Everywhere in the
world we see lower division clerks attached to some Public Office struggling to
make ends meet, eking out a living which means living a frugal life, which is
what Senhor Jose, a fifty year old bachelor does. He has the job of a lower
division clerk at the Central Registry of Births and Deaths; his is the
lowermost rung in the carefully, structured hierarchy, with the Conservador at
the peak of the triangle. The meagre salary forces him to lead a parsimonious existence
with hardly any luxuries. But Senhor Jose, like all people having limited
resources has a hobby that makes his lonely evenings not only bearable but
pleasurable. Senhor Jose, collects famous people, he very assiduously collects
cuttings of the lives of actors, actresses, even bishops. As Senhor Jose lives
in a world of hierarchy, he has tiers and rungs for his personages, actors with
their very colourful lives occupying the topmost rungs. Here he was updating
his collection one fine day, when he gets this tremendous idea. 'Why not add
all those details which are so often hidden from the press and the general public,
but which are so easy for me to get’. All
it took was some midnight excursions to the bowels of the Registry deep in the
night. By some good fortune Senhor Jose lived in a tiny house attached like a
limpet to the massive Registry and best of all he has the connecting key to the
Registry. The sense of adventure, after his frugal meal he sets off on these
midnight excursions, a twist of the key and there he is inside that colossal
edifice, climbing that tall ladder (he is afraid of heights) in search of
documents to embellish his collection, oh the fright, cobwebs brushing and stickily clinging to his face. Senhor Jose
lives for his midnight adventures. For once in his 26 years of impeccable
service, Senhor Jose is distracted and shoddy in appearance, gets pulled up for
inferior performance but is he bothered? No way, things are interesting, moving
on well, the nuggets he gleans enrich his collection beyond belief.
Until by chance he
picks up the file of the Unknown Woman. Who is this Woman? Is it destiny that her
file just gets tagged on to the file of a famous personality and that Senhor
Jose just picks up her file? Senhor Jose is filled with a deep sense of
adventure, a quest to find the life of the Unknown Woman. His commitment leads
him to do things he had never done before, which is what adventure is all
about, he forges credentials, visits the Unknown Woman’s apartment where he meets
the Lady on the Ground Floor to the Right. Now the Lady on the Ground Floor to
the Right tells him that she is the Godmother of the Unknown Woman and in her
youth was involved in an affair with the Unknown Woman's father, sadly she no
longer keeps in touch with the Unknown Woman, not surprising is it? On with the
quest, he now visits the Unknown Woman's school, breaks a window to enter, robs
her photographs and her file. Senhor Jose is now completely involved in his
character of an adventurer. He relishes the idea of a night in spent in the
School, robs food and sleeps on the sofa. And then when at work, he stumbles
upon the Unknown Woman's Death Certificate. What should he do? Should he give
up? Not at all, he decides to go in search of her grave, sadly it turns out that
the Unknown Woman has committed suicide. Why? Could it be that the Unknown
Woman has committed suicide because Senhor Jose was prying in her life so very
much and she just could take it no longer? Senhor Jose is not very concerned
with the cause of her death by now his only concern is the quest.
The quest for the
Unknown Woman, uncovers facets of Senhor Jose’s life that he himself never knew
existed. He does things that he has never done before; it makes him wonder at
himself. He meets people who go on to become his friends. He gets out of his
staid life of 26 years and rediscovers another Senhor Jose hidden deep within
himself. Now he has a life, forgotten is
his collection of famous people.
He has his life full
of adventure, why be a voyeur of others lives.
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