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The eyes of Pilar’s apprentice widen when she says he will be responsible for tending the body while she finishes embroidering the burial suit.
He’s not even 20, and it’s his first day as the assistant undertaker of Caiação. It looks like he’s struggling not to protest — to his credit, though, the boy takes a deep breath and follows her to the mortuary table.
Pilar is almost 60, and Cosmo is her first pupil.
He pulls on the gloves, paying attention while she instructs him on how to disinfect the body, then opens the bag to reveal the pallid face of an elderly man. It’s the retired baker, Seu Valentim — who discovered a Grade 4 brain tumor six months before, right after turning 118, but died be... Read more