The strange saga of 'missing' occult researcher Bruno Borges appears to have come to a close, but the nature of his odd disappearance remains largely mysterious and wholly suspicious.
The 25-year-old Brazilian student vanished back in late March and sparked somewhat of a sensation via a series of cryptic esoteric books he had left behind in his bedroom.
A subsequent investigation by police indicated that Borges' disappearance had been orchestrated as a publicity stunt to launch his career as an author.
Based on the latest twist in the case, the assessment of authorities may have been correct as the young man finally reappeared a little over a week ago at the doorstep of his home.
Captured via a security camera at the property, a barefoot and gaunt Borges seemingly emerged from the shadows early in the morning on August 11th and was reunited with his relieved family.
In a television interview a few days later, Borges attempted to explain his disappearance by claiming that he had gone into isolation in order to "seek something, a truth within me that I needed to find."
Although he would not reveal where has been this whole time, Borges said that he had no access to outside information, presumably meaning that he was unaware of the furor surrounding his disappearance.
However, the headlines generated by the case appear to be part of his plan for going missing, aside from his alleged 'vision quest.'
"All I did was with the main purpose of encouraging people to acquire knowledge, and as you see that people began to seek knowledge through this, we can see that it worked," Borges told the Brazilian program Fantastico.
That said, cynical observers can't help but note that the knowledge which people sought due to the case came in the form of Borges' book, which was a bestseller.
This would seem to suggest that, indeed, the entire affair was an elaborate marketing scheme, which is a theory bolstered by the fact that his book will soon be re-issued with corrections to the text by Borges himself.
Nonetheless, he insists that generating profit from the staged disappearance was not his motivation and points to the fact that he had contracted some of the proceeds to go to his friends as proof of his altruistic nature.
Since Borges voluntarily vanished, the young man technically did not commit any crimes and so he will not face any charges for the months-long misadventure.
But the court of public opinion may not be as forgiving to Borges, who will likely be forever seen as the occult researcher who faked his own disappearance in order to make a name for himself rather than some kind of deep thinking in search of greater truths.
Whether the bizarre gambit was worth the effect it will have on Borges' career and reputation remains to be seen, but one suspects that he could wind up a one hit wonder when it comes to the world of weirdness thanks to what probably sounded like a clever idea at the time.
Source: Globo via Google Translate