On an ordinary day, Luiz set off with no clear destination, his heart light and his feet bare. He walked along a dirt road, surrounded by green fields and a sky that seemed to paint promises. He was searching for something — maybe a small farm, maybe peace, or perhaps just a sense of purpose.
When he saw an open gate, instinct took over and he walked in. The farm was vast, alive, as if it belonged to an ancient time. He expected to find someone, but instead, a young woman arrived, riding a horse as black as the night. She had fair skin, straight black hair, and intense eyes — the strength of a determined woman and the sweetness of someone who knows love. She dismounted gracefully and led the horse to the stable.
Ashamed of being barefoot, Luiz tried to leave quietly. But his steps led him to a house. It looked familiar, though the horse ranch in front of it did not. Two people outside told him to look at the sign. There it was: an announcement for a gait competition with a hundred-thousand-dollar prize. Next to it, another sign showed the year of establishment — and the name "Spain."
Curious, he went back to the young woman. He asked how much a horse like that would cost. "A hundred thousand or more?" he guessed. She smiled sweetly. "Today, I can get one for five thousand dollars." Luiz did the math in his head, thinking it was worth far more. Then he confessed, "I want to buy a small farm... Where would I keep the horse?"
She looked him up and down, noticing his bare feet and the honesty in his eyes. "A small farm?" she repeated, surprised. He nodded. She smiled and invited him to sit. She brought a glass with dessert and a spoon. He politely refused, even though he was hungry. "You eat it. You'll need strength to win the prize." She smiled again.
Suddenly, her parents, grandfather, and brother arrived. When they heard Luiz wanted to buy a farm because he loved rural life, they were charmed. "I can have all the comforts of the city in the countryside, but it's on the land that I find my soul," he said. The farmer's daughter hugged him from behind, as if she had always known him. Her father, suspicious, whispered something to her brother: "I think he's already part of the family."
Luiz explained that he owned a company called Aquá Plantas, working with fish and plants, and wanted to share it with the region. The young woman's eyes lit up. She kissed him. Her father, surprised, asked, "Aquá Plantas? I'll look it up." Luiz, shirtless, now held a shirt and a pair of blue flip-flops. But he chose to keep his feet on the ground.
His greatest fear was not being worthy of that moment. But deep down, he knew: she didn't love him for what he wore, but for who he was.