"THE DAY I WAS NOT BORN" "First race. 50 meters." "I'II leave this in the car, okay?" "." "Take care of yourself Mimi, okay?" "." " I'II be back soon." "Yes." "And give me a call." " I will." "Just call me when you arrive, and I'II call you right back." "Bye!" "You'II get your birthday present when you get back." "See you." "Bye!" "Shit!" "You've got two new messages." "Message one..." "Hi, Dad." "It's me, Maria..." "I missed my connecting flight..." "I'm still in Buenos Aires." "I don't know when I can go on to Santiago." "I lost my passport." "I'II call you later." "Bye." "Message two..." "Hi, Dad." "Where are you?" "The passport will take time." "I have to go to the police again tomorrow." "But don't worry, I'm at a hotel now, everything will be fine." "Something strange happened to me this morning at the airport..." "I recognized a children's song." "But it was in Spanish." "Give me a call." "The number here is 0054114786  6970." "talk soon." "Dad?" "What?" "How did you get here?" " hello." "Hi." "Did something happen?" "No." "So what are you doing here?" "Dad..." "Are you not feeling well?" "Yes..." "Sit down." "I'II get you something to drink, okay?" "." "Wait here." "Do you know what you sounded like on the answering machine?" "I was worried." "So you just take the next flight over?" "." "That's how it is with old fathers." "Did I have one like this when I was small?" "I don't remember." "Where did you get it?" "I bought it here." "It seems very familiar to me." "I don't know, I don't have an eye for things like that." "Stuffed animals all look the same to me." "But it's not a stuffed animal, it's plastic." "feel it." "We have to get you back on your travels again." "You can't be stuck here for three days." " Why are you changing the subject?" "I'm not changing the subject." "I told you I don't recognize that thing." "And what about the song?" "." "LiIiane always sang that to you." "In the beginning, when you came to us." "When I came to you?" "LiIiane and I are not your real parents." "You were born here." "In 1980... your parents disappeared." "What do you mean, "disappeared"?" "They were kidnapped by the military." "They never turned up again." "German?" "Yes." " Come with me." "This is usually not my job." "The problem is," "I have to be in Santiago by tomorrow It can't be that hard." "What else was in that bag?" "." "My passport... uh... airline ticket, my calendar..." " Money?" "." "No, luckily I had that in my pocket." " Pesos or Euro?" " Pesos." "Can I see it?" " What?" "The money." "Can you please show me?" "The one on top is fake." "That can't be, I just got it out of the machine." "Yes, unfortunately, they're getting better and better, the fake bills." "As a foreigner with no passport... and walking around with fake money..." "Some colleagues have no patience for such things." "It's up to you, but may be it's better you leave it here." "That's really well made." "Name?" "Maria FaIkenmayer." "slower please." "How do you spell that?" "Did you go swimming?" "." "Maria, what can I do?" "tell me everything you know" "We lived here for six years." "I was transferred here in 1974." "Your father came into my department some time later." "The company had a kindergarten for the staff." "LiIiane worked there." "You were in her group." "She always told me stories about you, long before I saw you the first time." "One evening  no one came to pick you up from kindergarten." "LiIiane brought you over to our house." "Go on!" "That was the day your parents were kidnapped." "It was morning." "You were still in kindergarten." "Some men broke into the apartment and dragged them into a car." "The neighbor saw it all." "That's what they told me later, at the office." "So you and LiIiane knew my parents?" "Yes, sort of." "FIeetingIy, through work." "What were their names?" "Don't you want to tell me?" "Luis Acosto and MarceIa MiIafana." "Why didn't you ever tell me?" "We thought it wouId be better for you." "As a kid, would you have wanted to hear your parents were tortured to death?" "Did everyone else know about this too?" " No, just Grandma and Grandpa." "Crazy, I always thought that Grandma could never lie." "Do you know what LiIiane often told me as a child before bedtime?" "How it was to be pregnant with me." "The next coffee is on me." "Are you on break now?" "." "No, I'm working." "This corner is quiet, nothing ever happens here." "Except to tourists maybe." "But you have a good disguise." "Tourists wear bathing shoes." "Where did you learn to speak such good German?" " police academy." ""An old saw runs somewhat so:" "Man must learn while here below"" "You know it?" "Max and Moritz?" "I know it." "My grandmother always used to read that to me." "She came from South tyrol." "You know South tyrol?" "Drove through there once." "Drove through?" "please don't ever say that to my grandmother." "Was it nice, driving through like that?" "Yes, best "driving through" of my Iife." "I have to go." "It was an honour..." "Maria?" "alejandro." "I'm off in half an hour." "Then I'II go and have a beer." "You can come with me." "Maria, are you in?" "Anton?" "Hi." " Hi." "Have you already had breakfast?" " No." "Come." "Do you still want to go to chile, or... would you rather return straight home?" "There are only three ViIIafanas in Buenos Aires." "May be I'II get lucky." "Can you call for me?" "I don't speak any Spanish." "But you don't know if they have anything to do with you." "That's why we're calling them." " But..." "Now slowdown, Maria." "This is not a thing that you can just ring someone up for." "That's not what I meant." "What are you hoping for from this phone call?" "I don't know I'II find out." "Anton, please." "He doesn't know anything either." "Are you lying to me?" " Maria, I'm not lying to you." "hello?" "What?" "He said that he once had a niece with your name." "And what else did he say?" "." "That you should stop by." "When?" " In an hour." "Do you really want to go there?" "Are you coming with me?" "No." "Do this alone." "So what did you talk about?" "Not much." "They hardly speak any english." "Who was there?" "My uncle and his wife, my aunt and my grandmother." "But she didn't recognize me." "Did anyone ask about me?" "No." "They're throwing a party for me tomorrow" "What are you doing later today?" "." " Nothing." "But it's Saturday, right?" "Want to have another beer?" "." "Without Bingo this time?" "Yeah, okay." "Let's meet at the corner of Tacuari and chile, in an hour." "I met your father this morning." "He's actually not my father." "No?" " No." "My real father disappeared during the dictatorship." "So you were born here?" "Yes." "I see." "You've got funny ears." "Can I touch them?" "The other one's like that too?" "Yes." "Can I touch it too?" " No." "The bathroom is over there?" "It's me." "hello." "Good morning." "Did you have breakfast already?" "." "No, I had a walk around the block." "But if you hurry, we can still get something downstairs." "Who was that guy anyway?" "." "Which guy?" "." "The one who left your room early in the morning." "My secret lover." "Are you seeing each other?" "." "Where did you meet him?" " Dad, that's none of your business." "Why are looking away now?" "I didn't look away." " Of course you just looked away." "alright, just put some clothes on, and then leave it at that." "But I'm hot." "That's enough!" "I'm going down for breakfast." "When you've cooled off you can join me." "hello." "hello." "Do you still remember what LiIiane used to say?" "." "With all the time you spend in the pool, might as well marry the lifeguard." "Let's fly back soon, okay?" "." "We'II work it out  Dad." "Did you actually search for my family back then?" "What?" "What exactly did you do?" "And you didn't find anyone?" "I see." "No, I'm not hungry." "Thanks." "See you later." "hello." "This is my father." "He wants to know where you come from." "Ah, Germany..." "The mother of my wife, she's from South tyrol." "What in Argentine?" "I have family here." "Listen, can you do me a favour?" "." " Sure." "What?" "Can you come with me to my family to translate?" "I better not." "Why not?" "Because I'm not good at that." "Sure you are." "Just say, "Maria wants to know this or that,"" "and then you tell me the answer." "ale please, it's important to me." " Maria, please." "It doesn't have to be perfect." " I don't want to." "Why not?" " I have no business with such people." "What do you mean by "such people"?" " Such complicated people." "Why "complicated"?" "We'II see each other later." "What had my parents actually done?" " I don't know." "probably nothing!" "The military randomly imprisoned people during the dictatorship." "Over thirty thousand people disappeared." "shortly after you came to us, we left the country." "And you just took me with you." " Maria, you were three." "should we have put you in an orphanage?" "You didn't tell them what my job is, did you?" "No." "I think we have to get off soon." "You didn't say anything about my father either?" "." "No, why?" "." "Your family surely doesn't want policemen in their house." "And no sons of policemen either." "What makes you think that?" "The families of the disappeared don't like the police." "What are you trying to tell me?" " Nothing." "But you don't have anything to do with it." "No." "Was your father involved with the military?" "." "I don't know" "It was about the coffee." "She wants to know where we know each other from." "What did you tell her?" "." "That I work in the kiosk." "She is..." "What's that person, when something happens to your parents, the one they bring you to?" " Godmother." "Can you ask her what happened to my parents?" "Why they disappeared?" "MarceIa was assistant at the university and Luis was in the union." "At first they thought that your parents would come back." "But they never came back." "In the streets she looked at every girl your age to see if it was you." "I hope you get this message." "please come back, we need to talk." "I'm waiting for you here." "I Iove you." "Why did you grow up in Germany?" "." "Why I grew up there?" "Yeah, right." "With whom?" "What?" "With whom were you in Germany?" "." "My father and my mother worked here for a German company." "And when MarceIa and Luis vanished, I was placed with them." "Do you know which company?" "." "I don't know" "hello." " hello." "I'm looking for my daughter." "I haven't seen her." "Is she with the policeman?" "I don't know" "They want to know what their names are." "My mother already passed away when I was sixteen." "She wants to know the name of your father." "Don't you want to tell them?" "But it's not important." "They say it is important." "They don't have to worry, I was..." " I don't think it's about that." "What are they talking about?" "The woman from your kindergarten." "What's she saying?" "." " She was at his house." "What's she saying now?" "." " She was at his house twice." "When?" "FaIkenmayer was Luis' boss." "Yes, but when was she there?" "Four days after your parents disappeared." "She was in their house but they said they didn't know anything about you." "He lied to her." "Maria!" " What?" " He wants to talk to you." "tell him I'm busy." " It's urgent." "How did you get this number?" "." "But I can't right now" "I don't know" "She says that people like FaIkenmayer are in prison here." "Want to go back to the hotel?" "Not really." "Do you have to go to work?" "Yes, but I think I'm sick today." "Want something to drink?" "Sure." "But I don't have anything." "Water?" "." "Okay." " Sorry." "That's my son." "But he's already seventeen now" "Do you get along?" "." " I don't see him often." "He lives with his mother in Spain." "Do you miss him?" "Yes." "But he's doing fine there." "Do you now regret taking me with you?" "No." "Did you really want to know all that?" "What would you have done?" "I don't ask as many questions as you." "Did you really never ask your father what he did during the dictatorship?" "Why not?" "I don't want him to tell me something that I would probably hate him for." "Just like me." "What are you doing here?" "I want to apologize to you." "We had to change your date of birth, otherwise we couldn't have gotten you out of the country." "I should have told you that." "I'm sorry." "I'm flying back tomorrow" "please come with me." "What is this?" "They know that you're here." "Why did you tell them?" "I've also got a few questions." "You're lucky." " What is this nonsense?" "Goon!" "You can ask me whatever you want." "The answer is:" "They have the right to know!" "Do you have any idea what this could mean for me?" " It's not your turn." "Stop it now!" "call EsteIa and tell her you're sorry." "Who's EsteIa?" "You know damn well!" "EsteIa is my godmother." "Four days after my parents vanished, she was at your house, looking for me." "But unfortunately, you knew nothing!" "And unfortunately she believed you." " I don't remember that." "I..." "Maria, stop being naive." "These people are just telling you things to ease their conscience." "Who says this woman isn't lying to you?" " Who says you're not telling more lies?" "It's all along time ago!" "I can't remember any of the details!" "But they remember you!" "They searched for me for years!" "You could've called them, they have a telephone!" "But we didn't want to call them!" "Understand?" "We wanted to keep you!" "Don't you have to go swimming?" "." "No, not today." "She says Anton FaIkenmayer has to pay for what he did." "She wants you, her and the family to bring FaIkenmayer to court." "They don't want to do it without you." "What he did was..." "He stole you." "Have a good trip." "Yes."