"AFTER THE STORM" "It's pretty rough." "Drink." "Should I bring you the scarf?" "Let it be." "Wait." "I'll bring it." "Today he'll come again." "What should I tell him?" "That he should wait a bit more." "We already owe him three months." " Stay calm!" "Bye!" " Bye!" "Hi!" "Hey Black, what's the matter?" "Let's see which tale they're going to tell us now." "They cut the light." "Don't tell me!" "Go figure, they cut the light!" "Isn't it possible that the company didn't pay, old man?" "Effectively the company didn't pay." "And it didn't pay because it doesn't have the money." "What a nuisance, man!" "Go figure, poor people." "They asked me to inform you that you can no longer work here." "Until further notice." "Is that understood?" "It's understood... what is understood?" "A damn is understood!" "I'm going to talk to Óscar." "They're all gone." "No one remains here." "Has Mr. Carlos also gone?" "I said everyone, Mr. Vicente." "And the payment for the two weeks?" "Didn't he leave anything for me?" "He knows that my wife is interned." "Let's not waste any more time with this stingy guy." "Let's all go to the syndicate!" " Yes, let's go!" " Let's go!" "Let's go!" "Hey, man!" "What are you doing?" "What do they want?" "Come on, don't be twats!" "Whoever leaves here is going to be accused of having abandoned work." "Should we again make it easy for them?" "What are you doing here, man?" "You take it." "Take it!" "I'm also going to end up on the street." "You screwed it up with being dumb." "You don't have to be here, old man." "Take it!" "Scandalmonger!" "Black, you're the delegate of the workers." "Tell us what we have to do!" "We have to stay." "If they want to throw us out, they should send us a telegram." "But they should pay us until the very last cent." "Damn it!" "Do they think we don't realize that they're clearing the company?" "No, they're not fusing, they're clearing." "Who of us doesn't know that?" "Hey, Ramón!" "Where are you going?" "I'm going to inform my wife and return." "But wait till we got organized, damn it!" "I consent with what you decide." "I'll go and return." "Why didn't you stay?" "What for?" "If Black said you had to stay, there must've been a reason." "Black said..." "I got three mouths to fill." "I got trouble with the plot of land." "What should I wait for?" "The trial?" "And in the meantime?" "We'll be eaten up by lice..." "You should have stayed anyway." "Black knows about these things." "There's a reason why he's the delegate, right?" "What will he think?" "Why should I care what Black wants?" "I'm without work, that's what matters now." "I need to go out and look for another job." "You're saying this as if it were that easy." "Ramón, we're four mouths to fill." "Or don't you count yourself in?" "Hi, little Paloma!" "Hello, dad!" "Has my little Paloma been flying all day long?" "I want to get down." "Dad's beauty!" "What happened, dad?" "Did you get sick?" "They closed the factory." "That's why I tell you to learn." "Being a laborer is a disgrace." "I don't want to become a laborer." "And what do you want to become?" "A test driver." "Ah, well, go figure!" "And what are you going to test?" "Motorbikes." "Kawasakis." "Get in, dreamer." "I'll give you motorbikes." "He should get dressed." "The two others should stay." "Alaní, Jorge." "Who's that?" "It's me, Miss." "You can get dressed." "You get closer, the one with the medal." "Pull back the foreskin." "Show me the glans." "Did you have this hernia for a long time?" "What hernia?" "There, on the left testicle." "I never had a hernia." "It needs to get operated on." "Get dressed." "It's your turn." "Sit down." "Breathe in deeply." "Breathe out." "Breathe in." "Breathe out." "Breathe in." "Breathe out." " Do you smoke?" " No." "Well, occasionally." "What's your name?" "Ramón Décima." "The results?" "Fine." "It's all fine, doctor." " Alcohol?" " No." "At times a glass, at nighttime." "Your sexual life?" "Do you sleep well?" "Every night." "Sometimes... the usual." "I sleep well when I work." "I never miss work, doctor." "Get dressed." "Get dressed I said." "Tomorrow you should immediately get to the employees office." "Great, Nora!" "Andrés, come and eat!" "Let's see." "Let's see the hands." "This is for little Paloma." "I'm going to buy you a queen's dress." "How are you, Black?" "Come in." "Yes." "Hi, hi, hi." "Pipipipipi." "Black!" "Did you take the parrots for a walk?" "Yes." "Hi." "How are you?" "Oh, how nice!" " Just sit down." " Thanks." "Have a wine." "I think that I'll change jobs, Black." "What do you say?" "Ah, yes..." "I think that I found a job, man." "That's good." "We get what they've thrown us." " In the factory?" " Yes." "And now?" "As for now, I don't know." "Waiting." "Thanks." "Did you file a labor lawsuit?" "What, did you?" "We did, you as well." "Ah!" "Andrés, I'm going to appoint you to official caretaker of the parrots." "And you take care of the white bird." "It'll of course just be for a few days, while I'm settling." "What do you mean by "settling"?" "Where are you going?" "They expelled me from my plot of land." "Thus I'm going to move to Villa Verde." "To Villa Verde?" "There we can get you a spot, Black." "To that disgusting place?" "You shut up!" "No, let him be, Nora." "He's right." "You know, Andrés?" "If one wants to change matters, one can do it." "By working hard, of course." "You know?" "My grandmother always said to my mother that a flower in the midst of sludge was even more of a flower." "Of course, she wanted to say that a well-kept garden that's big, vast, with many flowers, makes some flowers pale beside others." "But if you suddenly happen to encounter a red flower in the midst of a sludge," "and it unfolds, that's a real flower." "Do you understand?" "Villa Verde is a dump." "Your mother told you to shut up." "Let's go to bed." "Tomorrow we have to get up early." "Bye!" "My dad is going to buy me a dress, with little pearls, all pink, long enough to reach the floor." " You can go inside!" " Thank you." "Sir?" "Yes, I'm here for the job." "Yesterday I had the check-up." "What's your name?" "Ramón Décima." "You haven't been accepted." "What are you saying?" "Here it says that you're sick." "Varices... it says varices." "Excuse me, Mister." "May I?" "Are you new here?" "Just yesterday they gave me the badge." "How does one get temporary work here?" "If you're not befriended with some foreman, there's only one way:" "Push as soon as they open the gate!" "For three months now I've been without a job." "My house, you know, I'm going to lose it." "I'm going to end up on the street." "I can't lose it." "Drink a mate tea and stop complaining." " Shit!" " Eh..." "Get down there!" "Get down!" "Down!" "There you go!" "Here!" "Shit!" "Be quiet!" "Don't push!" "Don't push!" "Don't push!" "Stop it!" "Damn it!" "Come on!" "Stop it!" "Damn it!" "Stop it, man!" " Should we eat?" " Yes." " And Andrés?" " I don't know." "Did he got to school?" "I don't know anything, dad." "He's already big." "You stay here, I go out to look for Andrés." "Yes, dad." "Ñata, how are you?" "How are you, Décima?" "What are you doing?" "You didn't happen to see my son?" "He uses to hang around over there." "But today I didn't see him." "And Nora?" "Is she working?" "Yes, she's working." "Drink a wine, Décima." "To refresh yourself." "Are you having problems, Décima?" "It's an annoyance with the children these days." "They run around scatterbrained." "Look at this." "Well, it's all right, my lovely brunette." "Once in a while he catches up with him." "What are you doing here?" "Go away!" "What are you doing here?" "Come on!" "Go away!" "But what are you doing, Mr. Benigno." "Please, man!" "What are you going to do, Mr. Benigno?" "Please, man!" "I'm going to paradise." "Yes, Sirs." "Those three daughters of mine already miss me too much." "They do nothing but sending me letters which say: "Come, dad!", "Come, dad!"" "Today I'm going to leave." "Don't be stubborn." "Get down, Mr. Benigno!" "You're going to hurt yourself." "Get down at once, old man!" "Get him up!" "Slowly, slowly." "Hey, buddy!" "Come here!" "Come here, grumbler!" "Come and give me a hand." "I see you later, Black." "Look!" "Look what we've got here." "This is worth money, I assure you." "Lots of money." "Stop!" "Fucking shit!" "It won't go off!" "Stop!" "Leave it be!" "No, it won't go off." "With what we've stolen today, each of us is going to make 2500." "What are you going to do with the money?" "I'm going to save it up." "Today I saw Nancy..." "And what are you going to save the money up for?" "For a motorbike." "I think about buying me a Kawasaki 650." "What an idiot!" "And who do you think you are?" "You're going to buy a motorbike by saving up?" "Forget it!" "Andrés, did you ever get laid?" "And what does the little boy do?" "Does he jerk off?" "Come with me to Nancy's place." "There you can get laid for a dime." "They won't let me leave at night." "What an idiot!" "And who do you think you are?" "That you can only fuck at night-time?" "He's not there." "I'm going to give him a beating." "But how are you treating Andrés?" "Is that how you educate him?" "Paloma told me that you beat him yesterday." "You know what's the matter with me?" "I can't stand it anymore." "He escapes me." "He roves about all day long." "And when he stays home he sits in front of the television like a slacker." "I'm not good for looking after children." "I want to live like before." "Things won't change here." "That's why I want us to return to the countryside." "I can't stand it anymore." "Preparing food, washing dishes..." "All that's missing now is that I begin sticking." "But what am I?" "A fag?" "Things are going to change, Ramón" "I hate this place, that putrid smell, that garbage." "You know?" "My old man died here." "Where?" "Here, where I'm now." "He died on his feet." "On his feet?" "Yes, on his feet." "Don't you hear?" "On his feet!" "But if you die you fall to the ground." "And what do you know, idiot?" "Did you actually die at some point?" "Not me, but I saw it on TV." "Or didn't you ever see a death on television?" "I don't have a TV set." "Do you want me to show you some deaths?" "Let's see." "Now with a knife." "Andrés!" "Andrés!" "Man..." "Do you know the snow?" "I don't." "Did you never see it snowing?" "Never." "That happens because you're not at home." "Last night I couldn't get back to sleep." "The employer gave a party." "And what the fuck does that matter to me?" "You have to pay me respect." "You're abandoning your children." "I don't abandon anyone." "I had to stay and I stayed." "Just like when you worked overtime." "It's not the same." "Ramón, let's not fight now." "I don't want you to go out on the street." "I don't want it, Nora." "I don't want it." "I don't want it." "I don't want it." "And do I want it?" "Do you think that I enjoy being alone, confined to a room all night, far away from you and the children?" "I have to do it and I do it." "Of course you like going there." "Going there!" "I would have like to be someone." "To have a job that requires training." "To be respected..." "Perhaps being a doctor?" "Yes, why not?" "Or an artist." "To be someone." "In my village there was a piano teacher." "I used to come past the house wall and kept standing beside the window, listening to music coming from inside." "Sometimes my paths crossed those of the girls arriving with their piano books." "Me with that lunch box..." "At home, when nobody saw me," "I used to play on the edge of the table." "One time I dreamed that my hands went across the piano and music came out." "But the keyboard was mellow." "What an idiot!" "For years I thought the keyboard were in fact mellow." "Ramón!" "You're crazy!" "Go home!" "I will look for your son." "Sometimes he came at night." "A peasant who was from Mendoza." "He was a reticent cattle drover." "And he said: "What a nice girl!"" "Other times he came to the bar." "A peasant from the small town Lobería." "He had very nice tools." "And his eyes were tinged with cold." "He looked at me firmly, so firmly." "And it was me who served him." "When mother went to the courtyard," "I gave her the day's earnings." "My dad, my father was a brave man." "He crossed the Argentine veld." "And my mother was a divine indigene." "She drank hot, bitter mate, while looking in the distance." "And she saw the rising..." "This is the monkey." "What did you bring me?" "A jerk." "No, Kawasaki is one of us." "He's a tested man." "This one is a half fag." " Did you consider it well, boy?" " Yes." "Not that you repent it afterwards." "I won't disappoint you." "Do you see the old woman over there?" "Do you see her?" "Yes, I see her." "Walk over there and kill her for me!" "They don't deserve to live..." "Can't you see that they eat shit and are content with it?" "That's your first job for me." "Go there." "What's the matter with you?" "Don't you have the courage to kill an old woman?" "This Kawasaki is such a hotshot." "Look, Kawa." "Tonight we're going to test you." "First of all, you need to clean yourself well." "Come tidily!" "Not like a fucking black." "We're all going to the centre on the same bus." "But you have to keep in mind that we don't know each other." "You are going to carry a gun, in a bag that I'm going to give you." "I never shot." "Didn't I tell you that this one is a jerk." "What an idiot!" "Boy, you only have to carry it." "And if they happen to catch you, you tell them that you found it." "Of course." "Boy, in this business you can't be afraid." "I won't be afraid." "Man, and who's that?" "Who's that?" "Oh!" "That's my old man." "Fine, let's go!" "Come here!" "Who's that guy?" "A friend." "I told you not to hang around with thieves." "They're my friends, the monkey and Marcelo." "You good-for-nothing." "I've been looking for you all morning." "Your mother is desperate." "Eh.." "You don't go to school." "You visit whores..." "Where did you get the money?" "Where did you get the money?" "Fight with a man!" "You're a man?" "You're a criminal." "The next time it'll go worse for you." "Go home." "Old goat!" "I'm going to take that boy away from you!" "Leave my son alone!" "Quarter... quarter..." "Your soul is agitated." "Lash it!" "Lash it!" "Sorrow..." "Black!" "Pleas..." "Hi, Black!" "Nora, how are you, flower of the quarter?" "Can you spare a moment?" "Yes." "Can we talk?" "Yes, of course." "Lateron, you lash it, right?" "Quick, guys!" "The living room needs to get finished." "The kids are waiting." "Nora, what's the matter?" "What?" "He didn't come back?" "No." "He doesn't even want to cross paths with his father." "Today I was looking for him at the workplace, but they also wouldn't tell me where he's living." "It's all going down the drain." "It seems like a punishment." "Nora, don't say that." "I don't know what's happening to me." "Ramón doesn't understand me, but..." "It's that I like going to work." "And it's not just for the money, you know?" "It's that I have always been confined in between walls, with the children in the house." "When I started to work, it was as if a world unfolded." "I understand you." "Tell me." "What should I do?" "Look, regarding Andrés, you can leave that to me." "I'm going to pull him by the ear and bring him over." "I'm going to find him a job at the ambulance." "You'll see that if he does something useful, he'll leave those thugs behind." " And let Ramón go to the countryside." " No." "But he will come back within a few days." "Black, help me!" "I can no more." "Stop!" "Freeze!" "Next week I'm going to return to the countryside." "We'll at least have a decent house." "This is a decent house." "Decent people live here." "You know what I refer to." "Do what you consider right." "You can either leave or bear up." "You don't talk to me like that." "You're very pert." "I maintained this house and this family for fifteen years." "You've been working for five months and you're charging me." "I don't charge you anything." "I need to get out of this." "I'm going to leave, Nora." "That's where I was born." "In the countryside there's always something to be done." "Please don't leave us alone!" "What happened?" "What happened!" "Who did this to you?" "Answer!" "What happened?" "They killed Marcelo." "Who?" "The police." "He needs to get out of here." "What did you do?" " No!" " No, no!" "No!" "Andrés!" " Mum!" "Help me, mum!" " Don't move!" "Don't move!" " Mum!" "Help me, mum!" "No, mum..." " No..." " Mum!" "Let go of me." "Let go of me." "No!" "Help me, mum!" "Mum!" "Mum!" "Go away!" "Mum!" "Juanita!" "What are you doing here?" "I had to see you." "No, I can't right now." "Please, Juanita." "Don't call me Juanita here!" "I'm working." "I'm having problems." "I'm also having problems." "We're all having problems." "Please, Juanita." "You're the only one left for me." "I need money." "Of course." " Traitor, why are you here with him?" " I tell you later." "Go inside." "Fine." "What did you want to tell me?" "I don't know what's happening to me." "Everything goes wrong." "I don't know which mistake I made." "I want to get back to the countryside." "I can't remain here." "There I will find something." "Yes, walking barefooted and suffering from hunger." "That's it." "There everything is easier, Juanita." "Remember." "I need to return." "And Nora?" "She works." "As what?" "In a house, as a servant." "That's a decent job." "Not like mine." "But you're not going to get a single peso from me." "Because you're no longer my brother." "You shouted at me that I were a dirty whore." "Well, I continue being a dirty whore." "Please!" "I can get no job." "And my son is in prison." "What do you want?" "That I ask your forgiveness?" "Do you want me to cry?" "Do you want me to kneel down?" "I kneel down." "Look!" "Help me!" "Just this once!" "Please!" "It's that I can't just forget that, Ramón." "I was twenty years old!" "Twenty years!" "And I loved you!" "You were the only one I had in this fucking town." "And you threw me out on the street." "You shouted at me that the Décimas were decent people." "You didn't feel sorry for me." "Thus go ahead and move!" "Go ahead and move." "I'm working." "Please!" "Just this once, Juanita." "Forgive me." "I need to get back." "To be with the old man and with Santos." "The old man still lives?" "I'm going to wash off that fucking make-up." "You have to leave." " Yes, I'm waiting for my sister." " You have to leave." "We accompany you." "That's for you." "Now go away." "Jesús De Las Mercedes." "Mr. Jesús De Las Mercedes Décima." "How beautiful!" "Get down, man." "Down be stubborn." "Leave me in peace!" "Get down, dad!" "Get down!" "I told you to get down, dad." "I need to arrange the mill." "It's always the same." "You're too old for that." "Get down, dad!" "I told you to get down." "Ah!" "The vane needs to get arranged." "Get down there!" "Don't make me swear!" "The animals got no water." "The mill needs to get arranged." "They're going to die of thirst, ah!" "But there are no more cows, dad." "For nine years now there are none." "What!" "What do you mean by there being none?" "Last night they were mooing." "They woke me up with their crying." "They cried because they were thirsty." "My poor cows." "You dreamed it, dad." "You dreamed it." "Get down there!" "Bah!" "Dad!" "He doesn't want to get down!" "Santos!" "Dad, Ramón has returned." "How are you, dad?" "Jesús De la Mercedes Décima, at your service, Sir." "He doesn't recognize you." "He's like that, his memory is bad." "The other day Pichi Mena paid us a visit." " Do you remember Pichi?" " Yes." "Well, when we were inattentive he mounted a horse... and escaped to the village to look for his friends." "He thinks they're all still alive." "That was seven years ago." "Come on." "He went out to collect the crop earnings." "He yoked it behind the ox." "And he lashed the animal from inside to make it walk." "And he left it here." "And I asked him: "Dad, where's the money for the crop?"" "There, he said." "Now we got a car." "That's when I noticed that something was wrong with him." "Look at the engine." "And he says that he would fix it." "Ah, this one is for the cooking pot." "We're having a bad time." "All year long we eat nothing but potatoes." "Who's that?" "The young estate owner." "And Mr. Maqueira?" "He died." "It have already been four years since he died." "A pity." "The estate owner was such a good person." "I'll see if he needs anything." "Why don't you give it a try, Sir?" "Santos, bring me the saddlery that's inside the van." "But look what you're doing, you stupid bastard." "The estate owner!" "Jump on!" "Uncle Ramón, how is the life there?" "What?" "Don't you like the countryside?" "Yes, but mum says that it's no good for us here." "It's always the same." "And she's right." "When I was little, I did the same as you do." "I always walked behind the grandfather, planting tobacco." "Is it true that there are trains which go underground?" "Yes, of course." "And there are many cars and airplanes." "And where do they store the ships?" "At the harbor." "Is that far away?" "No, right there." "Come here!" "Get back inside!" "Damn it." "Come here!" "Come here!" " Leave me be!" " You're walking around like a slut." "Do you think I don't notice?" "Come here!" "Come here!" "Kill me at once!" "Fucking whore!" "No, no..." "Dad!" "Dad!" "Dad!" "Dad!" "Old man!" "Jesús De Las Mercedes Décima!" "Old man!" "Go away!" "Get back to the house, treasure!" "Go away!" "Old man!" "Dad!" "What are you doing?" "Don't touch me!" "Don't touch me!" "Dad, I'm Ramón" "I had a son who was called little Ramón." "I am little Ramón, I'll get you out of there." "I already lived long enough." "Let me die peacefully!" "Why did you come back?" "Ah!" "You came to see me die." "How can you say that, dad?" "Since your mother had died, you forgot about me." "You never forgave me for being alive." "Your poor mother." "And saying that I had killed her!" "Son, there are things one doesn't say!" "Go away!" "Get back to the house and let me die peacefully!" "Go away!" "Get back to the house!" "Go away and let me die peacefully!" "Let me die peacefully!" " I'm going upstairs." " Fine!" "Hello!" " Hello!" " How are you?" "Fine." "And you?" "Now I understand, brother." "Now I understand." "What?" "Ignacio!" "Ignacio, the mare Torch!" "She's lying in the palm grove." "She's dying..." "I forgot it." "Damn it!" "Good-for-nothing!" "I told you she shouldn't drink the water!" "Jump on!" "Damn it!" "She needs to be carried." "Mare!" "She's dying!" "Torch!" "Mare!" "Torch!" "Get up!" "Get up!" "Mare!" "It's your fault." "Resuscitate her!" "I told you to resuscitate her!" "I'm going to kill you, son of a bitch!" "Forgive me, estate owner!" "Forgive me, estate owner!" "Get away!" "If I should discover you on my estate by tomorrow, I'm going to kill you." "And how am I now going to pay for the animal?" "Why did you get involved?" "And if he really throws us out?" "Are you going to give us a job, eh?" "Are you going to give us a house and a job?" "Who the fuck do you think you are?" " Santos, stop!" " Fucking asshole!" "Why did you come here?" "I'm going to kill you!" "Come here, smart ass!" "Come here!" "Why did you get involved, son of a bitch?" "Are you going to pay for the animal?" "Son of a bitch!" "Son of a bitch!" "Damn it!" "Damn it, Décima!" "Don't do this to me, dad!" "Don't do this to me!" "He's gone." "Let's prepare him." "Uncle Ramón, the estate owner sends me to tell you that he doesn't have money." "Fine." "Deceit, deceit." "Deceit, deceit." "The bear and the little bear go down to the woods together." "The bear leads the way and the little bear walks behind." "The bear and the little bear go down to the woods together." "The bear leads the way and the little bear walks behind." "The bear and the little bear go down to the woods..." "Little Paloma!" "Dad!" "Keep the visit short!" "I won't compromise." "Little Paloma thanks you." "She says it's very nice." "She liked the boat?" "A lot." "She shows it to everyone and says that you made it." "And do you know which name she gave the captain?" "Andrés." "Ah, Black sends you this letter." "Does he still have the parrots?" "Of course." "He says that he's preparing some offspring for you." "We brought you some pastry." "Andrés, I've been talking to the director." "He told me that if you behave well, they'll let you free in one year." "If I need to remain in here for one year, I'm going to kill myself." "What do you need, Andrés?" "Money!" "Get me money!" "With money one can buy that fucking old man." "With money there'll be no punishment." "Why did you bring him along, mum?" "Didn't I tell you that I don't want to see him?" "Andrés, I just buried my father." "During those months in the countryside" "I remembered many things." "From when I was your age." "It's that one chooses one's own path." "It may be that I haven't been a good father." "But the path you chose isn't the best for you." "And what do you want?" "That I become like you?" "No." "No, I want you to become better than me." "It's about time." "Say goodbye!" "Don't cry, mum!" "Let's go." "Andrés..." "I got work." "I sell brooms." "From house to house." "I carry them here." " Wait!" "Hold up!" " Yes." "What are we going to do?" "We continue."