Growing up, Renato acted less like a child and more like a scientist, studying the world and people around him. He would poke classmates in the face or stand too close to them, curious to see their reaction.
It was no surprise that young Renato had a hard time making friends. He was often the target of bullies, especially when he started advancing through school. Sitting in classes with kids a year or two older than him – and still outperforming them – did not ingratiate Renato with his peers.
Renato enjoyed two things: solving puzzles and annoying his older sister, Thalita. It was his way of showing his love. Renato saw how easily Thalita won over kids and adults alike and wanted to be like her. So, when Thalita started to take an interest in flying kites, Renato did too.
His parents knew Renato needed help socializing. When he turned thirteen, they volunteered Renato to work at Uncle Inacio’s kite shop on the beach during the summer. Thalita was making new friends there, maybe he would too. Instead, Thalita spent the day telling Renato what to do, which annoyed him more than anything. The bickering got so bad that Uncle Inacio had to teach them the art of kite-fighting to settle their differences.
Renato loved it immediately.
He enjoyed kite-fighting so much, he didn’t even mind when he lost. As Inacio expected, they started to fight less and play more.
If only Renato had such luck with other people. Thalita would tell him to stop being so competitive with the kids they were teaching to kite-fight, but Renato wouldn’t listen. He hated it when anyone told him what to do. When Thalita started spending less time at the shop to focus on her modeling, Renato had to step up as teacher. More than anything, he would hear how much everyone missed his sister.
Renato graduated from high school two years early, and his parents suggested he take some time to do charitable work. University, or an early career, could wait. Renato just wanted to be left alone and treated like an adult. Thalita suggested that Renato find a place to play guitar – if he could practice his guitar-playing and put himself out there, Thalita promised the family would finally stop telling him what to do all the time.
That was music to his ears.
Renato decided to volunteer at a local retirement home. First, he played guitar for the residents, then he started helping out in the kitchen, and before he knew it, Renato was learning what it meant to truly care about other people. To make the effort to help others without getting anything in return. For the first time, Renato felt like he had the power to make other people’s lives better.
This new insight came in handy when Thalita was at a crossroads of her own. She wanted to pursue modelling and acting, but she missed the kite shop more than anything else. Renato didn’t do more than listen when Thalita needed someone to talk to, but after many late nights and long chats, Thalita emerged with a new sense of purpose.
When Thalita approached him to be a partner in her new venture, a kite-fighting shop called Fun Kites Rio, Renato accepted immediately. Building a business from scratch would be the ultimate puzzle.
Renato’s analytical mind helped the shop in those early months. He encouraged Thalita to use her fame as a model to help market the shop and booked her into conventions and symposiums across the country to get the word out on Fun Kites Rio. Over time, the shop built up such a following that when Thalita suggested they stage a kite-fighting tournament, it seemed like a no-brainer.
The tournament was a flurry of activity. All day, friends and strangers alike would approach Renato and thank him for his hard work. Kite-fighting meant something to these people, it made their lives better, and Renato contributed to their overall happiness and well-being.
Before he knew it, the tournament was over and the moon was high in the sky. It didn’t matter that he was tired or hungry or out in some remote field picking up garbage. It was all worth it.
He only stopped cleaning when he noticed something up above: a drone. It made him think of the games he’d play with Thalita growing up, using their kites to take down remote airplanes, kites of people on the beach they didn’t like, and so on. Thalita must have been thinking the same thing. She challenged him to see who could take down the drone. Another chance to show up his sister. The perfect end to the perfect day.
But, no. This was a mistake. Renato felt a chill. He tried to stop Thalita, but she was already cheering. The drone ate up her kite and began its crooked, smoking descent into the forest.
They were in trouble. It was only when he ran for the forest that Thalita sobered up and followed.
It didn’t take long to find the drone imbedded in a tree, kite dangling from its dead rotor blades. The sharp string dug into Renato’s fingers as he worked the knots, he nearly had the kite free when--
--a bloody hand reached out from the dark forest and grabbed him!
Renato jumped at the sight of the injured man. He was raving, babbling, desperate for help. Renato put his hands out to keep the man from falling. It was already too late.
Two blades sliced through the man and along Renato’s arm. There was no time to look down at the wound. The blades were up in the air. The man was cut in half. And a woman, clad in armor, accompanied by a drone – like the drone Thalita downed – was standing before him.
Renato knew he had to move but he couldn’t. Time was running out. Then he felt another hand on him, pulling him back.
Everything was a blur. The cut in his arm was deep and throbbing. But he knew Thalita had him. And he knew he had to run.
The night grew cold as they stopped to hide. Renato struggled to regain his breath, but there was no time. As quickly as they stopped, Thalita was pulling him again, towards an abandoned factory.
But there are no factories out here, Renato thought to himself.
The factory was even colder than the forest. He clutched his arm, trying to stop the bleeding. His head was swimming. How much blood had he lost already? Thalita was guarding him in some dark corner of the factory, and suddenly—
--She was pulling Renato to his feet, telling him to run.
Run where? She said something about a beach. Renato tried to stop her, tried pulling her back, but he was too weak. He couldn’t see any beach. All he could see was black fog closing in on them.
