He almost expected to find the attendant waiting for him when he left the restroom. Or the undercover soldier, maybe. But to his relief, only an old, bald man with sunglasses was waiting for his turn.

He went back to his place and the smiling flight attendant showed up with a glass of water and two pills in a plastic cup. “Here, take it. You'll feel better.”

She didn't make the slightest mention to what had happened minutes ago, to the conversation at the restroom door, or to the man that had been waiting for him. Not knowing very well how to act, he took the two pills, swallowing them with the help of the water.

Airu and the Professor took their chance and ordered juices and sandwiches. The Professor asked for a bottle of liquor “to relax during the flight.” They waited until the attendant had gone serve the passengers farther from them.

“Do you really think it's so hard to believe that there are pyramids in the Forest Area, Túlio? My people didn't have notions of engineering, is that it?” said Airu between amused and sarcastic.

“The Incas were skilled builders, you know, and the Mayans built several pyramids before we… I mean, the Portuguese, decimated them. It's not impossible that we find one, even so far east of any of those people's region,” said the Professor. “Besides, there's something that gives me the strong impression that we must look for these pyramids.”

All that talk, all that information was making Túlio tired. Truly tired. Still, he didn't resist the curiosity and asked what made the Professor so sure about those pyramids (which, to him, looked more like little hills).

The Professor, then, reopened the suitcase, but not without first checking over the seat that there wasn't anyone paying attention to them. An old lady, maybe around seventy years old, noticed his look and winked at him with a skewed smile. The Professor grimaced strangely and became red like a pepper.

“This is what makes me sure we need to find the pyramids!” And he showed the kids another drawing, as ancient as the first one, but a lot more kneaded and eaten by moths. Obviously, it hadn't been as cared for.

In it, it was possible to see an indian standing on a rock, pointing at something that definitely was a pyramid. But not like the Mayan pyramids with their steps and drops. Its sides didn't seem perfectly smooth, and it wasn't possible to see a door nor an opening.

With one of his hands, the indian held a spear or a rod. The other one only pointed at the pyramid. On his forearm, several bracelets and a thick hoop could be seen.

“This one was also in the chest,” said the Professor. “But I don't know where it came from, there's no record of its origin. It was together with this hoop…” and he took out of the suitcase a hoop that looked like the one in the drawing.

There were no inscriptions nor further details, only a triangle-shaped hole which crossed it on an axis. The material seemed to be mineral, but very well polished and matte. Túlio had never seen anything like it.

Airu was fascinated by the object and asked to hold it. Under the Professor's suspicious look, she put it on her wrist. “It fits perfectly! It's beautiful!”

Túlio couldn't see beauty in that. It was just a polished stone hoop with a hole, which was almost twice as thick as Airu's wrist. “Is that fitting perfectly?” he thought. Sleep was making him grumpy, he noticed.

Gently, the Professor asked for the hoop back, making Airu a bit upset.

“Let me wear it just a little more, Professor…” she said, making a sweet pout.

Unable to say no, the Professor shrugged. “Just a little, then.” He told the kids to rest, because they still had a lot of traveling ahead of them. He himself felt sleepy. “The liquor taking effect,” he laughed.

The three settled on their seats and fell in deep sleep, this time without dreams.