Sparks of Victory: Beatrice Woodwind's Clash with Copacabana

The city of Copacabana lay before me, glistening in the light of the moon. It was beautiful, stunning even. The moonlight reflected off the ocean and onto the buildings and trees within it, creating a brilliant white aura that surrounded the entirety of the city. I could see the moonlight glinting off the water where I knew those poor people lived in their floating huts. They had no right to live like this! They didn't deserve to be treated like animals!

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I needed to focus on what I was doing. This wasn't just some late night stroll through town; this was my nightly patrol of the city. People thought they could get away with whatever they wanted, but they were wrong. No one is above the law and no one is beyond justice! I felt my blood boil as I thought about how these people lived without even a sliver of hope for a better life, how they were abused by their masters and how long we'd let them get away with it!

I continued walking down the street towards home when suddenly there was movement beside me.

"Beatrice!" A voice whispered into my ear, startling me so badly that I jumped. I turned around to see who it was only to find someone dressed in all black from head to toe standing there with a mask over his face. A mask which had holes for his eyes, nose and mouth shaped perfectly for him to breathe through without exposing himself to anyone else. My heart stopped at seeing this stranger here in this place but then began pounding even harder as he took his time slowly taking off his mask and revealing his face inch by inch while never taking his eyes off mine. When he finally pulled off the mask completely, my heart practically stopped beating altogether.

It was him! Ricardo!

Ricardo Almeida had only been in our city for a few months now but he'd made quite an impression on all of us already. He was unlike any other man I'd ever met; he was passionate about helping others, especially the poor and repressed people who lived here in our city of Copacabana de Nossa Senhora Do Porto Belo Da Pedra Doce (The Stone Port Blessed Mother Of Our Sweet Lord). He'd started setting up free clinics throughout town where he would provide free medical care to anyone who needed it, no questions asked and despite being offered bribes several times, he refused every single one of them. He also became a sort of informal legal advisor for those who needed help fighting against unfair laws set by our corrupt officials who believe that they have absolute authority over everyone else in our city, including those people in charge at the police department who technically answer directly to these officials instead of equally to everyone else within our city's borders which means that not only do these police officers listen much more closely than necessary to what these officials say but they also take orders from them too which means that regardless of whether or not something is illegal or unjust or goes against everything we are supposed to stand for as citizens of Brazil, if someone wealthy or powerful wants it then we will do it no matter how immoral it might be or how much we don't want to do it!

Personally, I hated all of this injustice! There was no reason why we should treat each other like this! We are all human beings worthy of dignity and respect regardless of whether or not we are rich or poor or sick or healthy or ugly or beautiful or black or white or yellow or purple or green! What gives any one person so much power that they decide who gets justice and who doesn't?! Why can't we all be equal?! Why can't we give everyone a chance at life? Why can't we aspire to more than just surviving? Everyone deserves a chance at living their lives happily - why must misery be forced upon us by those who don't want us to feel happy? Who gave them that right?! None of them deserve happiness either - they're just as miserable as everyone else because they've always had everything handed to them and never had anything taken from them so that now they don't know how to deal with being without things when others are without them too so now they try to make sure no one else has them either! But why? If everyone else is miserable then won't *they* suffer too?! Why does it hurt *them* if everyone else is happy?! It doesn't make sense!!

"Beatriz!" Ricardo whispered urgently again when I didn't respond quickly enough after realizing exactly who stood before me tonight...

"What are you doing here?!" I asked angrily under my breath as soon as I found my words again after being so shocked by seeing him standing there like that...

"I'm here because you need me." He replied calmly as if he already knew what I was going ask before even asking it...

"I think you've got things confused here Ricardo..."

"On the contrary Beatrice - it's you who has things confused." He replied calmly once again...

"You're a free man now Ricardo - you can do whatever you want!" I told him sternly...

"And yet still somehow your doing nothing?" He asked sarcastically...

"Are you really so selfish that you choose not to help others?!" I yelled at him...

"...when I know how much good you could do if you tried?" He asked back rhetorically...

"If you really wanted change then you would have done something about it by now!" I replied defensively still angry that he would suggest otherwise...

"...but instead all you seem capable of doing is talking." He replied simply very calmly and without even raising his voice whatsoever despite me shouting at him earlier...