"OEDIPUS:" "THE MAYOR" " Good morning." " Good morning." "No one can pass." "One moment, please." " Good day, Mayor." " Good day." "My commander didn't advise me you were coming." "How many are you?" "Three." "And five more reserves back at the police station." "We have evacuated this zone... until peace talks are finalized." "The way things are up there... there aren't enough of you." "After this checkpoint... you're on your own." "The government has its reasons." "I know them well, sir." "My specific instructions are to remain here... outside the war zone, and at your service... in case of any emergency." " Anything else for you, Mayor?" " No, thank you, Captain." "Good luck, Mayor." "You're going to need it." "Why are all these people in the street so early?" "It's been a while since anyone has slept around here." " Good morning, gentlemen." " Good morning, sir." "What's happened here?" "A terrible thing, sir." "They kidnaped Laius." " Who?" " Laius, sir." "It's as if they kidnaped God himself." "You're just in time... to merge your destiny with ours." "The poor animal was suffering so." "I suppose you're the messenger... of divine providence." "Messenger, no senora." "More like a victim." "I just arrived, and the first thing I learn is... the awful news about your husband." "It was his favorite horse." "It seems like Laius tried to run away... when the horse threw him." "May I ask you a few questions?" "Of course." "They fell on him at dusk... on his way back from checking the corrals." "Without an escort, as usual." "He always said he could defend himself." "And until today, that seemed the case." "Have the kidnapers... contacted you?" "Any idea who they might be?" "None at all." "Not even a premonition?" "Do you believe in that?" "One must believe in everything... or almost everything." "You're off to a bad start." "In this land of sorcerers, one must doubt... even the simplest of truths." "My mother told me that from the day I was born." " Your mother is from here?" " No." "I was born here." "What a pleasant surprise!" "My father was a battalion commander in the region." "During the times of Meneceo." "What is his name?" "He was Matias Vizcaino, a cavalry general." "I don't recall him." "I'd like to know who does remember him." "He was a likeable man with a large mustache." "Elegant and happy." "He wasn't tall, but he loved to sing old songs... in the deep voice of a giant." "Looking at you, I can just imagine." "And your father never returned to these parts?" "No." "They transferred him to an outlying post." "And he never again spoke of the time he spent here." "My mother never overcame her nostalgia." "And rightly so." "Meneceo was my father." "Those times will never return." "If your mother were to see us now, she'd be mortified." "I understand how you feel, senora." "But I simply can't afford the luxury of disillusion." "My mission is to bring peace to these lands... if only out of loyalty to my mother." "You're not only handsome..." "but a good son as well." "Sadly, I no longer have reason to be one." "My mother also passed away." "I'm sorry." "Don't take me wrong." "I can't always manage to control my impulses." "Where were we?" "Of course Any lead you can give us... as to the kidnapers' identity... would be a great help." "We're totally in the dark." "Here criminals have no faces." "But everybody knows who they are and where they are." "My brother Creon." "Your visit is most opportune, Mayor." "What we all feared has come to pass." "Tell the lady." "We looked all night, house to house." "We made a careful sweep and questioned everyone... along the way." "We brought in some suspects;" "we'll make them sing." "Look!" "That is outside any law." "Private militias are a return to the stone age." "These are not mercenaries at the service... of the landowners." "They don't wear masks... nor do they leave graffiti on the walls." "These are government-authorized... peasant self defense groups." "We have no dealings with private militias... if they even exist." "Much less with the guerrillas, of course." "My duty is to disarm everyone, and deliver them to justice." "You and your seven scared-to-death guards?" "You're a poet." "If the army can't keep order here... we will have to." "What alternative do we have?" "Come to an agreement, and lay down your arms." "Everyone knows the guerrillas... are the kidnapers... the ones who ravage the rich and poor... and murder the innocents whose bloated bodies... wash down the river... with vultures perched upon them." "Let them disarm then we'll talk." "That's exactly what they say." "I began long ago." "Look at me." "I'm not carrying as much as a needle." "I've never fired a weapon in my entire life... and I hope I never do." "They make me sick." "You, however, like all pacifists... seem quite well armed." "Right?" "This is more of a heirloom which was my father's." "For God's sake, let's be happy, even if it's only for a day." "Senora, Laius' peace is too important... to ignore." "Laius is old and afraid of hell." "He seems unable to find a way to die in innocence." "But your project is no less suicidal." "Let's be serious, Mayor." "Do you think it a coincidence they... should kidnap Laius just as you arrive?" "Look, look!" "Take him to his room." "Scrub him with a loofah and lye." "Bathe him in his cologne." "Dress him in his finest whites... with his medals and gold spurs." "Quick!" "Before he begins to smell." "You chose an ill-fated day to appear." "Those responsible will pay." "I promise you." "The grievous events of recent days... oblige us to reflect." "If in this prophetic hour we act without common sense... this crime will unleash terrible consequences." "Laius was a sinner like us all." "But he had just embraced the cross of peace... and we are obliged to follow his example." "The Lord tells us..." "This terror must end!" "I call out to all the people of this region... to the violent and their victims:" "Let us end this sea of blood which threatens... to drown us all." "The Lord wants peace in this land." "May He take pity on us... and may the soul of our brother Laius... rest in His kingdom." "There will be no peace until Laius is avenged." "Death to the murderers of Laius!" "How are you, Father?" "Most lovely and timely your mournful prayer." "What troubles me is that you don't hide... your sympathies." "You're wrong, I have none." "Here, nobody is innocent." "All these people, rich and poor, have at least one weapon." "And despite my beliefs and poor marksmanship..." "I too keep a revolver on my night table." "The right to life is sacred." "Take care, Father." "All the armed groups say the same thing." "They are all right." "Everyone has their own truth." "Father, can we continue to speak elsewhere?" "I ask myself who would have an interest... in Laius' death." "Anyone." "His personal militia." "Any one of seven guerrilla movements." "The thugs of the drug lords... who finance everyone." "Or simply a rogue band of peasant farmers." "But Laius wanted peace." "Because he no longer had any need for war." "But he didn't even last two months by his own devices." "Can we ride together?" "Now without Laius, where would you begin?" "Who do you mistrust the least?" "I'm suspicious of them all," "But at least the guerrillas... sometimes come to confess." "They complain, they ask favors... but never anything concrete." "Help me to meet with them." "It would be great for peace." "What you want is a miracle." "No..." "No, I wouldn't dare." "Sooner or later, they'd kill me." "I'd live in terror." "You fake it well." " Who would kill you?" " All of them." "That's the saddest part, all of them." "The worst is I don't know what to do, or who to petition." "God has been lost to me amidst of all this confusion." "I must know everyone's truth." "You'll never know anyone's." "As of today, all constitutional guarantees... are reestablished." "The curfew is lifted." "The government is reaching out to the violent... so that you will lay down your arms." "And those displaced by terror, may return to their homes." "All who accept... the generous amnesty promoted by the government... no matter what the charges against you... will receive our help in kind... so that you may rejoin society." "Will Laius' murderers also be pardoned?" "This is the only exception." "Those guilty of Laius' murder... due to the unrepentant nature of their crime... will never be pardoned!" "Please, fellas." "No peace effort can survive a musical number like that." "Play something more lively!" "Can I help you?" "That's the way, Mayor." "What is it, sergeant?" "Chin up, man!" "Excuse me, Mayor but... we've dismantled this bulwark three times... and each time we've had to rebuild it in a hurry" "Let me protect what's mine." "You can imagine, with this brood." "O.K. We'll leave the bulwark for two weeks." "Until you're convinced you no longer need it." "MUNICIPAL JUDGE." " Good day." " Good day." "Do you live here?" "I'm the court secretary." "Where is everyone?" "What's happened here?" "I'm the only one left." "They didn't even bother to fire me." "What happened?" "I don't know." "Those in the know say the only one... to be believed is Tiresias." "Speak with him." "But it may be better that you don't find him." "There's no need to speak with him to understand that... every time the government comes, this just gets worse." "Good day." "Nice work." "That's right." "I'm making your box." "Are you trying to say you know something I don't." "I have nothing to do with heaven's designs." "Laius often confided in you." "Only you understood his heart and knew his enemies." "Who killed him?" "One of his own blood." "Creon?" "Someone... who must have been very dear to him." "Jocasta?" "You're just guessing." "You know who it was because you made Laius' coffin... a month before they killed him." "Well, now I'm making yours." "You're not only short of sight, but of understanding as well." "The only blind one here is you!" "In spite of you I'll find Laius' murderer... and peace will rule over this town." "And so it shall be." "But not before your box is finished." ""Death of Love"." "Wagner." "My father's favorite." "Come in." "The bedroom is very cool at this hour." "I'm trying to put order on my last Sunday of mourning." "Not only for myself but in this whole part of the house." "Laius had taken it over as his own." "Although all those treasures belonged to my father." "This was Laius' only contribution." "This piano." "He used to play it with an artilleryman's fury." "Come, look." "Orphans." "Their entire families slain." "I hope their memories are kind to them." "Anita!" "Take them around back to the orchard." "Let them be free, May they be happy." "I want no one else in this house." "Senora, I must confess something... of which I am utterly convinced." "Only you are able to take up Laius's flag... to achieve the peace." "Oh, my son, not today." "I want all the happiness I deserve." "And I will dedicate my power, and all this idle wealth... to achieve it." "I will hear of no more death and disasters in this house." "But right now... uncovering Laius' killers would be a legacy... to the happiness of all." "You never even saw him alive." "If you had, you'd likely not be... so concerned with his death." "To happiness!" "To peace!" "It's all the same." "Each lasts but an instant, and we only know we had them... after they're gone." "That's about all I remember from my childhood lessons." "Well, I didn't exactly manage to become a virtuoso either." "Show me your hand." "My trigger finger." "Too bad you didn't stick with the piano." "You've got hands to cover entire octaves." "This is my father's hour." "He loved the afternoon here... sitting in that armchair... me like this, at his knees." "What silence!" "Is this peace?" "The peace of the crypt." "And you're here to purge the worms." "I'm sorry." "How old are you?" "Thirty." "For such a young man you seem to care only... about shame and pain." "Besides you're very haughty." "I saw that in your first argument... with Creon." "You can control yourself, but... you're a dog, sick with rabies." "You're all the same." "You never grow up." "That's why you now kill with real bullets... as you used to kill with tomatoes." "You stain with blood as you used to soil with shit." "There's no way you'll ever understand... this life is for living not for dying." "Are you crazy?" "Anyone could happen along." "Creon and his band... won't be back until Tuesday." "No one enters Laius' room." "Ever." "Animal!" "You still don't realize I've been waiting for you... for thirty years." "This is the first time I've made love in thirty years." "Better said, the second time in my life." "The first was my wedding night... with Laius." "What?" "After Laius assumed control of my father's lands... in addition to those he later stole... he forced me to marry him to legalize the papers." "I was 15 years old; he was 45." "My wedding night was a rape." "I never had any more to do with him..." "I never spoke another word to him..." "We were never again alone in the same room." "Who killed him?" "Anyone could have." "He had so many enemies, including me." "There he is now." "Who?" "Laius." "Only he could play that piano." "I don't know why this all seems so strange to you." "He wandered about this house his whole life." "At night they would see him on his horse in the fields." "They would see him anywhere at any time." "Sometimes in different places all at once." "In these times those who keep a home tremble... and strong men are doubled over... and millers cease to mill... and those who look out the window do not see clearly," "and the people are frightened even by the flight of a bird... and singing girls are slaughtered... because the road is filled with terror... and all are afraid of the lofty..." "So, before the silver string breaks... and the golden cup shatters... and before the cistern wheel is splintered... and the dust returns to the earth from which it came... remember then your Creator... and return to the spirit of God who made you... and who made all things." "Oh ye, most vain of the vain and all vanities!" "I knew you'd come back around these parts." "Did you hear the sermon?" "All we need now is for the little priest... to grab a rifle, come up here and fill us all with lead." "It was only reading from Ecclesiastes." "It was a coded message to the guerrillas." "His pulpit is a loudspeaker and his confessional is... a communications center." "You think so?" "I think so, and you know so." "If you see him, give him just one bit of advice:" "In war we are of two hearts... a good heart for the good people... and a bad heart for the bad people." "You like this horse?" "Would you like to ride him?" "More than anything." "But, let me warn you..." "It may be dangerous, Mayor," "Whoa!" "Whoa!" "Hey there, boy!" "Come on." "Congratulations, Mayor, I was the only one who ever rode him." "My father was a great horseman." "He must have been." "He was a calvary general, wasn't he?" "I see you know everything." "Yes, I do." "But it doesn't please me." "The horse is yours, Mayor." "No, no way." "Loaisa!" "Take the horse to the Mayor's house, along with all the new harnesses." "It's been a long while since I've seen... a city boy with your courage." "You took the wrong job, man." "That remains to be seen." "Although your mission is great, your power is only paper... because you don't have a grip on yourself." "Come with me a moment." "Look." "Pick the plot of land you most like, from here as far as you can see... then stay with us." "Tell me how much cash you need to plant what you like." "That's how things flourish." "We'll make one lovely family." "You haven't understood a thing." "No, I did understand." "And if you'd simply accept everything would be resolved... at once for everyone, for you and for us." "Cut the bullshit!" "You poor folks can't imagine... the joy of being rich." "Are you on your way to visit my sister?" "Come on, I'll go with you." "Understand the only reasonable action at this time is... for you to take up Laius' flag of peace as your own." "Forget it!" "Nobody will do that." "You do it and I'll take care of the guerrillas." "Alright." "No problem." "But then take at least an advice from me:" "Leave!" "I haven't come this far just to leave." "Don't be so dense." "Nobody doubts your intelligence... your good faith, or personal values." "But leave." "What concerns you?" "That they might kill me?" "Nobody is going to kill you, poet." "But believe me... here, my heart in my hand I'm telling you... the worst that can happen is that they don't kill you." "What is that animal doing there?" "They sent him as a gift from the hacienda." "Alright, tie him off with sailor knots." "I always do, but he somehow gets loose." "Well then, tie him off with four sailor knots." "Yes, sir." "Speak, and you die." "You're out of your mind." "What time is it?" "What happened?" "Someone blew up a power plant somewhere." "We'll never know who it was." "Damn!" "And you're out there alone." "You're reckless." "A horse?" "Creon gave him to me." "You see, he loves you." "To begin with, he almost ate the flowers you gave me." "Could he be a Trojan horse?" "Damn!" "No one can make it this way." "Jocasta." "Yes?" "Tell me Laius' dark dream." "Damn!" "Again!" "Don't I deserve to know?" "Who told about it?" "Everyone." "But each tells it differently." "Many years ago Laius dreamed... he would die at that crossing." "And, because he was ignorant and superstitious... he built paths and short-cuts so he'd never have to... venture that way again." "They say one of his children would kill him." "True." "But he never had any children." "Who the hell could have killed him then?" "The only thing that hurts me after all these years... is not having had the nerve to do it myself." "So, then?" "Well, are you going to sleep... or are you coming over here?" " Hi." " Hello." "You're making a grave security mistake, my dear Mayor." "You pass by the same place at the same time everyday." "Now then, let's lunch on some roasted pork." "No, thanks." "Then I won't tell you what I know." "Better than living in terror." "Those most interested are the MS1... in other words the strongest and most serious." "The worst bastards." "They're most interested... in your proposal of dialogue." "They suggest a secret meeting which you'll attend... which you will attend alone and unarmed." "That is not a meeting, but a trap." "If they wanted to they'd kill you right here." "Or kidnap me." "Don't forget the flag..." "Go down to the river and walk along the bank... the flag in view until you get to... a large rock." "You will recognize it immediately." "Wait there." "Hands up!" "With, or without the flag?" "Don't be an asshole." "Identify yourself!" "I'm an agronomist... head of the Ministry of Agriculture." "Here are your credentials." "You'll need them for safe passage." "If our comrades intercept you... you'll be able to get out." "These photos?" "We took them at Laius' funeral." "That's why you look so sad." "Sad, no." "Wiped out." "It's going to be a pleasure to negotiate with... such young and attractive women." "Don't talk crap." "We take things seriously here." "It's leaving!" "It's leaving!" "Shit!" "Someone's an informer, damn it!" "Who knew?" "The priest and you." "He has our absolute confidence." "Sons of bitches!" "If you want war, you'll have it!" "Quick!" "To the police station!" "Quick, damn it!" "Quick!" "Move it!" "You son of a bitch!" "Father!" "Don't let me die, Father." "Don't let me die." "Hold it!" "Or you die, right here!" "You're Aminta Páramo's son, aren't you?" "I went up into the hills with my uncle Anselmo." "We know." "The day of your first communion." "Do you know your mother died from the pain?" "I knew she had died, but I didn't know why." "From the pain in her soul." "Too many sins for your tender age." "Come along now." "On your knees." "Pray with me." " I a sinner confess..." " I, a sinner confess..." " to God the all powerful..." " to God the all powerful... to the Holy Virgin Mary..." "Creon is a murderer." "He ordered the ambush of the guerrillas." "He must have killed Laius too." "What's your point?" "To get killed yourself?" "I'm going to arrest Creon." "Why?" "Let's stay alive first, then see what happens." "Cease firing." "Cease firing." "Don't shoot." "Stop firing, damn it!" "War is against the law of God." "It's abominable." "But worse yet is war between brothers." "With all the force of my troubled heart..." "I repeat the words of a great martyr:" "In the name of God." "In the name of the suffering, whose cries echo in heaven..." "Iouder and ever louder." "I pray to you, I beg you..." "I implore you, in the name of God:" "Stop the violence!" "Stop..." "You see." "We keep bringing the dead here." "This was a good man." "That one, on the other hand, died as he deserved... using God on behalf of the rabble." "What we need here is a real army to finish off... all this damned rabble once and for all." "Then peace will come." "Very well." "The army will come." "Cardona, did you check the perimeter?" "Keep advancing." "Okay, let's go in!" "Paniagua, I want a sharpshooter in the belfry." "Paniagua, did you read me?" "Right, we said ASAP." "There's nothing to do here." "Thirty years of destruction... are far too many." "With such a deep rooted situation... and so little political willpower to resolve it... peace is farther away than ever." "Anyway, we'll maintain public order... until things cool down and these crimes are sorted out." "That won't be soon." "We haven't even opened... the case on Laius' death." "And on top of it all, now we have the priest's death." "That is a political scandal." "We'll never establish beyond a doubt... which side he was playing on." "This would all be much easier if they'd send... judicial investigators." "But, those at the top spend their whole lives saying... they're on their way." "You could die waiting for them." "You're telling me." "I've spent my entire military career in these parts." "Twelve years this December, and it's always been the same." "I've never before felt so alone." "Although my every move is immediately known." "Sometimes even what I think." "Damn it, horse!" "I don't understand, Captain." "How could they have known... that the priest and I spoke in the marketplace?" "Why not?" "You investigate your enemies, they investigate you." "You can be sure around here that Creon and his men... can send a snake over rivers and mountains... to kill a man miles away." "They have animals like that dog Tiresias... who is his master's eyes and ears in all the nearby homes." "Mayor, you must be careful with this gibberish... or you'll end up mad." "Alright?" "Thank you, Captain." "So then?" "Shall I leave you my flak jacket?" "No... it's bad luck." "Then let me give you a present." "What's this?" "Military intelligence." "It took us time to trust you." "Damn it, horse!" "Easy now, Blackie!" "Over here!" "Come here." "Calm down." "My men found it abandoned on a side road." "It was Laius' favorite car." "Three days before his kidnaping it was stolen... from a shop where he'd left it for repairs." "This is the car that attacked us at the crossing." "Well, then now we know where they held Laius." "You see, any of your men could have killed Laius at... the crossing, including you yourself." "That's a groundless supposition." "Everyone knows Laius was killed... eight leagues from the crossing." "If I were you..." "I'd want proof with my own eyes." "Mauser 102." "How different by the light of day." "What have you done to this poor animal... to frighten him so?" "Much less than you do to the rest of us." "I see you're well enough armed, even for a jaguar." "I'm positive you're behind... whatever happens in this town." "You provoked the guerrillas... so they'd attack the village." "You even pulled a kidnapers' car from your sleeve... to frame me for the murder of Laius." "My poet, you overestimate me." "You view me as some colossus capable of anything." "Yet, I'm nothing more than one Ione man in the world." "The auto is a problem between you and your conscience." "I'm sick of your manipulations, damn it!" "I won't have a moment's sleep... until I know how you're implicated... in Laius' kidnaping and death." "Who gave the order to fire on the priest?" "Maybe the guerrillas found out... he informed on your meeting and he paid... with his skin." "Look, poet, you have to cool down." "Think about things calmly." "You're nervous because you think... you killed Laius at the crossing." "But you're treating yourself unfairly because... only a child of Laius could have killed him." "Unless, of course, you are that son." "You're a pig!" "I only repeat what they say in the cantinas." "The son of Laius!" "I'm going to kill him!" "No you're not." "You hate him too much, you couldn't live without him." "A cup of coffee?" "Where could he have gotten the idea I'm Laius' son?" "And where do you get that idea?" "Don't we know who your parents are?" "Anyway, I told you, Laius had no children." "It seems impossible a man like you... would let a dream defeat him." "And another's dream at that!" "When I kiss you think of nothing else." "Think only of a woman who is dying for you." "Forget the past." "The future begins now." "Put your head here." "Do you hear him?" "Sometimes at night I hear him sing... his voice soft and sweet." ""Here I am, Mother growing up for you"." "I don't hear anything." "Listen!" "Pay no attention." "Let's leave this place." "For where?" "Far away." "Where nobody knows who we are." "I could never leave without the truth in hand." "I've thought it over." "We'll sell all this junk then leave one dark night to... a place where no one remembers these atrocious years." "With a son, a sign of better times." "A pure son... of a clean lineage like your parents and mine." "I couldn't live one moment without the truth." "No one will ever know it." "I will." "Come what may, I'll discover it." "It's the last call." "Curfew is in ten minutes." "I'll have another." "Closing time!" "It's curfew!" "You whose eyes are open to the light." "Don't you behold a great shame coming over you?" "The terrifying curse of a father and mother haunts you." "While today you clearly see the light... soon you'll see only darkness." "There's room for one more." "No, thank you, Captain." "I'm not far." "Shall I leave you an escort?" "No, thank you, Captain." "I'm fine on my own." "Watch out for yourself, Mayor." "Sound taps, Escudillo!" "He who seeks shall find." "I want to know everything." "Than prepare to suffer the punishment... you've announced for the murderer of Laius." "Forget the small-talk." "I want you to be clear." "If you refuse I'll denounce you as an accomplice... to an atrocious murder." "I fear nothing because I have the truth, and that is power." "Who revealed it to you?" "I found out from you, yourself." "What did you say?" "Repeat that so I understand." "Am I speaking with a rock?" "I say the man you seek... coexists with an abomination... of which he, himself is not even aware." "That he is here among us and that very soon he will be... disclosed to be the murderer of his own father... both the son and husband of the woman who gave him birth... and at the same time father and brother of her child." "That is all I can say." "This is yours and I'll finish it at dawn." "But you will never occupy it." "So great is your disgrace." "You have the word, Captain." "Luger P-08." "Like Mayor's." "It's all that's left to me now." "The conclusive proof that I killed Laius." "But you'll never have any proof you are his son... because Laius' only child was killed... three days after birth... to avoid fulfilling the dream." "You lied to me." "You told me Laius never had any children!" "It's as if he never had any." "Laius himself turned the child over to a servant... who threw him into a chasm because in his dream..." "Laius had foreseen that son would kill him." "And, how..." "How can you be so sure?" "Because..." "I was his mother." "With an animal like Laius, even I couldn't stop him." "So, worry no longer." "Even if you did kill Laius you can't be his son... because that child died thirty years ago." "That's my age." "But he is dead." "If the woman followed that order." "And if she didn't?" "Don't let them fill your heart with a thousand whirlwinds... of outlandish misgivings." "Rather than reason and common sense... you accept the insinuations of those who will say... anything to inflame your dreadful suspicions." "Who besides yourself can confirm this to me?" "Tell me." "Who else in this world?" "I must know you aren't lying to me out of pity." "I can't reason, and it's because of you." "The fear of losing you has turned me into an imbecile." "Go see Deyanira, the one who carried out the order." "She will dispel your doubts." "She must be 100 years old... but still lives on the path to Santo Sepulcro." "Tell me woman!" "Where is Deyanira?" "I was Deyanira thousands of years ago." "What did you do with the child?" "Here he is." "His mother won't come until tomorrow." "I'm asking you about Laius' son." "Most holy sacrament!" "Did you carry out the order as you were supposed to?" "Do I have a murderer's eyes?" "He was a child of infamy... but innocent of such wicked destiny." "And where is he?" "What did you do with him?" "I gave him to a couple which heaven had made barren." "They took him away, and never returned." "Tell me, who were they?" "I'm willing to give you whatever you want." "I'll give you whatever of this world if you'll tell me." "My memory isn't young." "I don't remember them." "Did she swear to you?" "She did!" "And even if she hadn't... my heart knew." "Even if she didn't kill him... there's no reason to believe you are that son." "How can you be so sure?" "Because I'd be your mother." "No." "No." "How do you know you aren't?" "I wish I were!" "I wish I were, damn it!" "So I could remove you from this hell you inhabit." "You will know today." "Don't go, for God's sake!" "Don't go!" "Don't stir up a horrible truth which will separate us... more than death." "Who did you give him to?" "I order you to tell me!" "I swear I forgot." "No human memory can last a hundred years." "You tell me, or I'll kill you like a cockroach." "I gave him to a calvary general stationed here as... a battalion commander." "He was a good man." "They took him away immediately, very far... because they too feared Laius' dream." "But dreams are invincible." "When I heard that Laius was killed at the crossing..." "I was overcome by the fear that the boy had returned... despite all life's obstacles... to fulfill the order of the dream." "Are you on Creon's payroll?" "How do I know that my life hasn't been contrived by him?" "Ask your parents." "You dare say that because... you know they're both dead!" "Your left foot gives you trouble." "They tied you up with such force that the loop... damaged your ankle." "Your heart is a nest of vipers!" "The circle has closed..." "Now you have the power that makes all things possible." "Here, is Laius' murderer." "His guilt purified by your blood and mine... and that of the countless dead... in this land of shame." "You have the keys which open and close everything." "The door of war and the door of peace." "That is your punishment!" "Jocasta!" "Jocasta!" "Jocasta!" "Jocasta!" "English Translation by:" "Michael Donnelly."