Her cheeks were ablaze seconds after he noticed her glare.

He was extremely handsome. Under a white hat, his short black hair was mostly hidden, and his hands were stuffed into his pants pockets. Elizabeth had to take a moment to remember how to breathe when he turned to her.

“You’re eating like you never had stake before,” he said.

She sighed and smiled. Elizabeth was so worried about his first impression of her, thinking that he would consider her a girl who eats like an animal, that she didn’t notice he was speaking English.

“Are you American?” She asked.

“No, I am Brazilian, but had the opportunity to learn a second language when I was little.” He looked around the party. “I guess I might be your best company as I am the only one you understand.”

“I do not understand why they keep trying to speak Portuguese with me! I am not bilingual!” She snapped taking another bite of her stake. She looked at him again. “What is your deal, dressed up differently from everyone else?”

He grinned, and she had to press her hand against the table as her knees were threatening to buckle. “I admire June parties’ clothes, but I prefer wearing white at night. It is a nice color.”

“What is your name?” She wanted to slap herself for asking such a random question but the only thing he did was to smile again and shake his head.

The man straightened himself and offered his hand to her. “What about we walk around, and I can tell you my name, you can tell me yours. We can talk and I can show you the Amazon river.”

She didn’t even think about it before holding his hand.

After leaving the party, Elizabeth got rid of the stupid straw hat. As the voices of the party faded, they talked, and she couldn’t help but wish she had met the man sooner. He was a gentleman and completely understood her. She was starting to think Brazil was not that bad after all.

Maybe she should have thought it weird for a man to be this perfect, but she didn’t until he took off his hat.

Having just sunk their feet into the river, she felt the cold water running through her toes. Although his hair looked fine, there was a small hole on the top of his head. Not too big, but big enough for her to easily see it with the effect of the moonlight.

Yet, the pull towards him was eerily strong, and she was unable to move. Instead, she longed to touch his hand and be closer to him. She was sure her eyes weren’t lying to her, so why didn’t she feel scared? He smiled at her, and she walked towards him.

“É O BOTO!” The scream came from a man at the party. She spun around with her heart racing, and when she looked back, the man was gone. The only thing Elizabeth could see was a pink fishtail quickly disappearing under the water.

She was indeed going to kiss a fish.

Thanks for reading!

Glossary:

June Party — “Festa Junina”; the Catholic celebration happens in June where Brazilians dress up as farm people (known as “caipiras”) in honor of three saints, namely; Saint Anthony, on June 13th; Saint John, on June 24th and Saint Peter, on June 29th.

Vem dançar, Lizzy! — Come dance, Lizzy!

Gringa [feminine] or gringo[masculine] — Term used by Brazilians to describe North Americans

É O BOTO! — It’s the boto!

About the story:

This short story has been based on a legend of the Brazilian Folklore called “A Lenda do Boto cor de Rosa” which means “The legend of the pink dolphin.” The Amazon/Pink River dolphin or mostly known as boto started in the Amazon as most others.

According to the legend at night, an elegant man dressed in white (wearing a hat to hide his breathing hole) appears to dance with the most beautiful maidens during “Festa Junina” (June Party). By making women fall in love with him, he eventually takes them into the Amazon River. This is where he impregnates them. Upon this happening, he morphs back into his pink dolphin form and disappears. As a result, pregnant women are left in despair, and their families blame the boto.

Pink river dolphins are loving and charismatic creatures. Most say this legend originated because they would approach people bathing in the Amazon River. Other allegations come from darker backgrounds connecting back to Brazilian colonization.

If you want to know more about Pink Dolphins check this video from National Geographic.

If interested in Brazilian folklore make sure to check out the Brazilian Series on Netflix, “Invisible City”.

Copyright © 2022 Larissa Capella. All Rights Reserved.