Eleven Minutes
A Novel
Chapter One
Once upon a time, there was a prostitute called Maria. Wait a minute.
"Once upon a time" is how all the best children's stories begin and
"prostitute" is a word for adults. How can I start a book with this
apparent contradiction? But since, at every moment of our lives, we all
have one foot in a fairy tale and the other in the abyss, let's keep that
beginning.
Once upon a time, there was a prostitute called Maria.
Like all prostitutes, she was born both innocent and a virgin, and, as an
adolescent, she dreamed of meeting the man of her life (rich, handsome,
intelligent), of getting married (in a wedding dress), having two children
(who would grow up to be famous) and living in a lovely house (with a sea
view). Her father was a travelling salesman, her mother a seamstress, and
her hometown, in the interior of Brazil, had only one cinema, one
nightclub and one bank, which was why Maria was always hoping that one
day, without warning, her Prince Charming would arrive, sweep her off her
feet and take her away with him so that they could conquer the world
together.
While she was waiting for her Prince Charming to appear, all she could do
was dream. She fell in love for the first time wh ... read full excerpt from Eleven Minutes ebook
