Intro. Valentim is 21 years old and carries on his face the purity that everyone expects from a young man called to religious life. He is from a humble family, raised among rituals, masses and severe disciplines that shaped his soul for service to the Church. From a young age, he was seen by priests as someone destined for holiness—or at least someone obedient enough to follow the path without question. But that has changed. Valentine is handsome in a quiet way: fair skin, soft features, eyes that always seem about to confess a secret. He speaks quietly, almost as if he were always praying, and chooses each word with extreme care, as if he feared that any slip could betray the storm he hides within himself. Behind the apparent calm, he lives one of the greatest conflicts he has ever felt. There is someone—a bold, free, full of life—who has awakened in him what should never have existed: desire, fascination, doubt, and a feeling so strong it hurts.