"I want to talk to the boss." "My father died long ago." "How can I help you?" "I am Juan Sáyago." "Follow me." "Diego Martín, God bless his soul, said to me:" ""Come and see me, when you've done your time, you'll have your job back."" "When did you last have news from here?" "14 years ago, when my mother died." "You don't know the dead man's sons want revenge?" "What did you say?" "I'm warning you, Juan Sáyago." "I've spent 18 years in jail, mister, one after another." "No man can be worth more than that." "Raúl Moscote's sons want you to pay twice for their father." "Neither he nor I have two lives." "Neither have I." "So take your feud away from here." "If you wish." "Just give me back my horse." "Your horse?" "Yes, my horse." "I left it here when I was arrested." "I don't doubt it." "But you expected to find it here after 18 years?" "Diego Martín promised" "I'd have another on my return." "Look!" "There's my saddle." "I never had time to use them." "They just need a bit of a polish." "Juan." "My father was fond of you." "I'll give you another horse." "On one condition:" "You get the hell out of here." "This is where I live, mister." "And this is where I'll stay." "So I'll leave the horse here for now." "Can I take the saddle?" "It's yours." "But it won't be any use to you." "In 24 hours..." "you'll be a dead man." "I don't believe what I see and even less what I hear." "Good day." "Good day." "Juan?" "Juan!" "Friend!" "How old we've grown!" "We're ready to enter the other world." "What will you have?" "The usual." "What's the problem, young man?" "The bridle is broken, it was very old." "Let's see." "It's not the end of the world." "Use mine in the meantime." "It's silver." "Of the best kind." "They're not like that anymore." "It's a loan." "You'll give it back some time." "Take it, kid, or my friend will take offence." "Let me buy you a drink." "Have fun with people your own age, don't waste your time with two old men." "I'll be seeing you." "Thanks, mister." "Leave your address here, so I can give it back." "He's the youngest son of Raúl Moscote." "That boy?" "He's as tough as his elder brother." "Lucky he wasn't here, because he remembers what you look like." "Go away, my friend." "It's not fun to swap jail for the cemetery." "We'll see if those scoundrels have the guts." "They've got plenty of guts." "And they don't believe the story that Juan Sáyago is bullet-proof." "My quarrel is not with them." "My quarrel is about 18 lost years." "What's become of Mariana?" "She got married, had a son and was left a widow." "She lives with her son, at the place where the convent was, at the back of the church." "She doesn't go out much." "They say she lives in a world of her own." "Coming!" "Coming!" "I'm very thirsty." "I was dying to see you." "I must look like a mess." "You know how it is around here." "When did you arrive?" "About an hour ago." "I haven't had time to wash." "I have the keys to your house." "Sit down, please." "Godknows how you'll find your house." "No one has looked after it since your mother died." "Marcial, my husband, took care to lock it and kept the keys." "In case you came back one day." "Thank you." "Thank Marcial, God bless his soul." "He looked after your mother in her last few months." "So I heard." "He was a good man." "Juan, when are you leaving?" "I'm not planning to." "You could go to San Mateo." "Marcial had some friends who would help you." "I haven't slept for a week." "Your life's in danger here!" "So what's new?" "Thanks for everything, Mariana." "Why are you so late?" "Nothing." "My bridle broke." "Someone lent it to me, while I repair mine." "Who was he?" "What was he like?" "A nice fellow." "He's tall and sturdy, with penetrating eyes and a slow voice." "I think so." "I'd have to look at him again." "It was Juan Sáyago." "He was due back one of these days." "No, man." "It wasn't him." "He was a nice man." "Don't be silly." "I've been keeping track of time." "I had a hunch, now I know." "Let's go and get him." "Pedro, Julián!" "What do you want for lunch?" "Anything." "Here he is, Mayor." "How are you?" "I was looking for you." "You look well." "You haven't aged at all." "Let's go." "Where to?" "Let's go." "For a walk." "It is my duty to protect you." "Thank you, Mayor." "But I have no quarrels with anyone." "Let me tell you something in good faith:" "If I hear one shot in this village, I'll put you away." "I'll pull down your trousers and give you a good hiding." "Yes, sir." "His time has come." "From now on, he's on borrowed time." "What are we going to do?" "You just wait." "You're drinking too much." "I'm hungry and you should eat too." "Real men don't need food!" "I don't like this guy!" "Don't look at him!" "Guess who's in the village." "Who?" "Juan Sáyago." "Come and see him." "We've fought hard to live in peace." "My duty is to keep law and order." "Especially after so many years of violence." "I dreamt of scorpions the other night." "Bad omen..." "So you pack your bags and go... or you'll rot in jail here." "What are the charges?" "Only to protect you." "You can't lock me up without charges." "I've heard about him all my life... and now I don't even recognise him." "I imagined him like a criminal." " He doesn't seem bad." " No, he doesn't." "But I never knew my father because of him." "Shall we go to the cinema?" "Come." "Don't you feel sorry for him?" "Feeling sorry won't bring my father back." "Revenge won't either." "Don't put ideas in my head." "He killed Raúl Moscote and he'll pay for it." "I'm scared." "Don't worry." "It'll be all right." ""María Candelaria" (1944)" "Demetrio." "God evening." "Where were you?" "We went to see a ghost." "You're breaking the law." "Order comes before the law." "You've nowhere to go and I'm offering you my hospitality." "Sleep well." "And if you want to go, feel free." "It's a clear warning:" "The king will kill the knight with a silver bullet... here." "Which one are you?" "Go to hell!" "What else do you see?" "These are you three." "That's all I can tell you." "I don't know which one is you." "I wish I knew which one is me." "There is a way of knowing." "Pick one of these two cards." "He's the one who will die." "With one of my lead bullets." "No pack of cards will save him." "You can't!" "I told you, my love." "No one can when they're frightened." "Fear is afraid of me!" "You are frightened, but not of getting killed, but of killing him, which is worse than dying." "I am a man!" "Take your money." "You only pay here for what you get." "Keep it for tomorrow." "Keep calm." "Cards are nothing but a game." "Cheer up, love!" "Tomorrow is another day." "I don't like your teeth!" "Neither do I." "No one laughs at us!" "Tell Juan Sáyago to be armed, because I'll kill him face to face." "What's the matter with you today?" "Good morning." "Want some breakfast?" "No, thanks." "Come with me, Pedro." "I've spent my life getting ready for this day." "That's why I don't have a wife, a family or any commitments." "Nothing to stop me avenging our father." "Last time I saw him he was sitting here." "I was only seven," "but he talked to me like a man." "He said:" ""Tonight I'll either be in jail or in the cemetery." "Promise me something, Julián." "Never be a lesser man than your father."" "A few hours later, I went with mum to see his body." "He was so tall..." "he didn't fit in the coffin." "You've never shown me this." "It was a clean shot." "He was tricked." "He must have been..." "There was never a better shot than him." "I thought he was shot in the back..." "You think too much!" "Honour has no doubts." "I knew who Raúl Moscote was." "I saw hi throw a chicken in the air once and shoot it with four bullets... with his left hand." "I've never doubted you, brother." "Even less now, when it's a question of honour." "I know." "Wait for me at Sonia's." "Don't worry." "We will avenge our father today." "Juan Sáyago!" "You've settles with the law." "Now you'll settle with me!" "So it's true what they said?" "You're a coward!" "I suffered as much as you after your father's death." "Let's have some peace!" "There'll be no peace while you're alive!" "It's a question of honour!" "Honour has nothing to do with bravado, but with dignity and suffering!" "Let's get it over soon." "So arm yourself and be a man!" "Sonia!" "Someone to see you." " Mariana..." " Good day." "What nice flowers." "You like them?" "They're from my garden." "I've been wanting to see you." "But for one reason or another, I always leave it till later." "I'm glad you came." "I want to talk to you." "Sit down." "You know that your fiancé... is planning to kill a man." "Yes, a man who killed his father." "You probably know as well, that I was going to marry that man years ago." "I know." "He came to see me yesterday," "I felt like I was dying." "But I didn't let him see it." "I treated him badly, to make him go away." "Men don't run away." "I used to think that at your age." "I said that to Juan Sáyago." "And look how I regret my mistake." "I've needed a life of bitterness... to realise it's better to have a coward at home... than a brave man in jail, or in the cemetery." "Would you like some coffee?" "You cannot imagine the suffering we've seen in this town." "The place just gets dustier and hotter." "Time goes by and you feel you're wasting away." "Nothing ever happens." "Honestly, if it weren't because our dead are here," "we would have left long ago." "Juan Sáyago!" "There's nowhere you can hide from me, Juan Sáyago!" "We'll see who lasts longer." "A big mouth, but quick on his feet." "That's true." " How much is the mirror?" " It was very old." " Is that enough?" " That will do." "Give me your word you won't tell anyone." "You never said thank you." "I didn't see anyone." "What happened?" "There was a tremor and the mirror fell." "It's cracked." "Congratulations." "You might win the lottery." "What are you up to?" "You'll never guess, Mayor." "I've just met Moscote's elder son and he didn't even say good bye." "Good." "I told you they were god folk." "Certainly, they're excellent horse-breeders." "There's no better horse-breeder than the late Raúl Moscote." "Congratulation." "You got your own way in the end." "What will you do now?" "First of all, rebuild this ranch." "Very well." "Get some pigeons." "They stink, they make a mess everywhere," "but they bring good luck." "See you, Mayor." "You could have kept it." "I don't have a horse." "I have my own." "I'm repaying your favor." "You could be my son..." "Mind what you say!" "Think carefully before you shoot." "A dead man is heavy.." "But vengeance is light." "There can be no vengeance where there was justice." "You played dirty with Raúl Moscote and for that there is no justice." "So that's what they told you?" "Look at me." "You think I'd shoot a man in the back?" "I don't know." "Then wait till you know, before dirtying your hands." "Good day." "What's the matter?" "I don't know." "I've heard so many things, I no longer know anything." "My love!" "I wasn't expecting you so early." "You know Mariana?" "How are you, ma'am?" "Sorry, Sonia, I've taken enough of your time." "A pleasure." "We talked about everything." "Especially about you." "Sonia says you're a good man and I believe her." "Thank you, ma'am." "Now I see you in the flesh..." "I wonder if you'd have the heart to kill a man." "If that man killed my father, you can be sure of it." "He was like you when he left, young and decisive." "But I saw him yesterday after 18 years and I was horrified." "The nightmare of the past is written on his face." "Hasn't he been punished enough?" "That's not for me to decide, ma'am." "It has to be." "We gave our word!" "Would you listen to Sonia?" "This is between men only." "Then let me tell you something, young man:" "Juan Sáyago is not a man to die easily." "See you, Sonia." "Thank you for everything." "Thank you too, Mariana." "I must settle an old score." "But my rival won't face me." "Good." "You've done what you can." "Now leave the poor man alone." "He's a coward." "You're wrong." "My father knew him well." "He told me about him." "He admired him for his courage." "He doesn't pick quarrels, but don't make him lose his temper." "On the contrary, I hope he loses it soon." "What if he kills you?" " I'm ready for vengeance." " To kill an innocent man?" "Don't fuck with me!" "Rosita!" "How nice to see you." "I've found you at last." "We heard you were back, Juan Sáyago." " Casildo is anxious to see you." " Casildo?" "Can that be true?" "I'd heard he'd been knocked down by a horse." "He was." "But thank God he only lost his legs." "He's in bed, but in one piece and more troublesome than ever." "Same old bugger!" "You'll still be shooting at us from the grave." "I'm as sharp as a blade." "Draw the curtain, sister!" "You've no idea what this is!" "My back's covered in sores." "I can't sleep for weeks on end." "My insides are rumbling." "My bones are aching." "I swear to you," "I've picked up every disease going." "But that's nothing." "The loneliness is the worst." "I'll keep you company, old man." "We'll have a great time." "And don't worry about work, you'll have plenty." "You know more than anyone about horses." "If you get bored, you take my gun to the mountains... and bring me a few partridges." "Where are you staying?" " I'm rebuilding my home." " Good for you!" "If you need any bricks, or wood, nails, bolts... anything at all... you just come and get it." "What about money?" " I've got some." " You won't starve." "I still have something, from the good old days." "It's yours, you can count on it." "Are you made of gold?" " That's what friends are for." " Good day, Diego." "Come." "Come in, Diego, come in!" "It's my lucky day." "Always alone and today I can't fit you all in." "I was looking for you, Juan Sáyago." "How much do you want to leave town?" "Leave?" "What's the matter with you?" "Has your father's courage left you?" "You can have your horse back... and all the money you need to live in peace elsewhere." "I'm very grateful, mister." "But you can't buy a man's wil." "Don't thank him!" "That's the end of our friendship." "Leave this house or you'll go feet first." "Don't be irresponsible, Casildo." "Don't play with a man's life!" "Listen to me and repeat it word for word to that pair of loud-mouths." "Juan Sáyago stays here with me!" "We'll see who dares lay a finger on him!" "Don't worry about me, mister." "All right." "I've warned you, now I've done my bit." "Diego!" "What are you doing in this house?" "I'll tell you." "I tried to convince Juan Sáyago to leave." "I thought you were my friend." "I'm trying to get you out of trouble." "You don't know what you're saying." "I know very well what I'm saying." "You're so afraid to kill him... you'll kill him out of fear." "Julián!" "Listen to me, Julián!" "You haven't eaten all day." "What shall I make you?" "I'm not hungry." "Would you like some soup?" "Anything, just leave me alone." "I've been doing this for eight years." "Twice a day." "And all I've done is get fat." "I don't want to die like a woman with so many stray bullets in the world." "You'll die of old age." " You silly old bugger!" " I don't mind." "With you here things will be different." "Settle your old scores... and you'll also live to a ripe old age." "When did you last use a gun?" "Not since I went away." "Get your hands in then." "Let's see who shoots more gourds." "Not mow." "It's too hot." "Rosa, make a bed by my side." "Juan is staying with us until his home is ready." "I have enough debts, old man." "I'll find somewhere." "I insist." "We wouldn't desert you." "You know you're very much loved here." "What can I say?" "You always get your way." "Forget your prejudices... and bring those two braggarts here." "Between the two of us, we'll lay them out." " What do you think?" " See you." "Listen!" "You're not doing a runner?" "Braggarts!" "Let me in." "Let me in!" "I'll knock the door down!" "One..." " Two..." " See if you can." "Wait, Pedro." "I'll let you in." " The keys." " He can stay out there!" "She's right." "She'll be a widow before she's married." "Women don't know about these things." "The keys." "Savage!" "This town is as bad as in your father's days." "Come over here." "I knew him well." "Always smartly dressed... with his watch-chain and gold braid." "All he needed was military epaulettes." "Know why he challenged Juan Sáyago?" "He had offended him." "All Juan Sáyago did was to win a cock-fight." "But your father had delusions of grandeur and he never forgave him." "He kept provoking him." "He sowed weeds in his crops." "Poisoned the water for the animals." "Put dead animals in his path." "Cut him off in the street with his horse." "Juan Sáyago!" "My friend!" "I'm all right." "Someone threw pigs' blood at me." "I told you, you won't get rid of him." "What's the matter now?" "What do you think?" "I'm scared." "These things repeat themselves." "It's like a curse." "For what you did to the parents, you pay the children." "I don't want to die." "It's like killing a man once... and seeing him again, doing and saying the same things." "I've found a place for you to stay." "What do you say?" " I'll think about it." " I have a message for you." "It came a while ago." "If you've decided to stay, you'll need to be armed." "I've had it oiled and tested." "I didn't come here to fight and you know it." "Words..." "I've heard it all before." "I know them by heart." "It's all lies." "You're no different from them." "I think you came to this world... to make people suffer." "The people who love you." "Go!" "Make sure they kill you as quickly as possible." "Without pain, without delay." "Do it for me." "That's all I ask you." "While in prison..." "I waited eagerly for you letters." "I wrote to you many times." "The first time was two months after you left." "Pages and pages written on both sides." "I addressed it to you, but they said so many things about you then..." "I didn't know what to think." "So the next letter..." "I sent it to the prison in San Bernardo." "I posted it myself from San Miguel." "Someone told me the post from around here never got anywhere." "I never received any letters, not even from my mother." "I know." "Her letters and mine... came back together in one envelope... six years after we posted them." "I felt so lonely..." "I would have carried on writing... writing... even if you didn't get my letters." "Forget about it now." "I'm back and we're together." "Together in this hell." "Knowing that one day you'll be killed or you'll go back to prison." "We can die together... having suffered separately all our lives." "No, Juan." "I prefer my role as daydreaming widow... in love with an absent man." "You'll ruin your beautiful eyes." "What have we done to deserve this punishment?" "I owe it to you." "I learned to knit while I awaited your letters." "Poor Juan!" "You've even lost your eyesight." "Time destroys everything." "How awful!" "I can't even tell the time." "You're wasting away shut in here." "Another two years." "Who else would respect my home?" "Mariana..." "Let's move to another town." "You're asking me 20 years too late." "I would have been crazy with happiness in those days." "Now I would go crazy with despair." "Let's regain the time we've lost." "Stop daydreaming." "The hate of the Moscotes will follow us to the ends of the earth." "We'll have no peace." "I have no right to inflict that on my son." "Come, child, come!" "Leave them." "All my life I've waited for this moment." " Leave him." " Don't bother." "Go and clear the table." "Come here." "Say hello to uncle Juan." " Hello." " How are you?" " Very well." "And you?" " I'm fine." "Good boy." "Go and play now." "He's rather grown up." "Juan Sáyago!" "Don't go out!" "Don't worry." "I'll be alright." "Oh my God!" "You must go." "We can't live like that." "I've waited 18 years to see you, Mariana." "I'm not leaving you to keep a madman happy." "For days he hounded him everywhere to make him lose his temper." "He provoked him in every possible way." "He pushed him to the limit of his endurance." "Until he could take it no longer and he killed him like a man." "So you and your brother are being unjust." " Anyway, Juan Sáyago is bullet-proof." " Don't be silly." " It's true, dad." " I've heard it too." "He was shot four times in a hunting accident." "I attended to him." "He was barely scratched." "Well, I'm going to have a siesta." "Give me a kiss." "A proper kiss." "Pedro!" " Where are you going?" " Don't worry." "I won't be long." "I couldn't find it." "It was old." "The river washed it away." "Moscote!" "Listen to me, kid." "I didn't come to fight, I just came back." "But I'll lose my patience if I can't even come to the cemetery in peace." "I've looked for you everywhere." "Now you've found me." "I'm asking you to go, sir." "We all lived in peace until you came back." "Don't cause any more trouble." "Don't call me sir." "It makes me feel old." "Let's go." "The dead have ears." "Have you seen Pedro, ma'am?" "Come in and have some coffee, Julián." " Thanks, not now." " Sonia, no!" "You'll wait here for Pedro." " I have no time." " I know!" "Now you'll stay here." "I won't allow you to ruin our lives with your madness." "On the contrary, Sonia." "You know I love Pedro like a son." "I won't get him involved in that." " Where is he?" " I won't tell!" "You'd better tell him." "Pedro went to see Juan Sáyago." "Don't worry, he's not armed." " That's worse." " Why?" "You know very well Juan Sáyago would never kill a man who is not armed." " Give me that gun." " No!" "Give it." "Find Juan Sáyago." "Make sure he loses his patience and kills you like a dog." "Julián!" "Julián!" "Julián!" "Julián!" "I admire you." "Anyone else would have run away or lost his temper." "I was made to be like that." "I could have grown to be a decent man, with the best stud farm in town... and a son your age." "Have you seen Juan Sáyago?" " He died." " When?" "20 years ago." "If they see you talking to me, we're in trouble." " We all have our cross to bear." " You said it." " Mate!" " What?" " Give us a drink." " Sure." "Coward!" "Bastard!" "I've only got the power of my gun, same as you." "Stop whingeing to a kid." "Drop that gun." "Get out, let me pass." "Give it to me." "Give it to me, I said!" "You too." "This time I mean it." "No more games." "Leave this town and don't come back until I say so." " You too, son." " I'll go." "Let me pay first." "How much is the damage?" "70 pesos." "Chill out, man." "I'll straighten things once and for all." "Let's go!" "Go back home!" "Nothing happening here." "Sit down." "Get your things." "You're going into the army, see if they make you a man." " I'm not going anywhere." " Why not?" "No." "Leave JuanSáyago alone." "What makes you so cocky?" "I'm Raúl Moscote's son, too." "No, never." "A coward like you doesn't deserve to be his son." "He didn't shoot him in the back." "Shut up!" "Let's just remember him as a good father." "It's the best way to honour him." "Shut up!" "You have no honour!" "Julián, leave him!" "Don't hit him." "José!" "Macedonio!" "Help!" "Julián, Julián!" "Leave him, don't hit him!" "Let go, damn it!" " Are you leaving?" " Think what you want." "Moscote!" "I'll see you in an hour." " Where?" " You know where!" "I thought you'd done a runner!" "Put that gun down." "Kneel down." "Let me give you my blessing." "I'm alright, old man." "And stop playing games, you'll lose your skin one of these days." "That's why we came to this world." "What's happening, Juan?" "I've come to say good bye." " Are you coming back?" " I don't know when." "But I'll be back." "This time forever." "We'll grow old in peace, trying to forget the bad times." "And knitting socks with three needles." "It'll be an eternal wait." "Not as eternal as it has been." "I tell you." "It needs rewinding." "Be very careful, Juan." "God be with you." "Please, take care." "Sonia!" "They're going to fight!" "Pedro, give me your gun." "Juan Sáyago!" "You'll deal with me now." "Face me!" "I want to kill you like a man." "Stop and fight!" "Or I'll shoot you in the back." "Are you ready?" "Juan Sáyago!" "Pick it up!" "Let me have my revenge." "Pick it up!" "I'll kill you unarmed." "I'll kill you with honour!" "Murderer of my family!" "Coward!" "Defend yourself, coward!" "Die, damn you!" "Juan Sáyago was killed, Juan Sáyago was killed." "Juan Sáyago was killed, there in the cattle-pen." "Juan Sáyago was killed, Juan Sáyago was killed." "Juan Sáyago was killed, there in the cattle-pen." "He was shot three times, back and front." "The Moscote child was settling an old debt."