Satan's Baby Doll (La bimba di Satana)

Nothing special.

Believe me, Antonio.

lt's just a muscular spasm

caused by an automatic nervous contraction.

ln spite of all the efforts of medicine,

the way the human body works is still a mystery.

What happened to Maria has happened before.

l know.

But it was awful.

lt seemed like she was staring at her daughter,

as if she was still alive,

as if she wanted to talk to her, to confide something in her,

to ask for help to...

beat death.

There's no need for it.

Neazara said it and the Antichrist will proclaim it.

Only the body dies and goes back to the earth, where it came from,

but the soul is immortal.

And the dead come back and come to life again in us

forever, for better or worse, till the end of time.

Rubbish!

You talk nonsense!

Believe me, Antonio, l'm talking as a doctor and as a friend.

Unfortunately, Maria is dead and nothing can bring her back to life.

Certainly not these foolish superstitions.

The truth is quite different.

Let's go now, leave her to rest in peace.

Antonio...

why didn't you call a priest?

This is what she would have wanted.

l knew her innermost thoughts.

All of them.

Come here, Sol, please. Sit beside me.

What's wrong, darling?

Here l am.

Don't leave me, Sol. Please.

Come on, be a good girl. You have to rest now.

l know it was a bad experience, but you'll get over it.

Try to sleep. lt will do you good.

l don't want to sleep,

l can't.

- l'm afraid, Sol. - Don't be afraid.

l'm here with you.

You know, Miria, sometimes nature is cruel to us

and has awful things in store for us.

Pain is part of life, you have to get used to it.

But then everything is all right.

Try to rest now.

You will feel better when you wake up.

But don't go away, Sol.

l won't go away, darling. l promise.

l'll see to the necessary procedures.

As for the death certificate,

l won't mention the excessive quantities of digitalin Maria ingested.

We knew about her hysterics,

but somebody else might interpret the facts in a different way.

What do you suggest, then?

A heart attack is the most logical diagnosis and there will be no need for an autopsy.

Nobody wants Maria's body to be mangled. Don't worry, Antonio.

We've known each other for many years, l'm very fond of your family.

Tell me the truth, Juan. You really loved Maria, didn't you?

Just like every one who knew her.

But l don't understand...

why do you ask me this question, Antonio?

Maria was a wonderful woman, you know this.

Yes, l know.

Juan, did you remember the stuff?

My brother suffers from that back pain.

Oh, yes. l almost forgot.

Here it is, l brought a double dose,

in case we don't see each other for a while. Be careful,

if your brother gets used to it, it won't help him any more.

l'll be back for Maria's embalmment.

lf you need me, you know where l am.

- Good luck, Antonio. - Thank you, Juan.

Bye.

Stop it now!

Stop fooling around, it's dirty and vulgar.

What's going on? Can't a person sleep?

Stop it.

You could fool anyone in this house but me.

l won't let a cheap whore have fun like this, at the expense of a poor paraplegic.

What gives you the authority to talk like this?

This is my room. l've got the right to undress and go to sleep.

l'm the one who decides the rights and duties in this house.

- Do you understand? - l won't let you treat me so arrogantly.

- Get out of my room, right now. - l'm the one who gives the orders here.

No!

And don't raise your voice again!

Understand now?

Now bring lgnazio back into his room.

l will save you, Miria.

l will save you from the damned souls.

l will save you.

Come, Miria.

lt's your mother that commands you.

Come, darling.

Come.

Come, Miria.

lt's your mother that commands you.

Come, darling.

Come.

Come, Miria.

Come, darling.

Come.

No! No!

No.

Come, Miria.

Come.

No.

No!

l heard someone screaming.

- What's going on? - lt's Miria's voice, let's look for her.

ln the crypt, quick. Miria is there.

Miria, where are you?

Her eyes.

- She looked at me. Her eyes. - What happened?

- She stared at me. - For heaven's sake, what are you saying?

My mother was alive. She was alive.

What eyes? Miria, calm down.

What are you talking about? Her eyes were open.

She looked at me as if to scare me, as if she wanted to talk to me.

Miria, darling, stop now.

Your mother is dead.

And her eyes will be closed forever.

- No! lt's not true. l've seen them! - Stop it.

- l've seen them! - Try to calm down.

Come on. Come, come with me.

l'm afraid. l don't want to see her again.

- She looked at me. - Don't be afraid.

- l don't want to see her again. - Come.

No.

Look at your mother.

You see? She's dead.

Keep still. Don't breathe.

Good girl. Still.

Now a deep breath.

Good.

Nothing special, except an acceleration of the circulatory system,

but in the present circumstances that's understandable.

lt's been a violent shock for her, the second in few days.

There's nothing to worry about, though,

but it's not wise for her to stay in this house,

l'd like to suggest something, if you'll allow me.

A month of complete peace and quiet in the right clinic

will help to wipe out every bad memory.

She'll come back as good as new. Better.

l'll see to finding the best treatment for her.

She will come with me tomorrow morning. lf you agree, of course.

l shan't move from here.

l shan't move.

- You can forget it.. - Don't you dare talk to me like that.

You'll do as you're told and you won't complain.

ln any case...

it's for your own good, darling.

Listen, Miria,

nobody wants to send you away

but you need to be cared for.

We can't take care of you as you need.

lsidro is alone,

he's too busy to look after you.

l love you, you know,

but l'm always busy with your uncle lgnazio.

Listen to the doctor.

- Go, be reasonable. - l'm not reasonable and l don't want to be.

l shan't go with him.

You will never manage to convince her,

it's because of her abnormal state.

l'm sure she will have changed her mind tomorrow when l pick her up.

Miria is a clever girl, she knows this is for her own good.

l have to go now.

l have to visit a patient.

- Goodbye, Miria. - l'll see you out.

You won't succeed, Doctor.

You won't succeed.

What's happening?

Nothing else to say, Juan Suarez?

What's going on? This can't be happening, it's madness.

Calm down, Juan, it can't be true.

Maybe l'm too tired. Yes, it's a dream.

lt's not a dream, Doctor. Look at me.

You used to love me, Juan.

No, it can't be. l can't believe this.

No, it's not true.

- You have a weak memory, Juan. - Stop it.

Somebody help me. Stop, stop, l've had enough.

Maybe you recognize my face now, dear Doctor?

Once it was different, don't you remember?

What's wrong with me? l've had enough. l'm hallucinating.

Go away, Maria.

What am l saying? This is a dream, a hallucination,

a nightmare.

You used to love me though.

You profited of every moment to make love to me, don't you remember?

The past is coming back, Juan.

We are alone now.

You and me, as it used to be.

When l was yours, body and soul.

Come closer, Juan.

What shall we do with the corpse of the doctor?