Ilmar Penna Marinho Junior - The beast of a thousand years

The search for the tableau of the beast should be intensified anywhere in the world. Therefore, get down to business, Mr. Curator.

Chapter 2

CURATOR FERDINAND ROCHEMONT DE SAILLY had never imagined what was about to happen, especially in Brazil. The curator had been sincere in his profession of faith before the audience in the auditorium at the 21st Festival when he said he would do everything to recover any of the tapestry’s missing scenes, even if they weren’t the most famous of them. He had never imagined that it would intertwine, in a mysterious and fortunate way, with the fate of Leonardo and an astrologer, famous unknowns from overseas.

On that October 13th, 2006, the same day of curator Ferdinand de Sailly’s lecture, Leonardo Marcondes had received, in the morning, in Rio de Janeiro, the good news from the American banker. Everything was evolving as predicted in his first consultation with astrologer Lisa.

“Congratulations, Mr. Leonardo, the board of directors has authorized an increase in your line of credit. The bank has never granted such a high amount to a Brazilian client.”

The morning phone call had left no doubt about the international recognition that Leonard had become a powerful member of the privileged international financial society, above the law of ordinary men. The occasion would certainly deserve a celebration when he got home.

As predicted, it was already very late at night when Leonardo, lying on the bed in Lisa’s apartment, all of a sudden decided to get up and solemnly invite her, with no romance whatsoever.

There was nothing unusual in the invitation, as it was always him who took the initiative, since that remarkable first time.

Lisa continued with her Sudoku, majestic, until she concluded the right sequence. After marking the page with her Mont Blanc pen, she closed the booklet and put it below the lamp on the nightstand. Her almond eyes were fixed on Leonardo’s already naked body. She began to release the tiny buttons on her nightgown, and her beautiful lap appeared with her generous breasts. She pulled the hem of her nightgown above her waist, showing her bellybutton. She pulled it even higher. The protruding aureolas of her breasts were exposed in all their sensuality.

But that night he didn’t want to take long. After the first thrust, there were moans, sighs, obscene words, gasping, increasingly uncontrolled breathing. Five, seven, twelve, who knows how many minutes, until Leonardo lost control and let the torrent flow, untamed. Then came the restorative silence of those floating in nirvana. They cuddled until their breathing calmed down. After a deep sigh, Leo rose still lazily, turned on his side, and resumed his place on the left of the bed. Next to him, on the nightstand, the two cell phones, temporarily turned off, lay.

“It’s good, it’s very good”, Lisa sighed, her eyes sleepy with a delicious languor.

Leonardo liked to hear her thankful voice. Sometimes he lay sprawled on the bed, sort of facedown, staring at the closed shutters, through which, through two small slits in the window, a cool breeze, conducive to sleep, came in. But on that night of celebration, it was different. It took him a long time to fall asleep. His thoughts, muddied by dates, numbers, deaths, counted anxieties and fears. They only quieted down again when they were replaced by good memories and the emotions of that memorable afternoon when he met Lisa in her intimacy with the stars. Diffuse memories of prophetic visions and of the Milky Way outlined on her tanned shoulder. He recognized his life had changed after she read his astrological chart, when he was taken by a love spell.

Leonardo was suddenly surprised to see the “entities” arising from the mysterious cosmic light being incorporated by the unknown woman in the almost dim light of the room.

“Mr. Leonardo, I’m going to talk a little bit about astrology. When men began to look at the sky, more than ten thousand years ago, they realized they were integrated with the world. They began to notice that the course of life, the gifts and talents, and even the mood are influenced by the movement of the stars.”

Leonard watched the harmonious movements of her hands.

“It was when they discovered that it was possible to know their fate through their natal chart, which is a photograph of the sky at the exact time, on the day and place of birth. It’s the cosmic birth certificate of the person who comes into existence for the universe.”

At this moment, dog barking grew louder in the next room, but the astrologer went on without losing her concentration, raising her voice.

“Let’s start reading the twelve houses of the zodiac on your chart, each representing an area of your life. Here, on the top of the mandala, is the tenth house, which is the place of your professional life. From what you’ve told me when you called, this is your biggest concern right now. Well, you have four planets in this house: a stellium formed by Uranus, the Sun, Pluto, and Mercury. With these energies gathered, you have all the tools to be successful and achieve your goals.”

Completely entranced by Lisa’s words and beauty, Leonardo watched the complex dance of her fingers above the chart of the planets.

“See this big quadrature here on your map? It represents the challenges you must break through to get what you want. No one can escape their fate.”

The astrologer paused. She took a sip of Coca-Cola, looked deeply in the consultant’s green eyes, and went on:

“This Moon in the fourth house, in Aquarius, indicates that you are someone who cares deeply about family. But the many challenging aspects of your chart indicate that you may have been separated from them.”

Lisa took another sip from the soda and resumed the reading, in a trance with her deities.

“I did the transits in your chart back and forth, studied what happened during some stages of your life. It’s all there: the first hurdle you had was around when you were twenty-five years old, when Uranus made exact conjunction with your Sun. Then you lost someone very dear to you, right?”

Leonardo shivered and agreed, nodding. He wanted to say something, but she waved her hand, signaling that he should not interrupt her, and read the chart with an emotional tone.

“The chart shows that your father didn’t die of natural causes. This caused a profound impact on you, especially because it was something sudden and unexpected. The astrological transit shows that everything collapsed around your father and, when he departed from this life, you were taken by an extraordinary rage against the world. Your mother died sometime later. It’s here, in Neptune’s quadrature with your Moon. It was from an incurable disease.”

Lisa saw his eyes turn grey, fraught with pain and suffering. She then decided to dismiss the formal treatment.

“Your father was everything to you. No one understood your anger against the world! Then you married the girl who you were dating. When the first Saturn return happened, you had a son. There’s a Moon in the fourth house. This is very good. It means that even with all your duties, you’ll always find time to take care of him. You two have a lot of affinities. What’s his name?”

“Lucca”, he answered, lowering his head slightly.

“It’s a beautiful name. You’ll always have an ally at home in him.” Lisa took another sip from the soda and went on. “Your solar revolution shows that this year will be very hectic, because when Pluto forms aspects with the personal planets, it comes with an amazing transformative power. Those things that are no longer useful are eliminated to make way to new things. Pluto is entering your twelfth house. It will take out all the things that were repressed. It’s like an earthquake.”