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Portuguese » English - 5 finalists


Freitas do Amaral, Enquanto Salazar Dormia. Casa das Letras, 2006. 310 words
Quando no filme acabou o hino, o Politeama ainda terminava o seu cântico, ainda ia no marchons, marchons, e já as pessoas batiam palmas, eufóricas e felizes, contagiadas pela sensação de vitória, conscientes de que aquela horrível guerra ia acabar e de que todos tinham encontrado um novo lugar no mundo.
Luisinha, corada e ofegante, lançou-me os braços ao pescoço num impulso e beijou-me na boca, um beijo profundo, apaixonado. Senti a sua língua batalhar com a minha, entusiasmada, e o seu corpo tremer de agitação. Depois, olhou para mim e demos uma gargalhada, enquanto o Politeama batia palmas e mais palmas ao Casablanca. Olhei o fundo dos seus olhos, aproximei a boca ao seu ouvido e disse-lhe:
- Amo-te.
Procurou a verdade no meu olhar e descobriu-a. Abraçou-me feliz e disse:
- Eu sempre te amei.
Sentámo-nos e vimos o resto do filme de mão dada até ao fim, o amor a tomar conta de nós. E eu sabia que aquele não era o amor bonito, mas sem futuro, de Bogart e Bergman em Casablanca. Já tivera vários amores assim, nos meus anos em Lisboa, e não queria ter mais nenhum. Desta vez, eu não ia deixar partir a mulher que amava, como deixei partir Mary, Alice e Anika. Desta vez, a mulher vinha comigo.
Quando saímos para a rua, de mão dada, alheios ao facto de a família de Luisinha vir uns metros atrás de nós, abracei-a e beijei-a na testa. Depois, desafiei-a:
- Vem comigo. Vamos partir, só nós dois. Para a América, para o Brasil, tanto faz...
Os seus olhos brilharam e disseram que sim, e assim ficou decidido dentro dos nossos corações, e nem ligámos ao comentário feito pela mãe de Luisinha, uns metros ao nosso lado:
- Que filme horrível que a menina nos obrigou a ver!
Há pessoas sem coração e sem alma.

The winning and finalist entries are displayed below.To view the like/dislike tags the entries received simply click on the "view all tags" link on the right hand corner of each entry.

You can leave your feedback for this pair at the bottom of the page.

Congratulations to the winners and thanks to all the participants!






Entry #1 - Points: 28 - WINNER!
Carla Queiro (X)
Carla Queiro (X)
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When the anthem finished in the movie, the audience in the "Politeama" continued singing, finishing the "marchons, marchons," clapping their hands, elated and happy, caught up in the sensation of victory, knowing that the horrible war would end and that everyone had found a new place in the world.
Luisinha, flushed and breathless, spontaneously threw her arms around my neck and kissed me on the mouth, a deep passionate kiss. I felt her tongue eagerly dueling with mine, and her body trembling with excitement. Afterwards, she looked at me and we burst out laughing while the audience in the "Politeama" clapped harder and harder for Casablanca. I looked deep into her eyes, placed my mouth close to her ear and said, “I love you.”
She looked at me, read the truth in my eyes, hugged me joyfully and said, “I have always loved you.”
We sat down and watched the rest of the movie holding hands until the end, united by love. I knew it wasn’t that glorious ill-fated love of Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca. I had already had various loves like that during my years in Lisbon, and did not want another one. This time, I would not let the woman I loved leave me, like I let Mary, Alice and Anika get away. This time, she would accompany me.
When we left, holding hands, oblivious to the fact that Luisinha’s family were just a few feet behind us, I hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. Then, I dared her, “Come with me. Let’s leave, just the two of us. For America, Brazil, wherever…”
Her sparkling eyes said yes which sealed the decision in our hearts, and we didn’t even care about the comment made by Luisinha’s mother who was alongside us, a few feet away, “What a horrible movie that girl made us watch! Some people have no heart or soul.”



Entry #2 - Points: 26
tom_michell
tom_michell
United Kingdom
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When the anthem in the film was over, the Politeama was still finishing its version, still singing the "marchons, marchons", and the people were already applauding, euphoric and joyful, consumed by the feeling of victory, aware that that horrible war was going to end and that everyone had found a new place in the world.
Luisinha, flushed and breathless, threw her arms around my neck spontaneously and kissed me on the lips, a deep, passionate kiss. I felt her tongue duel with mine excitedly and her body tremble with exhilaration. After, she looked at me and we burst out laughing, while the Politeama audience gave Casablanca a lengthy ovation. I looked deep into her eyes, leant in towards her ear and told her:
"I love you."
She searched for the truth in my gaze and found it. She hugged me, happy, and said:
"I always loved you."
We sat down and watched the rest of the film holding hands until the end, love taking hold of us. And I knew that it was not the beautiful but doomed love of Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca. I had already had several romances like that during my years in Lisbon and did not want to tread that path again. This time, I wasn't going to let the woman I loved get away, like I had done with Mary, Alice and Anika. This time, she was coming with me.
When we went out into the street, holding hands, mindless of the fact that Luisinha's family was following a few yards behind, I hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. Then, I challenged her:
"Come with me. Let's leave, just the two of us. We'll go to America, Brazil, wherever..."
Her eyes lit up and said yes, and it was decided in our hearts, and we didn't even mind the comment of Luisinha's mother, a few yards away:
"I can't believe she made us sit through that awful film!"
Some people have no heart and no soul.



Entry #3 - Points: 12
Marian Vieyra
Marian Vieyra
United Kingdom
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When the national anthem ended in the film, the Politeama theatre was still finishing its own song; it was still on the 'Marchons! marchons!' bit, and people were already applauding in a state of blissful exhilaration, enthused by the infectious feeling of victory, aware that that appalling war was going to end and that everyone had found a new place in the world.

Luisinha, flushed and out of breath, impulsively threw her arms round my neck and gave me a deep, passionate kiss on the mouth. I felt her enthusiastic tongue battle with mine, and her body tremble with excitement. Afterwards, she looked at me and we roared with laughter, whilst the Politeama clapped and applauded Casablanca. I gazed deep into her eyes and whispered the words “I love you” into her ear. She looked into my eyes searching for truth and found it. Overjoyed, she held me tight and said, “I’ve always loved you”.

We sat down and watched the rest of the film holding hands, right until the end; love would look after us. I knew that our love wasn’t the beautiful but doomed sort, like Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca. I had already experienced many loves like that during the years I spent in Lisbon, and didn’t want to experience any more. This time, I was not going to lose the woman I loved, like I lost Mary, Alice and Anika. This time, the woman was coming with me. When we went out onto the street, hand in hand, oblivious to the fact that Luisinha’s family was just a few steps behind us, I hugged her and kissed her on the head. Then, I dared her…

“Come away with me. Let’s leave, just the two of us. To America, Brazil, wherever…”

Her eyes shone and seemed to say yes, and that’s how the decision was made, in both our hearts, we didn’t even care about the comment made by Luisinha’s mother, just a few inches away from us.

“What a dreadful film the girl made us watch!”

Some people have no heart and no soul.




Entry #4 - Points: 11
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When the anthem ended in the film, the Politeama was still finishing up its chant, still going on with ‘marchons, marchons’. Already people were clapping, euphoric and happy, caught up in the sensation of victory, conscious that that horrible war would end and that everyone had found a new place in the world.
Luisinha, flushed and breathless, threw her arms around my neck impulsively and kissed me on the mouth, a kiss which was profound, passionate. I felt her tongue battling with mine, enthusiastic, and her body trembling with excitement. Then she looked at me and we giggled, while the Politeama clapped again and again to Casablanca. I looked deeply into her eyes, brushed my mouth to her ear and told her:
“I love you.”
She sought the truth in my gaze and found it. She hugged me happily and said:
“I’ve always loved you.”
We sat and watched the rest of the film, holding hands until the end, the love washing over us. And I knew this was not the sort of love, pretty but with no future, of Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca. I’d had several loves like that during my years in Lisbon, and I didn’t want another one. This time, I wasn’t going to let the woman I loved get away, as I’d done with Mary, Alice and Anika. This time the woman was coming with me.
When we went out in the street, holding hands, oblivious to the fact that Luisinha's family was following a few meters behind us, I hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. Then I challenged her:
“Come with me. Let’s go away, just the two of us”. To America, Brazil, whatever . . .
Her eyes sparkled and said yes. And so it was decided in our hearts, and we didn’t even pay attention to the comment made by Luisinha’s mother, a few meters to the side:
“What a horrible film the girl made us see!”
Some people have no heart and no soul.



Entry #5 - Points: 3
anonymousView all tags
When the national anthem ended in the film, the Politeama was still singing, was still on the “marchons, marchons” part, and people were clapping, euphoric and happy, swept along by the feeling of victory, aware that horrible war was going to end and they had all found a new place in the world.

Flushed and breathless, Luisinha threw her arms around my neck and kissed me on the mouth, a deep, passionate kiss. I felt her tongue doing battle with mine, excited, and her body shaking with emotion. Then she looked at me and we laughed, while the Politeama clapped and clapped Casablanca. I looked deeply into her eyes, moved my mouth close to her ear and told her:

- I love you.

She sought the truth in my eyes and found it. She hugged me happily and said:

- I’ve always loved you.

We sat down and watched the rest of the film hand in hand until the end, love taking control of us. And I knew that it was not the beautiful, fruitless love of Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca. I had already had several loves like that during my years in Lisbon, and I did not want any more. This time, I would not let the woman I loved leave, as I’d let Mary, Alice and Anika leave. This time the woman was coming with me.

When we went out into the street hand in hand, despite the fact that Luisinha’s family was coming a few metres behind us, I hugged her and kissed her on the forehead. Then, I challenged her:

- Come with me. Let's go away, just the two of us. To America, to Brazil, wherever...

Her eyes shone and said yes, and it was thus decided within our hearts, and we paid no attention to the comment made by Luisinha’s mother, a few metres across from us:

- What a horrible film the girl made us watch!

There are people with no heart and no soul.



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