"Hello, Lorenzo." " Hi." " Come in." " How are you?" " I'm a real mess." "Why?" "I don't know which books to take." "The essential ones." "If you need anything, there's the Internet." "No." "I don't like buying books I already have." "It makes me feel old." "Right now you look like a little girl." "Apart from the books, is there still a lot to do?" "I have to do some shopping." "Julieta, we're going to Portugal, not to the desert." "You can come back to Madrid whenever you like." "I'd rather not come back if I can help it." "Come here." "Thank you." "For what?" "For not letting me grow old on my own." "You're the one not leaving me on my own." "Julieta?" "Bea!" "I don't believe it!" "What a surprise!" "Just last week I saw your daughter at Lake Como!" "You saw Antía?" "Yes, just imagine!" "We were looking at each other and I went up to her because she didn't recognize me." "But you look exactly the same." "Or even better." "And what did she say?" "That she'd come to the city to buy things for her children." "She's got three!" "Two boys and a girl." "Yes, I don't know how she manages." " Do you have children?" " No, I'm not even married." "What a pity, I'm in a terrible hurry." "I'm delighted to see you looking so well." "Where are you living?" "In Milan and New York." "I'm an editor at Vogue." "I travel a lot." "I was at Lake Como for a photo shoot." "That's great..." "Say hello to your mother." " Mom died three years ago." " I'm sorry." "My brother lives here." "We're meeting him and my nieces now and we're late." "What else did Antía say?" "Very little." "I asked about you, she said you were still living in Madrid, and now look!" "Yes, I'm still here, and I'm staying here." "And did she look well?" "She had no make-up and she was very thin, but she was pretty." "I'm delighted to see you looking so well." "Goodbye." "She's the mother of an old friend..." " Hello?" " It's me, let me in." "Hello." "Are you all right?" "I'm boiling water..." "I rang last night and you didn't answer." "I needed to be alone." "Have you finished with the cases and the boxes?" "I've unpacked everything." "I'm staying in Madrid." "Are you joking?" "That's ridiculous!" "I can't go with you." "Why?" "What's happened?" "I know you don't deserve this, but please don't ask any questions." "I'm not going with you to Portugal." "I'm staying in Madrid." "What's going on?" "I've thought it over and..." "You must have thought it over before!" "We've been planning this for a year!" "Just yesterday you said you'd rather not come back." "What's happened so suddenly?" "Don't insist, please." "Could I have a glass of water?" "I don't recognize you." "You're behaving like a lunatic." "I know." "I can't believe this conversation." "Last night I realized I was fooling myself." "I don't want to leave Madrid." "And I'd rather be on my own." "I always knew there was something important in your life that you never shared with me." "You never wanted to talk about it and I always respected that." "I'd like you to keep respecting it." " Hello, Inocencio." " Hmm?" "Miss Julieta!" " It's been ages!" " Yes, indeed." "By chance, have any letters come for me?" "In all these years?" "No." "I've moved back to Madrid." "Is my old apartment free?" "No." "I thought you'd left Spain." "Yes, but I've come back, and I miss this street." "Is there another apartment free?" "There's one on the second floor." "That's wonderful!" "Can I see it?" "There's no furniture and it has to be painted." "That's okay." "I'll get the key." "It's a bit of a mess." "I'll take it." "But it's not ready yet." "If you give me your number, I'll call you." "Don't worry." "If the kitchen and the bathroom work, I'll see to the rest." "They're brand new." "Wonderful." "Antía." "Two sons and a daughter." "She went down to Lake Como to shop." "Maybe she lives nearby, in a Swiss town that's expensive and she went shopping in Italy which is much cheaper." "She doesn't wear make-up." "She's thin." "She thinks I still live in Madrid." "Dear Antía," "I'm going to tell you everything I wasn't able to tell you, because you were a child, because it was too painful for me, or simply out of shame." "But you're not a child anymore." "Beatriz told me that you have children of your own." "Three, no less." "You're a grown woman, and a mother." "Where do I begin?" "I'll tell you about your father." "When you asked me how I met him, I told you it was on a train." "But I didn't tell you everything." "I was 25." "It was an unpleasant night and very windy." "Is this seat free?" "Yes." "That branch was really something." "Did it scare you?" "Yes." "Are you traveling alone?" "Yes." "When I saw you alone I thought, "We'll keep each other company. "" "You don't want to talk." "What a pity." "Excuse me, I have to go out." "I hope he doesn't come too close to the train." "He isn't afraid of it." "He's looking for a female." "He smells her on the air." "Would you like a drink?" "Xoan told me his name was Xoan and I said mine was Julieta." "He told me he was married." "Ana, his wife, had been in a coma for five years." "I told him that I was teaching Classical Studies, substituting for a teacher who was ill." "Xoan told me that he was a fisherman, that he had three small boats." "He was going to Madrid to buy an engine for one of them." "He had lived his entire life by the sea, in the house his grandfather bought when he came back from Cuba." "10-minute stop!" "Do you feel like stretching your legs?" "I haven't got my coat, but thank you." "See you later." "Greek tragedy" "My God, what happened?" "The train's stopped." "Why?" "Just like that?" "Please, go back inside." "Don't worry." "A bag fell on my head and nearly killed me." "We've hit something." "I saw a stag running alongside the train." "What an idea!" "Yes, I saw it, too." "No, we didn't hit anything." "Please, go back to your seats and clear the corridor." "The train is about to move again." "Well, I saw a stag." "So did I and I'm not making a fuss." "Did you see the man sitting here?" "With glasses and a black sweater?" "Yes, I saw him in the corridor." "He must be around." "When we stopped, he got out." "I saw him walking in the snow." "I noticed him because he didn't have a coat." "I think he was drunk." "He's probably still wandering around." "That's why we've stopped." "Take this." "Get back inside!" "You'll catch pneumonia." "What's on the stretcher?" "What?" "Is it the stag?" "No, why do you say that?" "Is it a man?" "Go inside." "Is it him?" "Is that why we stopped?" "A man in a black sweater." "He had glasses." "Please, get on the train." "He was sitting where you are now." "He wanted to talk, but I didn't like how he was looking at me and I ran out." "How could I have known he felt so bad?" "Any girl would have done the same." "I should have realized." "Don't torture yourself." "He'd still have killed himself." "Why did he have an empty bag?" "I don't know." "I guess he didn't want to attract attention." "But he had it all planned before he got on the train." "No one kills himself because a girl, even one as pretty as you, doesn't want to talk to him." "I can't sleep." "Neither can I." "Thalassa, hals and pontos." "The three words mean sea in Greek." "Pontos is sea and high sea." "And it refers to the sea as a road, the road to adventure." "That's why Ulysses is the maritime hero par excellence." "For example, when Ulysses arrived on Calypso's island, exhausted after a shipwreck, the nymph Calypso, who was a real stunner..." "Marcos, who do you think is the most beautiful woman?" "You." "That's no good, because I'm the teacher and teachers aren't supposed to have sex with their pupils." " Tell me someone else." " Kim Basinger." "Really lovely." "Much prettier than me, toady!" "Ãngela Molina." "She's beautiful, too." "Well, Calypso was as beautiful as Kim Basinger and Ãngela Molina together." "And she offered Ulysses everything you could imagine." "Diego, what could she have offered him?" "Her body." "Of course." "And what else?" "Something we've all dreamed of..." " Eternal youth." " Exactly." "And immortality." "Yet Ulysses rejected it and he set sail to face countless dangers." "Which of the three meanings would you choose for the sea that Ulysses yearned for?" "Thalassa?" "No!" " Pontos." " That's it!" "Pontos, the sea, the high sea, the road to adventure and the unknown." "Come in." "Hello." "Julieta, have a seat." "Thank you." "Mrs. Martínez is coming back next week so your substitution time is over." "We are very happy with your work." "Very happy indeed." "There's never been such attendance in the Classical Literature classes." "Thank you." "I've really enjoyed these six months." "I'm delighted." "Well..." "Wait." "This letter came, it's for you." "Is it for you?" "Yes, it is." "Dear Julieta," "I don't know if you're still working at the school." "I hope so, because it's the only address I have for you." "I think about you a lot." "I can't get that night on the train out of my head." "Ana is still the same, or worse." "I was only away for two days, but she looked worse on my return." "When you're there all the time, you don't realize." "I didn't go fishing today." "The sea is very choppy and there'll be a storm this afternoon." "I'd like to see you appearing through the rain, looking for a place to shelter, and that my home were that place." "Look at you!" "Canelo, don't be a nuisance." "Hello." "I think you're late." "The funeral was yesterday." "But come in and have some coffee." "I'm in charge of the house." "Come on, Canelo!" "Leave it there." "We'll go into the kitchen." "When did you meet Ana?" "Ana?" "I didn't know her." "I supposed so." "She was in bed the last six years." "The sea!" "It's really striking the first time." "Sit down." "So you've come to see Xoan." "Do you want a cookie?" "No." "I don't think he'll be back tonight." "He's with Ava." "Do you know Ava?" "She does ceramics and sculptures." "Ana and Ava were good friends, when Ana could still talk or listen." "The poor thing was a vegetable, and a man needs a woman." "But it's not for me to criticize Xoan." "More coffee?" " No." " Then give me the cup." "So what are you going to do?" "You can still catch the 8:00 bus." "It stops in the square." "Let's go." "You can come home with me and my husband will take you to the bus." "It's no bother." "I'm tired." "I'd rather wait here, if you don't mind." "Where?" "Right there, in the entrance." "On your own?" "Well..." "I'd stay with you, but I can't." "I've neglected my husband these last days." "Well," "Canelo will keep you company." "Thank you." "Don't fall asleep and miss the bus." "Shall I call you?" "Don't worry." "I'll call you." "Canelo, come here!" "Hello." "Come up here." "How's it going?" "Don't wake up." "I got your letter and I came." "I never imagined that your wife..." "Don't think about that now." "Good morning." " These cookies are so good!" " They're typical of here." "I was fixing breakfast." "I was really hungry." "Anything for me?" "We'll find something..." "I took your letter as an invitation to come and see you." "That was my intention." "I never thought that your wife had died." "I'm sorry." "It was for the best." "She had no life." "Marian told me you were here, waiting for the bus, but that she wasn't certain you'd leave." "She told me you were with a woman." "Ava, I think." "She's an old friend, you'll meet her." "She's an artist like you." "I'm not an artist." "I teach Classical Literature." "And now, not even that." "Well, I'm sure you'll like her." "I think I'll leave today." "I don't know what I'm doing here." "Fishing." "It's going to be a lovely day." "We'll go fishing." "Marian..." "Julieta." "I think you've met already." "Give me that, I'll do it." "Are you staying today?" "Yes." "We're going fishing." "I had no job..." "I wasn't in a hurry." "I was intending to stay just a few days." "I had to tell Xoan something, but I kept putting it off." "It was a new life, strange for a woman who came from the sun but welcoming." "The nights flew past for me in Xoan's arms." "I felt trapped and free at the same time." "May I touch it?" "Of course, pick it up, if you like." "It's so heavy!" "Nine pounds, so be careful." "I thought it was terracotta." "It's bronze." "But I give them a terracotta glaze." "The color of the rocks at the lighthouse." "It's got such force!" "I try to make my sculptures compact, so the wind can't knock them over." "Like the people here." "The people here are very tough." "I visited Ava frequently." "I liked to see her working and smoking." "And she liked me telling her mythological stories, like you when you were little." "The gods created men and other beings, with the help of clay and fire." "They gave them the attributes they needed for their survival." "Some got fur, others got wings for flying." "When it was man's turn, the gods had no gifts left." "So man was born naked, defenseless, in the midst of nature." "I'm pregnant, Ava." "By whom?" "By Xoan." "I was pregnant when I came here." "Does he know?" "No." "I don't want to pressure him." "You have to tell him." "Xoan adores children." "When you were born, I took you to your grandparents, so they could meet you and Xoan." "Two years later we visited them again." "Grandpa Samuel had taken early retirement." "He had been the town's schoolmaster and he gave it up to be a farmer." "He'd sold the house where I'd grown up and bought another in the country." "There they are." " Do you need anything else?" " No, thank you." "Have a good time." "Hello, love." "Who have we got here?" "Will you give Grandpa a kiss?" " How was the trip?" " Really long." "We're worn out." "Let me introduce you." "This is Sanáa." "Julieta." "And this wonder is Antía." "Have you got a case?" "Yes, a brown one, it's got my name on it." "Can you get it?" "And a stroller!" "How's Mom?" "Fine, we're getting by." "You'll see her now." "And that girl?" "It's Sanáa, the girl I told you about." "She's the woman who helps you?" "She looks after your mom and helps me on the land." "We were lucky to find her." "She's changed our lives." "Let's get in the car." " Don't you miss the school?" " I don't have time." "Between your mother and the land, the days fly by." "I never thought you'd retire, much less retire early." "It's better for us like this." "Your mother and I always dreamed of living in the country." "Do you speak Spanish, Sanáa?" "A little." "She speaks it very well." "She's a bit shy." "We met her eight years ago, at the Sacred Music Festival in Fez." "She and your mother became friends and we kept in touch." "We're lucky she's living with us now." "It's lovely." "There are no luxuries, but we've improved our quality of life." "Which is Mom's room?" "The window that looks out on the vine." " Do you like the house?" " Yeah." "Yeah?" "I'll show you the house later." "I want to see Mom now." "Maybe you'll be lucky and she's awake." "Sara, Julieta is here." "Julieta?" "Yes..." "Our daughter." "Our daughter." "Hello, Mom." "We're here." "Aren't you glad to see us?" "This is Antía." "You don't recognize her because she's gotten so big." "I've prepared the room across the hall, so you can be close." "I'd rather stay here." "I'll sleep with Mom." "Antía can sleep on the little bed." "Sanáa will change the sheets on it." "That's where she sleeps." "Julieta!" "Mom..." "What are you doing here?" "I've come to see you." "I've brought the baby." "Who?" "Antía, my daughter." "Look at her." "She's so big!" "She's two years old." "Two years..." "Antía, come here." "I've got some lovely strawberries." "Not now, Dad." "I've just put a clean dress on her." "Have you nothing to say to Mom?" "You look beautiful, Sara." " I've got all the jars." " Good." " Dad, may I speak to you?" " Of course." "Sanáa, see to Sara and Antía." "And don't wake Antía." "What happens with Mom when you go to the market?" "One of us always stays with her." "When you picked me up, you left her on her own, locked in her room." "I don't like doing that." "It's to protect her." "It's no life for Mom." "We're as well as we can be." "You know what it would cost to put your mother in a residence?" "I thought you'd hired a woman to look after her." "Sanáa looks after her." "Sanáa looks after the land and you." "Don't go there." "Mom needs more than someone to wash her and make the bed." "You have your life, unfortunately very far from here." "I've tried not to bother you too much, but we've had lots of problems." "Believe me, now we're better than ever." "Love, be a bit more generous and understanding with me." "Ha!" "The Andalusians are back!" "Antía, you've got so big!" "Hello, love." "I thought you weren't coming back!" "We're exhausted!" "The journey was never-ending." "Do you remember your dad?" "I'm exhausted." "How's your mom?" "Awful." "I'll tell you later." "Come on, chubby cheeks!" "My father is having an affair with the girl who looks after my mother." "Does your mother realize?" "My mother's wasting away, poor thing, locked in her room." "What's that?" "A tattoo." "AJ?" "A for Antía and J for Julieta?" "Yes." "Careful, it's still tender." "I wonder if you live inland or on the coast, and if you still like fishing." "By the age of nine, you were going out in the boat with your father." "You wanted to be a fisherman, like him." "You can't go to camp like Cousin Itt from the Addams Family!" "I want to go like this." "But people have to see you've got a forehead, that you've got eyes, a nose, a mouth, ears..." "Mom, don't talk rubbish." "Antía, you're going on vacation, you'll have fun." "I don't want to go, I want to stay." "You can't always do as you want." "What's wrong with my little girl?" "Dad, I don't want to go." "Now that I'm on vacation, I can go fishing with you every day." "Didn't you say you needed help, that you were getting old?" "The fisherwoman!" "When you come back, I'll take you on as a mariner." "Eh?" "I'll hold you to that." "Come on, you old sea dog!" "Have fun." "Are you leaving now?" "Will you come and visit me when you get back?" "Won't you be here?" "No, I won't, but promise you'll come and see me." "Come on..." "I promise." "Take good care of yourself." "Come on!" "Why is Marian leaving?" "Her husband is ill." "She has to look after him." "You didn't fire her?" "Don't be silly!" "Of course not!" "If you asked her to stay, I bet she would." "People have a right to retire." " Do we leave your backpack here?" " No, I keep it with me." " Mom, I'm sorry if I was mean." " Don't worry." "Antía Feijóo." " I love you." " Me too, very much." "Not so fast!" "Should I fix something for supper before I leave?" "Don't worry." "Inés will be here soon." "If you can't find anything, call me at home." "Thank you." "Well..." "I'll be going." "Are you taking Xoan's sweatshirt?" "He gave it to me ages ago." "I'm not taking anything that isn't mine." "Are you serious about teaching in a school?" "Yes." "I think it's a mistake." "I don't want to be just a housewife." "I have a profession I like, I've wanted to go back to it for ages." "A woman's profession is her family." "And if you want to keep it united, the best thing you can do is stay at home." "That's my business!" "If you go, it'll be the same old thing." "What do you mean?" "What's the same old thing?" "Has Marian left?" "Yes." "The new woman will be here soon." "I hope she's more discreet." "Why do you say that?" "When I came here 13 years ago, Marian told me not to wait for you." "You were spending the night with Ava." "Now, before she left, she said something similar." "When I went with Antía to see my parents 10 years ago, you spent the nights with Ava again." "Hello, I'm Inés" "Would you mind coming tomorrow?" "Marian did everything." "Of course, I'll come tomorrow." "Thank you." "See you tomorrow." "I've known Ava forever." "We've never been a couple, but we screwed from time to time." "I wanted to tell you lots of times, but I didn't know how to." "I'm not much of a talker, you've realized that." "But Antía and you are the most important things in my life." "You know that, don't you?" "Aren't you going to say anything?" "No." "What are you going to do?" "Go for a walk and prepare my classes." "I think I'll go fishing." "Coastal radio is reporting a sudden change in the direction and force of winds in the Ferrol estuary." "This change is causing heavy seas with waves from 20 to 25 feet." "All fishing and sailing activity should be suspended in this area, and it is recommended that all vessels return to port." "Yes?" "Ava, sorry for calling." "I just wanted to know if Xoan is with you." "Xoan?" "No." "Do you know where he might be?" "Isn't he back yet?" "No." "He must have gone fishing." "I hope not." "Look at the storm!" "Wait, there's something on the TV." "A boat has capsized in the mouth of the Ferrol estuary." "Its occupant has not yet been found and there are fears for his life given the weather conditions." "A pleasure boat with a crew of three is in the same situation." "Rough seas, with waves of over 20 feet, have impeded any rescue attempt..." "CIVIL GUARD" "I'm Judge Vicente Louro." "Before I can proceed, I need you to identify the body." "I'm sorry to put you through this." "The storm was so violent that the body isn't intact." "I'll get it." "It's Antía." "Antía?" "She wants to talk to you, from the camp." "You have to talk to her." "Come on." "Antía..." "Mom, it's me." "What's wrong with your phone?" "I've called loads of times and you don't answer." "I mustn't have heard it." "How are you, darling?" "Great." "Ava and I will pick you up tomorrow." "We'll get there early." "You don't have to, Mom." "I'm with my friend Bea." "I met her here and now we're best friends." "Can I go and spend a week with them in Madrid?" "You don't mind, do you?" "But we don't know them." "But she's my friend..." "I'll put her mother on, she can tell you." "Hello, how are you?" "I'm Claudia, Beatriz's mother." "How's my daughter?" "Very well, great." "I didn't know her before, but camp has done wonders for her." "I wanted to ask your permission to take her to Madrid with us." "They've grown really close and are making such a fuss about it..." "Doesn't the camp end tomorrow?" "Yes, but I came a day early." "I was hoping to take them this afternoon." "What do you think?" "Well, if she'd like that..." "Julieta, how are you?" "I'm Claudia." "Come in, please." "I'm so sorry, really." "How was the journey?" "Come in." "The girls are playing." "I didn't say anything to them." "Does Antía think it odd that I've come for her today?" "She's angry because she thinks you've come to take her away." "She called Xoan, but he didn't answer, obviously." "Where shall I tell her?" "I think you'll be more comfortable in there." "Would you like anything?" "Something to eat?" "I don't know." "Well, go on in." "I'll get her." "Hi, Mom!" "Hello, love." "How are you?" "Sit down." "I told you to let me stay a few more days." "Don't look like that, we're on vacation." "How's Dad?" "He's got such a nerve!" "He's ignoring me!" "I have to tell you something." "Go on." "Two days after you left, there was a storm." "The boat Dad was in and two other boats disappeared." "No one was saved." "And Dad?" "He wasn't saved either." " He's dead?" " Yes." "Antía..." "Why did he go fishing if there was a storm?" "The storm broke in the afternoon." "Your dad went out in the morning." "I'm sorry to bring this up now." "We'd planned a trip to Patagonia and now Bea doesn't want to come." "She wants to stay here with Antía." " Obviously, they can't stay on their own." " Of course not." "I thought that maybe you could stay here with them." "My son is coming with us." "Here?" "The two girls and you." "After what's happened, the rest will do you good." "And Antía will be more distracted in Madrid." "Well..." "Rosa will take care of everything." "You can go out for a walk, go to the cinema, rest..." "I haven't brought any clothes." "You can use mine." "I've got everything." "Raincoats, blouses that are tight on me now and will look much better on you..." "You can try on whatever you like." "Things happened without my participation, one thing foretelling the next." "Good morning." "We've come to see the apartment that's for rent." "Yes, just a minute." "This way." "The kitchen." " The wallpaper is a bit oppressive." " No, it's cool." "If we get bored, we'll paint it." " We'll take it." " And we'll be neighbors." "Bea and you found an apartment close to where she lived." "You made me rent it." "By then I was worn out, but you were as strong as an ox." "You had suddenly grown up." "You went back home with Ava, to close it and put it up for sale." "In Madrid, Bea looked after me." "I wouldn't have survived without you two." "When you came back, we didn't talk much about the trip." "You didn't want to make me sad, and I didn't have the strength to ask." "Come on, Mom." "We're going to stand you up." "Bea, give me a hand." "That's good." "Be careful you don't slip." "Put the towel around her." "Pass me that big towel." " This one?" " Yes, that's it." "Put it over her back." "This foot." "Now the other." "Careful." "Rub her back well, that'll warm her up." "I don't want her to catch cold." "Now I'll finish it off with the dryer." "Hi, Mom." "Hello." "If we're going to eat something, hurry up." "I'm meeting Bea to study." " Do you like how it's turning out?" " Yes." "I think I'll do the sitting room tomorrow." "Don't bother, I've got used to the wallpaper and Bea loves it." "Bea has a beautiful, vanilla-colored house, and she doesn't have to live here." "Shall I fix you a sandwich?" "Okay, but hurry." "I got over the depression with your help and I found a job I could do at home, proofreading." "I dedicated the rest of my time to you." "I didn't need anything else." "Four years later, when Bea went to the U.S., you chose a spiritual retreat in the Pyrenees." "A retreat that would last three months, until you came back to go to university." "I was horrified at being separated from you but you had gone out very little in those last years." "You were always busy with me and your studies." "I had no right to say no." "And, besides you were of age by then." "Yes?" "Yes, that's me." "I'll be down now." "That's my taxi, it's downstairs." " Are you taking the fishnet?" " Yes." "Leave it, Mom, I can do it." "Well, take care of yourself and have fun." "You take care, too." "And don't worry if I don't call or write very much." "Will you be incommunicado?" "It's a retreat." "The important thing is to disconnect." "What if I get sick?" "Don't try to blackmail me!" "Of course not." "I've got my work, and I want to sort out my notes." "Maybe I'll turn them into a book." "I'll be busy." "That's great." "Let me go with you to the station." "Remember you don't like farewells." "Well, goodbye," "Europe" "Hello." "I'm Antía Feijóo's mother." "I'm picking her up today." "This way." " Julieta Arcos?" " Yes." " I'm Antía's mother." " I'm Juana." "What a magnificent place!" "I've asked Liliana to serve us some tea out here." "Does Antía know I'm here?" "Yes." "I can't wait to see her." "These three months without her have been so long..." "Of course." "I realize you have your reasons, but the lack of communication all this time has been very difficult." "Will I have to wait very long?" "Julieta," "Antía isn't here." "Isn't this the house?" "I followed the directions..." "Yes, this is the house." "When Antía wrote to you, she thought she'd be here." "But, in the end, she decided to leave." "She could have told me." "I've driven from Madrid." "I know." "Where did she go?" "I hope it's near here." "I can't tell you." "What?" "I can't tell you where she is." "I'm sorry." "Don't you know?" "You're the one in charge here." "Of course I know, but Antía asked me not to tell you." "Are you insinuating my daughter doesn't want to see me?" "Let's see..." "Antía has chosen her own path, and you're not part of it." "I understand that it must be very painful for you, but she begs you to accept it." "I think I'm going to call the police." "Do as you wish, but I think you should start to face reality." "I understand that it isn't easy." "What did you do to my daughter in these three months?" "We helped her." "Your daughter arrived in a state of extreme need." "Need of what?" "She's always had all that she needed!" "Yet she felt alone, and very unhappy." "She has realized that her life was lacking a spiritual dimension." "What do you mean?" "I believe she didn't grow up in a home based on faith." "She found it here." "Let her tell me that!" "Where is she?" "I can't tell you." "What matters is that Antía is better than ever and very happy." "If you stop thinking about yourself and think about her, you should be happy." "You can't tell me that." "Don't despair." "Perhaps she'll decide to contact you, but give her time." "I reported your disappearance to the police," "I hired a private detective." "During the first months all I did was look for you in every possible way." "All I discovered was how little I knew of you." " Julieta Arcos?" " Yes, that's me." "I have a letter for you." "Will you sign here, please?" "Thank you." "Antía!" "Hello, Dad." "Hello, Julieta." "Did you see the photo I sent you?" "Yes, I'm looking at it now." "Isn't your brother handsome?" "Yes, he certainly is." "When will you come and meet him?" "I can't now, Dad." "I told you I'm very busy." "I'm sorry, I have to hang up." "I'll call you." "Stop punishing me." "Haven't I the right to be happy after your mother's death?" "I'd rather not talk about Mom's death." "Remember you're still my daughter and Antía is my granddaughter." "The last time I saw her she was just a child." "Give her a kiss from me." "I'll do that." "Kisses to all of you, too." "The first three years, I bought you a cake on your birthday." "I was consoled by the idea of celebrating a postcard from you and at least seeing your handwriting on the address." "I didn't expect more, but even that was expecting too much." "The first three years, throwing a cake in the garbage to celebrate your birthday became a tradition." "Inocencio," "I'm giving up the apartment, I'm leaving Spain." "When?" "As soon as possible, within a week." "Inocencio," "I apologize for the commotion last night." "The tenant below you complained." "I won't be bothering him anymore." "Goodbye." "I looked for an area of Madrid where you'd never been." "I wanted a place where there was no trace of you, where nothing reminded me of you." "Hello." "No, don't get up." "Yes, I will." "How are you?" "Well..." "The last attack immobilized all of my left side." "How do you like your new house?" "It's better." "It's like living in another city." "They're beautiful." "I've got a present for you, too." "It's in the bag." "The Seated Man!" "Thank you so much, Ava." "Before you leave, I'd like to tell you something." " It doesn't explain anything..." " It isn't necessary." "Everything has been clear between us for a long time." "It's about Antía." "When we went to close up your house," "Marian came." "Antía!" "I couldn't prevent her seeing Antía and talking to her." "She told her everything about Xoan's last day." "Your row and that Xoan put out to sea even though it was choppy that day." "But Marian wasn't there." "She went home before." "Apparently Xoan rang her to ask what you'd talked about." "Antía never said anything, she never asked me anything." "She asked me." "She wanted to confirm if you'd argued because of me and if the sea really was choppy." "I had no idea about the state of the sea." "And I said I wouldn't discuss the rest with a child." "She was furious." "She called me a whore." "She blamed you and me for Xoan going fishing." "I don't understand." "She never reproached me." "We didn't talk much, that's true." "But teenagers are mysterious, and I didn't want to burden her." "Please..." "The day she left, Antía rang me." "Ava, how are you?" "Antía..." "Messed up." "I got the diagnosis." "Multiple sclerosis." "But don't tell your mother." "I'll call her." "Ava," "I'd like to talk to you, but this may not be the time." "She asked me the same questions." "Only one thing had changed." "The guilt had spread to the three of us." "She included herself." "Why did she feel guilty?" "She'd gone away and had been happy at the camp." "I told her none of us was to blame for what happened." "Even if we were guilty, we'd suffered enough punishment." "Then Antía said:" ""We all get what we deserve. "" "I raised you in the same freedom in which my parents had raised me." "When we moved to Madrid and I fell into that depression," "I never told you, but I was suffocated by a tremendous sense of guilt about your father's death and that of the man on the train." "I never talked to you about it." "I wanted you to grow up free from guilt." "But you sensed it." "And despite my silence, I infected you like a virus." "She asked to be sedated." "It was very tough..." "Excuse me, I'm Lorenzo Gentile." "I saw you in the elevator at the hospital." "I thought to myself, that woman is so pretty and so downhearted." "She must be visiting someone who is very ill." "I never thought it was our beloved Ava." "To Ava." "Ava told me about you." "And what did she say?" ""I have a friend you must meet. "" "Ava bequeathed me Lorenzo." "I never told him about you." "There wasn't a single trace of you in the house." "You didn't exist." "I started a new life with him." "Days became weeks." "The weeks, months and years." "There were days I didn't think about you." "When a former addict relapses just once, no matter how many years he is clean, the relapse is fatal." "I abstained from you for years, but I made the mistake of relapsing into the hope of finding you or hearing about you." "That absurd hope shattered the fragile base on which I'd built my new life." "I have nothing left." "Only you exist." "Your absence fills my entire life and destroys it." "Julieta!" "Julieta!" "It's me, Bea!" "Beatriz?" "Is it really you?" "Of course." "Are you all right?" "Come on..." "You were so well when I saw you." "Those two girls reminded me of you and Antía." "They're my nieces." "But what's happened?" "The last time you were so well..." "When we met, I didn't tell you..." "I haven't seen Antía for 12 years." "Twelve years?" "Did you really see her like you said?" "Yes." "Yes, I did." "But I didn't tell you that it was very unpleasant." "Unpleasant?" "Why?" "Antía didn't want to talk to me." "She did all she could to avoid me." "She said she didn't know me, that I'd mistaken her for someone else." "But I knew it was her." "In the end, she had no choice but to talk to me." "Is it true about the children?" "Yes, three." "She had two of them with her." "Why didn't she want to talk to you?" "You were her best friend." "We were more than that." "After the camp we were inseparable." "Don't you remember?" "Yes, of course." "You were always together." "We couldn't live without each other." "It's a pity it was hell at the end." "Hell?" "I see you know nothing." "No," "I don't." "I went to New York to study to get away from your daughter." "I rang her one day." "She told me she was going to a retreat in the Pyrenees." "I just wanted her to leave me in peace." "Did you ever speak again?" "She called me once, but she was a different person." "In what way?" "She told me she was ashamed of our relationship and didn't want anything to do with me." "She was a new person who had finally found her path and I wasn't part of it." "She was talking like a fanatic." "She scared me." "Call an ambulance!" "Lorenzo..." "How are you?" "My mouth's dry." "Here." "What a coincidence that you were there when I had the accident." "I came back from Portugal four days ago." "I went to your house in case I might see you coming out." "But I moved." "I don't live there anymore." "I know." "How did you find out?" "The first days, I followed you to see what you did." "You followed me?" "Anyone less distracted would have noticed." "When I realized that I was turning into one of Patricia Highsmith's obsessive characters, hiding around corners" "and keeping watch outside your house," "I stopped following you and I went to Portugal to write." "I came back a few days ago." "I'm sorry I said goodbye in such a terrible way." "Did you read them?" "I didn't have time, and anyway I wouldn't have dared." "Read them if you like and then destroy them." "Julieta Arcos c/ Fernando VI No 19 3o Left 28004 Madrid Spain" "Antía Feijóo Max-Parking Cioss Cioss 6637 Sonogno Switzerland" "Dear Mom," "I don't know if you're still in Madrid and living in the same house, but I have no other address for you." "I have three children." "Xoan, the eldest, was only nine years old when he drowned in a river." "And I am insane with grief." "In these moments, the worst in my entire life," "I'm thinking of you." "Now I understand what you must have suffered when I disappeared." "I couldn't imagine it." "No one who hasn't suffered it can imagine it." "I'm not going to ask her for an explanation." "I just want to be with her." "But she didn't invite me to come..." "After 13 years she didn't dare, but she put her return address."