What she did with her freedom
Three months later, Benedita left Vassouras with 50 contos, new clothes and a signed postage letter. Joaquim paid his debt and renovated his quinta.
They never saw each other again.
Thirty years later, when Joaquim died of old age, peacefully in his bed, a letter was found on his bedside table. She came from Benedita.
She had opened a school in Salvador. There she taught girls to fight, read and survive.
The letter simply said:
Thank you for seeing me when no one saw me anymore. You gave me more than freedom: you gave me back to myself. “
