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"’Bora, hurry up!", José calls out a few meters ahead, carrying his hat in one hand and looking at Donald over his shoulder. "We gotta be there before the sun goes down or else you'll miss it!"
They hasten their pace through the sidewalk as José makes curious observations regarding the Portuguese pavement, beautifully crafted shapes of black and white covering their way through until they reach the end of the beach. A large rock stands ahead, and the parrot coaxes the duck to climb it.
“This is one of the best things to do after spending a whole day at the beach”, José says, guiding his friend through the steps. “Careful over here, the rocks are kind of slippery—”
THUMP.
“Ack!”
Too late, José sighs. Offering a hand to his grumpy fellow, he helps him get up, tapping his shoulder in a friendly manner. “C’mon, we’re almost there!”, he ushers with a chuckle.
The duck does not seem pleased though. “Yeah, right”, Donald frowns, grumbling some gibberish and going ahead, but Zé pays no mind.
He was right about being almost there: after a few more steps – and luckily, no slips this time – they reach the top of Arpoador, where they find several other people gathered to watch the sunset.
“Bem, meu amigo, o que você acha?”, he beams, but his question does not seem to reach Donald.
His foreigner friend has his lips loosened up in a silent interjection. Sitting near the edge, right beside José, he gazes at the bright sun slowly setting over the hills of Dois Irmãos. The faint noise of applause and whistling from tourists lingers in their ears, slicing the smooth sound of waves.
“Such a beautiful landscape!”, Donald exclaims in absolute awe. "Look at those shades! I can imagine big color pencils touching the sky in bright blue and orange, mixing them up like a watercolor..."
“I know, right?”, José laughs, “…And there’s this thin line where the sky touches the ocean… and the further it is from the sun, the darker it gets…”
At some point in their exchange, Donald seems to notice there is a warm, feathered hand resting over his own—
“Isn’t it amazing, Don?”
—yet he never bothers questioning the intentions such a small gesture could hold.
“It sure is”, is all he manages to say for the rest of the show, gingerly entwining his fingers through José’s.