Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro

22:00. Barra da Tijuca. Friday. Enzo returned from an appointment on the other side of town. Although the time was late, he still felt quite refreshed. As he stepped on the 11th floor of the elevator, he heard a scream as he was going from the 6th to the 7th floor. He thought it was strange. Recently, the police had been at Lake to arrest an abuser in the same block he lived in. Go figure, the situation was repeating itself again. Who knows. As soon as the elevator stopped, Enzo pushed the door forward and went into his apartment. As he closed the door, he heard another scream. This time it was quieter. He felt a strange feeling, but decided not to get involved. He simply turned on the TV and looked for the early night games to bet on.

- La Liga MX. - Enzo started zapping the football statistics site. - Horrible odds. Not a chance.

The next day, Enzo went back to Vini's apartment. He brought a cigar and peanuts to have coffee with his friend. He ordered some Froot Loops and a glass of coffee and milk.

- Hey, Vini, did you hear a strange noise last night?

- Oh, Enzo. I don't want to hear what you're doing.

- No, you idiot! Shouting!

- What do you mean, shouting?

- I heard yelling yesterday. Is it the same problem as before?

- Oh, shit. Lock the door when you leave. We don't want the police coming around again.

- I will.

A few moments later, Enzo can't help but remark on an important detail.

- Wow, it has been so hot these days! 10 in the morning and it's already... - Enzo checked his cell phone. - Almost 32 degrees.

- Greta, where are you?

They both started to laugh like two idiots.

- Hey, are we going out tonight?

- That's alright. - Enzo accepted the invitation. - Are you taking Belgium?

- No, no, no. I was thinking about just you and me. You know, boys night.

- What? Did you fight with her?

- No, Enzo.

- Is she unhappy?

- Not as far as I know.

- Did you commit a crime and she will rat you out? You know, she could use a toy.

- What the fuck are you talking about?

The truth is that both Vini and Enzo could no longer handle the heat. So, Vini went to his room and grabbed some bathing suits and promised to meet Enzo at the pool. Unfortunately, he ended up forgetting the balcony door open, which would surely lead to trouble.

Back at Lake after a day of fun, Enzo and Vini walked down the very quiet and empty hallway of the condo. Suddenly, Vini ran into a witch. Not a real witch, but what they usually call a witch. A huge moth, blocking the door. There was another entrance, but they would have to turn around and cross the pool. And not only that, they would have to go through the Lake maintenance area. Fresh cement, dangerous equipment and everything else. All because of a little moth.

- Come on, Enzo. Just go through. - Vini made fun of it.

- No fucking way. - Enzo denied it. - Look at the size of this thing! It's the size of an airplane!

- What an overreaction, Enzo!

- I don't care! I'll go the other way.

- I wouldn't do that if I were you.

- It doesn't matter! If you want to be moth-eaten, fine!

Enzo had to turn around and go to the other entrance door, near the second barbecue grill. But unfortunately for him, Vini was correct. Not just that. There was no way to get past, unless he wanted to make a ruckus.

- What the hell.

He had no choice. First, he dodged the building materials by jumping over the bags of cement and bricks. Second, he was very careful not to step on the cement. He had to stand on the tip of his toes, one false step would be fatal.

- Holy shit! Holy shit!

Then it happened. A stray cat ran between his legs. Enzo lost his balance and fell on his ass on the fresh cement. What a train wreck.

- Oh, shit.

Well, there was nothing else to be done. Except to get up and finish the damn mess. And when he did, he had an unpleasant surprise.

- The fucking door is closed. - Enzo smiled, wanting to jump into the swimming pool.

But then he had a brilliant idea. Since it wouldn't be possible to enter through the door that the moth had taken, and the other door was locked, Enzo figured. Well, there is only one smart way to get in. He stared at the air conditioners positioned in a hole into the apartments. Looking from afar, they all formed a staircase. Oh, a clever idea, right? Right?

- No, this is dumb. - he figured.

But without Vini to change his mind, he didn't have a choice. He took three jumps, got a momentum and managed to hold on to the air conditioner on the 1st floor. And then the second, third, fourth. The height to the ground was getting frighteningly higher.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

- Oh, Enzo, holy shit. What the fuck are you doing? - He kept repeating to himself. - Why are you such a moron?

By the time he reached the sixth floor, he had no strength left. He was pushing his luck. He still had five more floors to go. To make his situation worse, the wind began to become a problem. His body began to shiver with cold and fatigue. Nevertheless, he could still appreciate some of the unique views that only Lake could provide.

- Well, what more?

As he did a quick count, he concluded that he was on the sixth floor. There was no way to get any higher. There was something telling him that if he kept going, it would be the end for him. So he attempted to knock on the window of the sixth floor resident. He did not succeed. He tried twice further. He tried twice more, but nothing. And then he got sick of waiting. He looked down one last time and jumped into the window. His body destroyed the window pane and Enzo fell onto someone's washing machine. Full of pain, he couldn't get up. And he felt a warmth under his shirt. When he checked to see what it was, he got the unfortunate answer. Blood that flowed like a stream. One thing was for sure. In the movies, the pain was minor.

Even in agony, he stood up and made his way to the living room. He hoped that no old man would appear with a rifle in his hand. Although it wouldn't be too bad after all that madness. On the table, Enzo finally smiled as he found a glass key holder. It was his chance to get out. But then what? Well... He could only call on one person for an extreme situation like that.

- Enzo? - Vini was shocked. - What the fuck?

- Don't ask. - Enzo smiled ironically.

- All this because of a moth?

- Again. Don't ask.

- It must be the heat. Moths like and thrive in the heat.

- I don't care what those hell bugs like!

- Okay, okay. Lie down on the couch.

Days later, Enzo was feeling much better, but had trouble lying down and bending over. And then, he got another unpleasant surprise. As he turned the keys in the lock, he found a huge moth crawling on his door. Still, it could be worse.

- Enzo?

- Hi, Italy. - said Enzo, without any embarrassment.

- What happened?

- Long story. Can I spend the night here?

- É... - Italy was very confused, but she wasn't going to leave him outside. - Sure.

And so, the surprise arrived. As he sat down on the sofa, he met the idiot Vini in his pajamas at Italy's house.

- Vini?

- Enzo? My God, it's not possible! What are you doing here?

- I knew you ran away from the moth!

- What? No!

- Oh, so this is it? - Belgium was not at all happy to hear. - Did you want to spend the night here just because of a moth?

- No," Vini denied.

- Yes," Enzo confirmed.

- I can''t believe it. - Italy was incredulous.

- And not just any moth. It's a witch.

- You are both so soft! - Belgium whined. - Scared of a little bug!

- Why are you all screaming like crazy? - Russia appeared in the middle of the confusion and didn't like to be woken up. - Is this a slumber party?

- No," Belgium clarified. - My boyfriend is a coward and Enzo is Enzo.

- Oh, okay. - Russia walked away and went back to her room.

- Can someone clarify what is going on? - Italy shouted.

- Okay, okay, okay. - Vini stepped back. - Apparently, Lake has a moth infestation.

- Is that it?

- Have you seen the size of those bugs? They could devour a truck!

- Ignore Enzo. Actually, I didn't actually come because of the moths, although Enzo is a complete idiot. I came because I wanted to spend the night with Belgium.

- What a load of crap! - Enzo couldn't believe it. - There was a moth at your door too! I came by your house, you liar!

- One fact doesn't annul the other.

Finally, Mr. Banks arrived. Wearing a blue robe, he was woken up by the shouting of his daughters in his living room.

- Guys, we're going to get kicked out of the condo with all this yelling! What is going on?

- Enzo and Vini came here in the middle of the night because of moths.

- Blimey. - Mr. Banks jumped up and down. - Moths? Where? Here?

- Don't tell me you're afraid of those butterflies, Papa?

- No... - Mr. Banks tried to deny it.

- For God's sake, Papi. - Belgium said.

- It's not, honey! Those bugs can eat a truck!

- Ha! - Enzo pointed at Belgium. - I told you so!