Some wounds become wings.
It was May 2022 — in the quiet town of Kandor, autumn had already settled in like a full citizen. Grey, cold, rainy days.
Júlia Stralls, 25 years old — a police officer recently transferred to the city — parked her sedan near Sonhos de Kandor Bakery.
— We hadn’t gone to Tião’s place in a while, but one day Katarina called. They said they missed us. I insisted… fought hard to convince him to go with me. And that night he told me something… — Júlia swallowed hard. — He said he was ashamed of me. That being by my side embarrassed him.
Letícia looked at Júlia with an expression that mixed helplessness and anger.
— And you… didn’t you think about leaving?
Júlia stared out the window. The rain on the glass seemed to tremble along with her memories.
— No. I’m a police officer. He was my fiancé. And what hurt me the most… was that I still loved him. Can you believe that, Lê?
Letícia nodded, eyes heavy with sadness.
— The worst thing in the world… is loving someone who breaks you little by little.
Júlia held her cappuccino but didn’t drink.
— After that night with Tião and Katarina, he disappeared for two days.
When he came back… he was different.
Different smell. Different eyes.
He had a cut on his arm — said he’d gotten it working with the beehives.
And his pants… stained with blood.
Nothing concrete. Nothing provable. But…
I don’t know how to explain it. It was just a feeling.
Something inside me started to ache.
Letícia frowned, uneasy.
— Júlia… this is really strange.
— At that point, I didn’t know what to think. I was completely lost.
— I can’t even imagine your discomfort. I’m so sorry, truly.
Letícia showed deep empathy.
— One day, when he came home from work… just for asking where he’d been, he slapped me again. I cried. And he said I was a burden. That I’d become dead weight. That he didn’t know what to do with me anymore.
Júlia’s voice cracked.
— I was so sick, Lê… that night, after all that madness… I still had sex with him.
She broke down.
— Hey… hey… I’m here. Calm down… — Letícia held her tightly, no words needed.
— Afterward… he said: “You’re only good for that.”
Júlia swallowed, her eyes distant.
— To this day, I don’t know how I managed to sleep that night.
Letícia leaned back slightly, eyes wide.
— Júlia… this sounds like psychological horror.
— The craziest part… the next day, I came home from the precinct… and he was there. The moment I walked in, I felt something wrong — something heavy, like something vile had arrived before me. I ignored it. I was kind. I suggested we go see Tião and Katarina again and… he beat me, Lê.
He punched me.
Screamed that I was a bitch.
That I wanted to see Eduardo.
He kicked me.
I didn’t go to the station that week. I couldn’t.
He broke one of my teeth with his fists.
Letícia’s hand trembled around the napkin.
— Júlia…
— Yes. Punches. Several. Thrown against the wall. A broken tooth. Insults. Nonsense accusations. As if I’d done something. As if I’d betrayed him.
Letícia covered her mouth.
— I couldn’t react. I just… endured. Felt myself fading. Like disappearing would be easier than staying.
— You didn’t report it? — Letícia asked, choking up.
— How? With a swollen face, bruises, a broken tooth?
I was the officer from the 40th precinct.
The wife of the “exemplary beekeeper.”
The woman who was “acting strange.”
I was the problem — in everyone’s mind.
And for a while… I believed that.
But there’s more.
I loved him. And I didn’t want trouble for him.
Letícia squeezed her hand.
— Somehow… I got back up, Lê. Slowly. And when he disappeared… I wasn’t the same woman anymore.
I swore that if he ever came back… I wouldn’t be the woman he knew.
Silence filled the table. Outside, the rain intensified.
— You stayed silent… out of love? And pride?
Júlia nodded.
— I didn’t want pity. Or judgment. I needed to understand. And rebuild myself. Piece by piece.
She took a deep breath.
— And that’s when everything went to hell.
Letícia looked stunned.
— The following week, I came home… Raphael was gone. Three days. When he returned — I said nothing — but I noticed bloodstains on his clothes.
— That night he locked himself in the back bedroom and said: “I can’t stand sleeping next to you anymore.”
— The next morning my phone rang. It was Katarina. Crying.
Eduardo… was found dead. Covered with leaves.
Over fifteen stab wounds.
— I collapsed.
I knew. Instantly.
Raphael had killed Eduardo.
Letícia went pale.
— Júlia… this is unreal.
Júlia leaned forward, whispering:
— The funeral… if you can even call it that. Kandor felt suspended in time. People whispered. Avoided eye contact. I saw Katarina devastated, Tião holding her hand. I wanted to approach… but I couldn’t. My bruised face. The truth trapped inside me.
That’s when I decided: the silence could no longer be my accomplice.
— That night, when he came back, I asked directly:
“What did you do to Eduardo?”
— He punched me. I blacked out.
When I came to, I was locked in the room.
— And then… he released a swarm inside.
Júlia trembled.
— The worst moments of my life, Lê.
The bees attacked my face.
Letícia finally understood. Everything.
— I became a monster. I cried every time I looked in the mirror. I didn’t go to Eduardo’s funeral. I lost Tião and Katarina’s friendship. I still hope one day they’ll understand.
She continued:
— I fell even deeper. One night he seemed sad and I tried to comfort him…
He grabbed me violently, held a mirror to my face and said:
“How am I supposed to be near you? Look at this. Look at what you’ve become.”
— That night, I didn’t sleep. He left, calling me a monster.
And through tears and reflection… I decided I would arrest him for murder.
I had kept his blood-stained pants.
And the knife he stupidly left in the pocket.
— The next morning, I went to the old apiary. Cold. Rainy. Like today.
I was told Raphael had been seen there.
— I told no one.
I went alone.
Angry.
Brave.
With an iron bar hidden under my uniform.
— I found him in the shadows. Kneeling. Dirty. Maybe delirious. Maybe pretending.
— “Raphael.”
He turned slowly. Thinner. Same eyes.
— “Júlia… leave. There’s nothing here for you.”
— You killed Eduardo. I’m taking you in.
He smiled.
— No proof.
— There is.
The honeycomb.
Your pants.
The knife.
The dried blood smell.
Your disappearance.
And the clearest sign of all: the bee stings on Eduardo’s body.
You killed… and signed your name.
He laughed.
— You’re arresting me?
— Yes. You’re under arrest.
He stepped closer.
— You won’t do that to me… my love.
His eyes changed.
Not love.
Control lost.
He lunged.
Júlia raised the iron bar and—
CRACK.
His body collapsed.
She stood there. Breathing loud.
Dropped the bar.
Pressed her foot against his back.
Pulled her gun.
— Look at me, you bastard.
Two shots.
Precise.
Final.
Blood splattered on Júlia’s face.
She didn’t flinch.
She smiled.
A smile that said: I survived.
Letícia listened in silence.
— Thank you… for bringing me back to life. I love you.
Letícia answered softly:
— I wish I could keep you safe forever.
They embraced.
Júlia left the bakery.
Tall. Renewed. Alive.
Ready to live.
With intensity.
With love.
With lightness.
THE END ♥
For anyone who wants to say something that cannot be kept silent.
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