He went to the pension on the Rua Tamandaré and learned that his brother had abandoned his room with no explanation, without even paying for it. He went into Omar’s room and saw an empty suitcase on the floor, the clothes hanging on makeshift hangers, and a map of the United States on the writing desk. No note, not a word, not a sign. Yaqub thought there might have been an accident, a disaster. He looked for his brother in the hospitals, police stations, and morgues of São Paulo. His wife advised him: “Whatever you do, don’t mention his disappearance to your parents. He’ll come back. If he doesn’t, it’s not your fault.”

They thought he might come back at any moment; they might as well wait one or two weeks. Boxes of sweets went on arriving from Manaus. In December they got the first postcard.

5

5

Incredible things happened in Omar’s life, or he let them happen, as if welcoming any opportunity for adventure with open arms. Some people are like that. They don’t even need to go looking for life’s unpredictable side; they just let themselves be swept along by chance, or anything unusual that happens.

Yaqub only revealed the truth about his brother when he visited the family for the first time since he’d left for São Paulo.