About Men and Women – I Can’t Sleep

It was 3am. Suddenly, my phone rang.  I turned to other side in my bed but the phone kept ringing. I thought, it could be an emergency. So, I decided to answer the phone.

- Hello - I said very sleepy.

- It's Sabrina - reply a sweet female voice.

- Who?

- Sabrina - she said.

- Sabrina, you know what time is it? - I asked her.

- I need to talk to you.

What stupid girl! Is the time to call somebody? – I though

- Sabrina, you can call me tomorrow, OK! Bye. – I said and returned to sleep.

Some minutes later my phone rang again and I picked up it immediately.

- Hello – I said.

- Robert, do you miss me. – She said.

- What?

- Robert, did you forget about me? It’s Sabrina.

- Sabrina?

- I’m in a bar with my friends and the jukebox began to play Carly Simon, 'Why'. Do you remember it? You love that music! - She began to sing:  “Why does your love hurt so much? Don’t know why.”

- Sabrina, you made a big mistake!

- I know, dear! I never should have broken up with you. Can you forgive me, please? I know I’m so jealous but I promise...

- What…what are you talking about?

- You’re the man of my life! I think, I’m drunk… just a little bit but I know what I’m saying, Robert.

- No, you don’t know! Because my name isn't Robert and I've never seen you – I said angry

- Really?

- You can bet!

- Sorry! Have a good night!

Author: Alexandre Santo

Another Way Home - Part III

You don't know the real amplitude of your decisions

I woke up at the morning early and realized that I was in a small bedroom. I had slept in a dirty and uncomfortable bed. There was an absolute silence in the house. I looked at the dresser beside me and I could see my wallet over there. For my surprise, my wallet was open and my personal documents were outside.

Suddenly, an ancient man came in the bedroom and put in a little table some food and a cup of water. "You have to eat and drink something. You look so bad", said the man. Then, he went out of the bedroom. I had many questions to make him but he looked a man of few words.

I was feeling better, at that moment. I stood up quickly, opened the bedroom door and, then, I saw the man in the living room. He was sat in a wood chair and looking direct to me. I walked to near him and said "Thank you for everything. What's your name?” He answered me, "Nobody". I though his answer very strange, but that man had saved me. "I'm Antonio Ribeiro", I continued. "I know who you are! You're really famous here", he said. "Why? You're probably confusing me with other person. I'd like to stay here and talk too much with you but I need to go", I said and looking for a way to get out of the house. "Wait a minute! Antonio Ribeiro, the lawyer. I saw your personal documents. Man, the life is too incredible. God has written very well our destiny. God brought me the lawyer that killed my town. I prayed, I prayed and God listened to me. Now, you’ll have the same destiny of my town.” the man said.

Text and photography: Alexandre Santo

A Bad Surprise

A young man was in a small restaurant to dinner and to his surprise a pretty girl came to him and asked if she could sit at his table. There were many people in the restaurant and just a few available places. "Of course", he said quite friendly.

They had talked a variety of subjects for minutes and he felt that she was glad with his company. She was twenty-three years old and was really perfect: bright blue eyes, long blonde hair, white smooth skin and the sexiest lips he ever had seen. What a wonderful opportunity, he thought.

He knew that he couldn't stay there for a long time because he had an important class in the college. After all, what was the most important for him? He knew! He has been waiting this moment for some months. Finally, he would put the end in his lonely life.

Later, a tall and well dressed man got in the restaurant and came directly to their table and asked if she had finished eating. Then, he asked the girl who that man was and she answered: “My husband”.

Text: Alexandre Santo

Walk Again

Cristina is a lovely girl, twenty-one years old and so smart. She lives in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with her parents and her little brother. Unfortunately, she can't move her legs. She became paraplegic in a motorcycle accident when she was going to the college, two years ago. Cristina has tried to have an ordinary life but it has been really difficult living in wheelchair. Her biggest desire is certainly walk again.

Recently, the Cristina's doctor called to her and her parents to talk about an experimental technology. He was very clear about the issue: there is no guarantee that she would walk again, but they should try.

They traveled to Natal, Brazil, where is the International Institute of Brain-Machine Interface. There, the Cristina’s doctor introduced the scientist Roberto Nicoli. He is a Brazilian neuroscientist that leads that international scientific research. A long time, Roberto Nicoli has been studying how a brain could control electronic external devices.

In the first day in the Institute, the researchers measured the signal level from Cristina's brain and the result was not positive. The level was so low to be used. Cristina and her parents returned to the hotel. They cried so much and Cristina asked to travel back to Argentina because she was so frustrated. "I can't stay here. I know, I’ll never walk again", she said crying, but her parents said that she has to be patient and trust in the science.

They waited a few days and then, they returned to the laboratory. It would be another chance. "We increased the power of the brain signal amplifier. Now, we believe that is possible to use the electric pulses from her brain", said Roberto Nicoli.

Finally, Cristina wore a robotic structure that will sustain her body. All this structure will be controlled by her brain. It was time the final test. However, anything happened! Cristina looks at all in the lab, she seemed don't know what to do in that decisive moment. "Cristina the equipment is switched on, come on", said Nicoli beside her. There was an absolute silence in the lab. Cristina looked at her parents and began to walk again.

- Based in the Walk Again Project leads by the Brazilian neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis

Text: Alexandre Santo

Another Way Home - Part II

An invisible magnetic field drives your life

"It's not difficult to get out of here. I just have to take the same way back", I though. Again I turned on my car and drove looking for an exit. I had not a clear idea about the right direction to follow but I knew that I had to try something to get out of there. Another time, I have driven through some streets for a long time but without success. Every time I finished in the same place that I was in the beginning. I was so confused. The place looked like a terrible labyrinth without exit. As an invisible magnetic field, there was something attracting me to that small and ghostly town. "I don't know what's going on, but I have to go home", I shouted.

I tried to organize my mind and think carefully about the situation. I got out of my car and walked around to know the place that I was. I had to explore it and try to meet somebody to help me. I looked for all directions and I just saw abandoned houses and dusty streets, illuminated by the moonlight. 

It was midnight and I was exhausted! I didn´t have any energy to keep walking. I was hungry and thirsty. Step by step, my vision was getting more blurry. I felt my body too heavy and then I began to fall in the ground slowly. I saw a silhouette of a person that was moving in my direction. Thereafter, I couldn't see anything more. 

I was really afraid of who he or she was and what that person could do with me.

Text and photography: Alexandre Santo

Shortwave Radio

In Brazil, It’s evening; Marcos goes to bed and turns his radio on. Tonight was a bad night to listens shortwave radio because there was a storm outside. This kind of transmission is very sensible to atmospheric condition. The signal was too weak and there is lots of noise. After he had tried many times tunes his radio he gave up.

It's 11 pm and he can't to sleep. He turns the radio on again and, for his surprise, immediately his favorite radio station was tuned. He thought that was very strange! The storm outside was very strong and his radio had an awesome signal. "Welcome to the Nippon International Radio from Japan”, said the announcer. Some minutes later, he was sleeping like child.

During the night he woke up with the noise from the radio. He would turn the radio off but he began to listens a female voice too low. She said: "Help me, help me! Please, don't give up! I'm alive! Look at the bookstore". Thereafter, the voice disappeared. Marcos waited for some minutes and the voice returned with the same message. He waited again but the voice disappeared definitely. He decided to write in a notebook the message from the radio. In the following day he would try to understand what had happened.

In the morning, Marcos met his friend Ricardo and told him about what occurred last night. "It was only a dream, my buddy", said Ricardo. "No, it was real! Or it seemed real.” Marcos said. However, Ricardo remembered that about 20 days ago there was an earthquake in a Japanese city and just one woman wasn't rescued. It was the information that Marcos wanted. He got out in a hurry to his home, checked all the information in the Internet and sent an e-mail to the newspaper where the earthquake occurred.

In the following edition of the newspaper that Marcos sent the e-mail, the main news was: After 20 days woman buried is saved by a man in Brazil.

Text and photography: Alexandre Santo

Another Way Home - Part I

Some strange things can happen when you change your daily routine

I have an important law firm in a big city and that day especially I worked too hard. There were many reports to make review and many contracts to sign. In fact, in my job when I have lots of things to do means more money to come. Then, I was very tired but very happy too.

I'm not a superstitious man but year after year I became a slave of my daily routines. I always did things the same way.  Like every day, at the end of my workday, I got in my car and was driving through the Main Street in direction to my house, but there was a big congestion ahead. I didn't know what was happening. It could be an accident.

At this moment, I was really anxious to relax with my wife and our little baby. The night was coming and I decided to take another way home. I thought that way would be faster to get home.

After I had driven through some unknown streets for about two hours, I finally noticed that I was lost. I looked at the car's GPS and the information was definitely wrong. I couldn't recognize the map on the GPS screen! "It's broken, of course", I thought. I took my cell phone and I would call my wife but I just saw one message on my phone's screen: "no signal". "What's going on? No GPS! No phone! Where am I?” I said to myself.

It was 9 pm and there wasn’t anybody on the streets.

Text and photography: Alexandre Santo