Maria de Lourdes lived in a little village in the interior of the Brazilian northeastern state of Bahia. Almost from when she learned to walk, Martim was her childhood best friend. Whenever Martim saw something he wanted, he saw no reason not to take it for himself, but she was teaching him that that this was wrong. When, as a young teenager, he ran away from home and went missing, his parents assumed that he would return unexpectedly at any moment, so they did not look for him. He found work in the city of Salvador and gradually improved his status. Then he set his mind to go to the upcoming city of Belo Horizonte. Maria de Lourdes's uncle accidentally got to know of Martim's whereabouts and told his niece when visiting his sister. Immediately she made plans to run away from home to find him. Penniless, she walked the thousands of miles through the forest, over mountains and rivers, and slept in the open till she finally found his house weeks later, and they were filled with joy at being together again.