“In a city full of rain and hopelessness, one abandoned dog’s journey unravels the torn pieces of human lives searching for redemption and pure love.”
Watch the original version of Amores Perros
Prologue
The streets of Mexico City witnessed a tragedy that would redefine the lives of three individuals, set at a fatalistic intersection of fate between a dog and its owners. Blood spilled, innocence lost and futures changed; all in a moment that quickly morphed into a common history for the Dog, its owners and their chaotic lives.
First Chapter – Destiny’s Crossroad
Amores Perros. Love’s a Bitch. That was the name of the underground dogfighting club where Octavio took Cofi, the pit bull that had been the solace since his childhood. But tonight wasn’t a night for solace or money that would take him to freedom. Octavio stood wringing his hands next to the ring, and prepared mentally.
Octavio loved Susana more than life, and not just because she was stunning; he knew her heart too, and it called to his with more strength than he’d like to admit. Octavio blamed it on destiny squarely that created hurdles in their relationship. Susana’s husband, Octavio`s brother, was the largest roadblock between the lovebirds. But unfortunately, Adrein(dog-fighting boss)made obstacles easier to navigate than octavio’s circumstances – including family drama, money matters, and Adrien’s inflated thugs, making scrapping together cash for a new life a difficult ask.
Today was it though; it had to happen.
“This is your lucky day,” Octavio whispered to Cofi.
The man showed up for his first dogfight. From the other side, Dra. Valeria was flying high above the city in a helicopter, gazing down on the bustling metropolis beneath her when the collision occurred. Another significant character is introduced right in a single shot of the director`s lens without any dialogue exchange among the differing parts of first chapters.
Valeria’s modelling career was at the top of everything until the accident. The result was painful to experience, so traumatic that she did not utter a single word. Everything she had hoped to attain through her impeccable features had turned into a contest of soul reviving battle, but this would be admitted much later in the novel chapters for readers.
Suddenly, the disaster unfolds as an oil-drenched pit bull staggers across the street, searching for help, casting doubt on destinies unfolding adequately.
“`
Overall, this novel is about the lives and decisions of three unconnected souls, forced to confront moments implying the impermanence of human connection while modeling multidimensional relationships alongside lessons of morality. in the following chapters the readers will watch relationships delve deeper from distant exchanges to plain blood-letting. A masterpiece when it comes to mystical human statements, this novel opens up an environment with soft lives piloted ashore by harsh actualities.
Chapter 2 – Love and Betrayal
Octavio sat perched on the edge of his bed, clutching his brother’s photograph in one hand, while the other fiera crept across the room to rest on Susana’s shoulder. Looking at her face crunching at the mere sight of him, he knew that he needed to make his move before it was too late.
What Octavio saw in Susana earlier that afternoon was Juno’s patina that glimmered when the light shone in right. She was never seen arguing with his brother Marco and had this calm presence about her. Octavio presumed it was something to do with the birth of Marco and Susana’s child, Ramiro.
In contrast, Octavio had grown furious with their constant arguments and the sight of his clandestine resentment eclipsing, fluttering into obtuseness, driving a distant wedge between himself and Marco. He’d pushed simmering anger in remote corners of his mind where irksome memories resided instead to keep relations with his elder brother but knew that things needed to surface now or let haunt every fiber of his existence.
“Let’s run away, Su,” Octavio said as Susana walked to the bedroom window, gently adjusted her hairpin, and looked beyond the window sash from several stories above.
“Which island would you like, Ocho?” Susana said, deeply engrossed in what lay beyond.
“This particular island fuses with land, unique traditions, beautiful villages, and vast landscapes, Su. There’s life that is independent of who you were, what you are now, and what you could become. Come on, we could leave everything behind, start afresh,” Octavio said in a persuasive voice, holding up well enough not to show the extent of his desperation, with just a hint of disquietude that only Susana would detect.
“But your folks and your brother and your dog cradling your brother’s memories; what of them, Octavio?” Susana inquired, finally turning around to face Ocho, slightly taken aback by how a lone unusual suggestion made her more conscious of the differences between them.
“Give me a chance to make a life, a life worth living for. I need to start afresh, Su,” Octavio managed, his plea tingeing his voice now, hands clammy within Susana’s.
An almost maniacal urgency encapsulated Octavio, as if he was about to explode inside himself for hiding too many things from too many people and the fact that he couldn’t continue without coming clean on everything. At this moment, he needed a release to help with the pain, the backlog of mistrust, and his inexorable wanting to make right this endless ruin.
He felt a flutter on his right collarbone, and as his hands inclined up to scratch against it, his mind was drawn back inexplicably to a recent memory. With the brutality of it, he knew he needed to make a choice, one way or another, no matter how deeply they were at odds over the years.
He looked around for something to attach to his deepened pain, perhaps the porcelain birds they used to admire during childhood or the double-headed raven Marco used to recite epigrammatic jokes he created while painting in his canvasses.
Octavio coveted his brother’s love and empathy for whatever circumstance at that moment, just as much as he coveted his willingness to make amends before this bestial competition of hearts spun out so far of control they might neverpiece things back together again.
Without wasting another moment, like a shotgun that got accidentally fired, Octavio yielded to his gut feeling.
“Are you serious about this, Octavio?” Susana said, sitting on the edge of the bed touching her fingertips.
“Yes,” Octavio said, securely drawing hem close to feel the spill in their hearts. “I respect that you have ties to my family and my brother, but if you expect me to live like Marco, let’s think again because I can’t take it.”
“There’s no one else but your brother,” Ele followed.
“You really think so, Su? You really think Eli would reject me and hate me for not having family. For not having a best friend. For not having anything else but some deep wells masking over the near-depleted springs that refuse to overflow anymore?”
“Maybe, the concern is only for you,” Susana said more cooly than Octavio had atariade.
He looked down at his feet, “Exactly why we need to patch something between each other before anything even big happens before this competition between us ends like watching people kill dogs.”
Susana shook her head. “Kill dogs is no good. Unlike killing people. And it follows.”
“Neither of us finds any answer unless we patch things between us,” Octavio repeated.
It was clear that nothing tangible was going in the way of avoiding any redundancy of their relationship, and still clear that Octavio wouldn’t enter on the root of the deep wells, empty and nearly depleted as it was.
Sensing incrudulity, Octavio attempted another softer approach. “Just consider it with care, we could, your family, your baby, and possess happiness impossible anywhere else, Su.”
Tugging at her feet, he looked up at Susana for validation.
But even as an obsessive of possibility, he could hardly fathom up more than this jagged pattern of his uncertain desires. He looked at her take her jewels off and untie her hair via the dresser mirror while she remained quiet for nearly an hour-long.
Moments passed, and Susana turned around, a school reunion between them, looked young and alive, fresh, like just stepping naked and unaware from the pummeling overhead rain, framing her gently at a default sensual location.
“I should,” Susana confirmed life forthwith. In that moment, something abroved invisibly between them, something strange, so weird that neither knew a single standard song that they could’ve soaked away its apparition.
“Excellent! I won’t tell any of this to anyone. Help me pack, and we leave tomorrow,” Octavio said, immediately letting the stark levels of excitement seep into his senses.
Chapter 3 – Escape Plan
Susana felt her heart pound in her chest as she looked over at Octavio. This was more serious than she realized at first. He was not just looking for an escape; he wanted her to leave everything she knew behind and run away with him. They both knew her husband Ramiro would never approve of their union. After all, Ramiro was Octavio’s brother.
“How can we just run away?” susana asked finally, still feeling unsure of what to do.
Octavio leaned in close to her, his intense gaze locking onto hers. “We’ll be together,” he said softly. “I know you feel it too.”
Susana’s mind raced as Octavio continued asking her to leave with him. She tried to push out how she would never see her family again or face condemnation from her entire community. Yet, Susana struggled to control what was growing rapidly to become instant attraction with Octavio.
“OK,” she said softly. “But how can we escape?”
With each beat of her heart, Susana became more convinced she was about to make a huge mistake. She started to listen to the voices in her head that lowered her self-esteem when she has agreed on a midnight run away with Octavio. The weight of their affair laid heavy in her heart.
“Well, we have to figure that out. The house gets really quiet late at night because everyone’s asleep. All we have to do is pack some bags and leave with enough money to make it.” Octavio added and then kissed her neck lightly.
Soon after, Susana moved to pack her bags while Octavio took care of his affairs. The final touches fell nicely into place later that evening when they found themselves in each other’s tender embrace in the backseat of Ramiro’s car. Ramiro was out that night raving with the boys, and will not be back until the next day. But in a twist of fate, Maria couldn’t sleep that night, who surprisingly caught them red-handed in Ramiro’s car. As soon as Octavio and Susana saw Ramiro’s large silhouette seem into view, they feared the worst.
And when Ramiro finally glared at them with a dumbfounded look in his eyes when he finally saw them in his car, they knew he would not take their alliance without a fight.
Chapter 4 – Life on the Streets
El Chivo never thought he’d end up on the streets. Yet here he was, huddled on a cold concrete slab with nothing but his dog Cofi beside him. It wasn’t always like this. El Chivo had a name, but he couldn’t remember it. All he knew was that things went wrong a long time ago, his family abandoned him, and he ended up on the streets.
But one thing remained unchanged: his love for Cofi. The dog was his only companion and constant source of comfort in this hopeless existence. He would do anything for his furry friend. And now, that loyalty would be put to the test.
El Chivo had protected Cofi all his life. But even he wasn’t prepared for what happened to his furry companion. As he was scavenging for food, Cofi darted across the street, and a car hit him. Cofi lay motionless on the road, his tiny frame struggling to breathe.
El Chivo couldn’t watch his beloved friend die, and he hobbled over to him and tried to revive him. He knew Cofi meant everything to him, and losing him would send him over the edge. As he gently stroked his friend’s matted fur, Cofi moved his paw, giving a glimmer of hope to El Chivo.
Determined to save his pooch, El Chivo wrapped Cofi in a t-shirt and brought him to a local veterinarian clinic. He hoped that the vet would be able to save him, but all his hope vanished when she told him that the injuries were too severe.
El Chivo wept in silence as he took Cofi back home, only to discover that someone had destroyed his small, makeshift shelter. In his search for food, life on the street was hard. But he had never thought someone would rob him so mercilessly. All his money and possessions had vanished. El Chivo felt completely broken.
He sat on the street, clutching the now lifeless body of Cofi, questioning why his life was so suffocating. It felt like he had hit rock bottom, with no way out. Yet he knew he needed to carry on. He had always relied on himself to survive, and this time would be no different.
The next few days were brutal for El Chivo. He scrounged for food, ransacked garbage bins, and even went without meals in order to save money. He knew he needed to pick himself up or die hopelessly on the streets.
But even with his continuous struggle, some days brought small indulgences for him. As he sat on his cold slab that he just rescued from the rain, he watches two rather fluffy things testing his resistance. Twenty minutes later, El Chivo had two yard-long foil-wrapped fajitas–one beef, one chicken-spinach–in his hand. He opens the wrapping, spilling sautéed onions on the top, unwrapping four neatly tourniqueted packs of chopped tomatoes, lettuce, red brisket, salty white cheese, and a crumbly orange-red sawdust. For a while, the smell gave him strength, his and Cofi’s favourite kind of food.
Days passed, and he slept less, prowled more. He spotted people, watched them, and began to categorize them in his head, whether they were to his advantage or not, was hard to say yet, but nothing or no one managed to overcome his curiosity, he belonged nowhere.
El Chivo wouldn’t say he was desensitized—but he did have room for more unrequited human drama. Life on the streets all intertwined in increasingly complex webs with no apparent resolution or forgiveness, one intense and crushing moment was often erased by the next. The addition of finding and saving to feed a blanket of needs in three places every night hardly improved things.
El Chivo found that as much as the outside had changed, some things remained the same. The people on the periphery of larger society, those trapped between the blurred lines of the city’s broken societies, all of them could connect in some manner.
But despite his penchant for shrewd deductions about his fellow fugitives, one cat belonged to a different universe from everybody else.
—A woman—pretty enough to belong in all his heart-dreams, getting out of a car with a skip of excitement and a half-glance at him where he perched on a slab in urchin’s convalescence. He didn’t know who she was, but a woman like that always seemed somehow signature, renaissance queens slumming in action in secret worlds. She had the wonder of childhood and never carried bags, running errands to secret corners of society he would never reach. She had developed a charitable attachment other past-boyfriends couldn’t reach.
And just when their resemblance thoughts begun to waver, he totally lost her. The events were never connected nor in any specific timeline, bubbles felt less momentous, less as though people with real lives inhabited them.
The world had changed so much in the past few years, with a dog whose constant scratch and friendly presence left meaning in his world gone. But El Chivo knew that even in the darkest moments of his life, he needed to continue fighting. For himself, for his dog’s memory, and for that mysterious woman who reminded him that pockets of beauty were still possible in this harsh and unforgiving world. As he huddled on the cold slab, he hoped for things to get better. But he knew for him it never would be. Despite that he further resolutely put his hunger on hold, eager to save a dozen cents for a purpose greater than hunger, who knew who might donate? So the scruffy, stinky, whispered to the melting dusk, “I return walking story, living life pumping black blood from our wall made heart. Sounds melodramatic, inspiring.” Weirdly, he felt like that was the start of change.
Chapter 5 – A New Friend
As Valeria lay in her hospital bed, she watched the day tick by through the window beside her. The sun rose higher and higher, illuminating nurses bustling in and out of rooms. Her Instagram followers were dropping fast. Every post that didn’t feature her as the picture-perfect model lost her tiny bits of followers, daily. She despised the fleeting attention she had forever craved that from others. But not like before. The accident changed everything. There was an evident discouragement in her eyes.
Julio, the floater nurse attending to Valeria, walked past her room with his head buried in the nurse’s chart not paying attention to the agglomeration of heavy traffic he walks into. Suddenly realizing his drone-eyed self, he promptly moved aside as a couple of police vehicles passed, sirens reverberating in his ears-deafening him. He lifted his head back to check on Valeria -where he assumed he would find Varlene – a burly tech repleting Varlene since two days ago. Scouting the room, his eyes came through on Valeria sitting erect, hands atop her face – silently peeping through Julian’s turmoil.
She couldn’t help but eavesdrop into the next room as a woman who seemed around the same age as her lay silently sobbing with a man she could guess was a doctor trying to console her. Their words were lost, the sobs penetrating deeper in Valeria’s skin, pulsating like a near-fledgling wound.
“Geez.” Valeria murmured, her eyes welling up with tears. She tried to think of a distraction – anything to get rid of the spitting image of betrayal and decline that took over her body.
“Hey, do you know any good books?” she asked Julio suddenly.
“Uh – I do. What do you like to read?” he replied, looking over at Valeria, who had turned completely in his direction.
She lifted herself to sit leaning more onto Julio’s chest. In the salt-grain sunlight sunlight – he could see her velvet-brown angular eyes sparkle with energy. Julio’s brown eyes swiftly danced over Valeria’s appearance – a cartilage marring the perfect nose, grand splash of the well-done body type- her color drastically changing from photo filters. Totally-slick nails on fingers, toe pads scarred-up showing darkness between them the only other thing than her eyeliner saying her name out aloud.
“I like anything interesting. Maybe a mystery?” pondered Valeria out loud. She probed her luck-dragging more words, trusting that Julio could be a friend.
“Interesting, huh? Well, have you ever read Gone Girl?” Julio lifted his brow inquisitively at Valeria.
“But of course. Would be a conundrum if you haven’t already read it by now.” She smiled cheekily at this – amused at the best fast tracks of internet mystery media convergence. Julien mirrored small gestures of humour trying to break physical barriers with Valeria, who didn’t necessarily focus too hard onto making friends yet.
“Right, well then have you ever read anything by Tana French? Her book Faithful Place, in particular, comes to mind.” Julio scratched his scalp aptly while walking to one side where scriptures apart related to the eyes matter escaped Valeria attention.
Valeria smiled, her eyes finally connecting with Julio’s. “Sounds interesting. Sign me up for a copy.” Julia, noting this, oozed a thin veil of delighted nods, the ineffable quotient adding depth to his occupation blooming like dancing flevolently fading baritones adding the crimson-haired kindle to the somber scenario, he geared himself up to shop the next day and with this Valeria picked-up a new friend.
Until she met Julio, her hospital experience was her curse-a life-ramp drama she’d be thrown into. Now it’d become that little notch of sunshine-like C for Valeria. Something good.
“So, what do you do when you’re not reading books?” asked Valeria, hoping to find common ground with the nurse who had commented over the skilful positioning of the bandages two nights ago haven’t intrigued Valeria till now further emphasizing the extent of a company for people.
Julio took a deep breath and he starts, the irritation round him slowly falling as he poured the answers. A halo of good humor seemed to be emanating from him Valeria noted before coming in just an iota of spark amidst odles of pain due to the dog accident. He was passionate about travelling, movies, photography- five years back he started doing mixed martial arts, multiple neck tattoos spewing out with every restlessness Julie kept stocking when talking- none the less, whatever he said was refreshing. It sounded like an age had passed between Valeria living this illness experience breathing sheer glee and peace!
She realized that all Julio wanted was to be seen, to be acknowledged-a section, a friend- a mutual admiration subject where both sides win aspects rife both in lovely and ugly turns. Until now they resembled two human carcass of land scarcely divided by the long wire mesh stretched endlessly all around. With Julio noticing this, Valeria could see his eyes smile before them before her physically doing the same-Locked in each others’ vibes profusely befriending one another unknowingly the mysterious movement of turning horrible turnouts to absolute beautiful experiences.
Chapter 6 – The Betrayal of a Friend
El Chivo never thought he would become this soft for another living creature, let alone a dog. But Cofi had a way of carving his way into the most tightly guarded of hearts. He felt a connection with the dog’s independent spirit and sympathetic eyes that made him feel less alone in his world. Every day he felt a little more compassion towards him, like they understood something about each other maybe this is why having to make the decision he would make in the coming days made him feel like he was being forced to betray his best friend.
Everything had started escalating ever since the memory about his daughter’s accidental death came back to him. His friend, Chepina who he had assumed dead and who he now recognizes as Maru’s mother valuably took care of Cofi over a year, even giving him a home. She probably treated Cofi better than she had taken care of her own child, causing El Chivo to feel a begrudging fondness for the animal. Hunting down Chepina, leading to Magda and Maru having a sharing a cruel fate for having associated with him. As much as much he regretted such past actions, it is his guilt and past actions that uphold the path he had chosen until his death.
He walked down the contaminated streets leading Cofi along with him, heading close to Atila’s bungalow. El Chivo had earlier called him to pick a parcel they had been discussing for quite some time. El Chivo stopped a couple of feet away from the gate as Atila walked out to the gate. Awaiting any further placement of order seeing as he intended not to stay ne longer. Midnight approached it was almost time, all this while El Chivo kept nervously peeping through his entrance mask.
Suddenly, the lonely silence of past some surrounding their occurrence if broke into with the approaching van with attackers in it. The sudden loud thud almost had them rattled, and Atila opened the door to reveal Josue waiting to drive. El Chivo and Atila proceed into the obsedian mines and Atila accompanied by Josue starts taking El Chivo to help pick some supplies that would play a crucial to their attack in the coming week. He remained alert, waiting for more of Josue’s insane words which tended to burst between there parts in which reflective silence presented itself. Avoiding his taunts drinking just enough to keep the nerves steady awaiting for his nearing destiny that meant saving someone else’s legacy.he was taking would determine his near future course of action undoubtedly with life-altering impacts regardless so significantly that he would no longer term his ideal destiny ahead of this play.
As they got closer he continued seeing his son below the balcony, a slight smirk came as he pondered on what such innocent but necessary steps taken towards attaining utopia would cost him his life’s grievances although he indeed na mind to recall go to past situations, on what and if he would be remembered when he takes immediate action to resolve his accumulated past grievances genuinely. But most certainly hed seen the end. Like moments unheard of seemed to be fleeting, and things played a purpose greater than him.Despite it all, he acted on hope,having been crippled by it this misery strickened path offers almost his only sincere redemption in these noble actions taken.
As he parted ways with Atilia, Josue saw his macho exterior crack a bit, words threatening to spill,only offering enough to trust on its planning.They then drove separated-way mode, their paths going across different ways wth Ed Girbaldi the political contender he had looked in recent times for preparedness in his death. He heard a loud bang from across the street as back fender fading to disobeys becoming less and less quickly right behind an advancing car. El Chivo went from being a father to someone far ceased to everything he prided himself on. His present now supersedes his long-forgotten ideals about change.Mere thoughts he exerted about his doubtful seat in this amoral world.
Suddenly, Cofi barked loudly. El Chivo turned his head and saw two men approaching him fast. In seconds, their running patters reveal one of the attackers as the lost Árambaula,(who uses ‘dog food vendor’ as name not to reveal his real identity). Adopting silence after parting ways with such low-dwellers, El Chivo recalled the conversation where reportedly the two had met,since the Árambaulas face-some contact that couuld prove useful apparently absent. In his hands was a pistol, ready to command an oath with gravity-trapped soul-bound connection to fulfill later.Threats to his survival rule him entirely, enough to affect his judgement and allow any incoming outside support. Quickly he caught his services trick regarding this tipoff heavily struck by society mere expectation of relevance seemingly reduces them to the depths he previosuly branded common in the early day.
El Chivo aimed at one of them with his pistol, feeling his pulse going faster all of a sudden. But then he was interrupted. Árambaula too was pointing at something behind him. He turned, still holding his gun tightly. And that was his mistake. Being surrounded on this natural setup however left him vulnerable enough for hanging-grabbing set into action on this rough rogue detective enough to knock him rid of breathe.
Chapter 7 – Shattered
Valeria shifted under her hospital bed covers before opening her eyes. It was a routine she’d grown accustomed to since waking up two weeks ago, and one that gave her a false sense of normalcy amidst the chaos of the outside world. She took a deep breath, sinking into the familiar scent of antiseptic as she stared up at the ceiling before remembering that tonight was different. Tonight, it was Eric’s turn to come and see her.
Valeria didn’t expect the raw self-pity that threatened to engulf her as Eric’s face lit up as he walked through the door. She quickly pushed the feeling aside, reminding herself that she had the right to be happy, just like anybody else. Eric sat on the armchair and began interrogating her about the fictional scenario he had crafted about her award-winning return to the world of modeling.
As the conversation progressed, Valeria became quietly agitated. Her sincerity was slipping away with each lie about her recovery that fell from her lips. Eric couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her, and with fatalistic detachment, Valeria sensed herself trapped by his hovering presence.
Finally, he left, and only the present darkness lingered as an old familiar feeling of gloom took over. She liked Eric alright, but she wasn’t sure what he meant when he said “I love you”. That night it seemed like noise, something made up to fill the quiet spaces when nothing much is being said.
Valeria began scrawling thoughts in her journal, wondering if it was better to be dealt the ultimate excuse of her condition that permitted her to be accommodative enough only to stow her pain within. She realized that people looked pleasantly upon her, a true limelight and then reevaluated reality that circled around the painful rush of vanity.
The night passed in reflection until fatigue eventually wore her down as Valeria succumbed to the tiredness that claimed hold of her until sleep engulfed her with merciful darkness.
Days passed by with Valeria making steady gains in her ill-health as they tracked her daily exercises under the physiotherapists watchful eyes. She regains her vigor, some of which started showing in the gleam of her eye and radiant skin near-out bursting with suppleness.
Dr. Martin’s discharges her after ten days, and it startled Valeria confronting the stark walls of her room, staring to accustom the hectic bylane along with knowing that as best she conjured up in her mind, doting delusional of having miraculously repaired any remission aided by Dr. Martin’s surgical spree of ten hours. Whatever movement they could afford was hindered by bars and gates that closed her off despite months crammed in wanting to expand everything she can, and would still be subjected to short steps, learning balance anew; the human pendulum stuck at a standstill.
One long day turned into another, followed by an endless horizon running through ordes of tests & procedures that followed tirelessly, fudging Valeria’s name onto a string of impotence meeting the names of the heart-sick, drifting in a haze through day-to-day routine transformations overworked by the monotony relentlessly.
Afternoon visits from friends barely masked what echoed through in Val’s confide, the void of being left feeling inseparable with the grandeur of rehab aftermath accompanied by perfumed narcissism puffing up Valeria’s inadmissibly low spirit. Yet nothing seems to pan out the cycle, and its repeated routine didn’t slide aiding small talk or witty debates welcomed a lot more necessarily shared than relished.
The future lay fearsomely morbid on Valeria to sustain life, bitter memories now reigniting the ache carrying mutability in every single interminable blackout & painful reminder of physical activity inching goals her physiotherapist gave her markings of.
Although her heart weighed in heavily as the kind nurse Alena takes her leave towards the week, a smile with a note from her wishing Val courage heightens whatever pulse Valeria temporarily handed over to her attendant to aid her moping supersedes her letting her newfound motivation surge forward once again towards her redefined passion; photography.
She trekked slides around the giant expanse Dr. Martin brought to her, an ode deprived from the lost videos of her memory — blurred with the dust remaining beneath. She observed faces, hues, and fabric merging into each other as for the longest time the images bore the irremovable tag of “Modelling agencies property.” But these few grains discovered under past mundane belonging now whispered to Valeria, “set my senses free — give me a new meaning even as I may lie mutilated.” Slinking open around the dust beneath the pictures she found something livelier in herself. It was barely perceptible and as weak as initial stirrings, flickering colour restored where artist meets their materials nearly spiraled into losing to a vivid universe of experiences always untouchable till the dawn dreamed come true. Yet there it was beside reflections nestled deep within as photogenic possibilities flickeringing in being sometimes only observable by panning out further, reflecting a different image from other sources of light giving dimensions more multifaceted characteristics — revealed only momentarily in shots that meant something not taken vigorously.
Cooking her first meal post-hospital stay empowers Valeria’s mental grit, the seclusion granting space in brooding upon piled up plans & resolutions waiting unanswered sometimes multitudes of strife held within at a time. The hours slipped, eating through hot chocolates and reruns bubbling with detached nostalgia like flesh getting taken from processed food items hungrily bought at supermarkets.
In happiness, she found solitude returned force behind tough healing months in continuing an envious the mission of meeting aesthetic potential under startling constraint. As the night ate into morning, the photographs snowed without purpose across the curation timeline, greying Val’s discerning eyes into being enamoured fans of vast scenarios destroyed by time.
Chapter 8 – The Inevitable
Gunshots reverberated through the dingy back alley, followed by an eerie silence. Octavio had been cornered by a group of the men he had double-crossed while trying to make a name for himself in the underworld. His hopelessness overshadowed his indignation as he thought of Susana and how his reckless plan brought them there, the past catching up with them as death loomed.
Every second felt like an eternity – and then he struggled to stand up again. A barrage of shots rained down on him early in the firefight when he had tumbled behind the paper-thin cover of a garbage bin. And yet, still, miraculously breathing, he summoned the strength to take one last act of bravery.
As confusion and anguished screams peppered the glaringly bright daylight, Octavio heaved himself up, straightened his back, and stared down the men trying to steal his life. Like he was Bruce Lee facing a group of playground bullies.
Chaos swirled around him, shouting, footsteps on grime-coated cement, drivers on the adjacent street braking desperately when they realized there was chaos down the alley. None of Octavio’s earlier naiveties persisted. He understood that his life was one that demanded his attention, and even if that meant he had to die in this desperate alley, it ultimately would have meant something.
The jeering gangsters advanced on him, methodical this time, preparing to ensure they had extracted the toll. But cautiously approached their wounded and bruised victim. Sensing opportunity quivering down his calf muscles, Armando came effortlessly out of the heavens, in classic rescue-mutiny fashion, easily knocking off the closest of the gangsters.
Taking out one of the perpetrators of evil seemed to change their perspective on things. Swinging to the open van door, Armando threw focus on rescuing Susana, she stood shackled to the van’s interior, passed out from a stress seizure. Each bound to rubble and rumble, driven forward solely by the pursuit of each individual stimulus.
Suddenly, the petrified silence whispered into Valeria’s soul, she choked on air molding itself unto her vocal cords already strained with the pain her body was barely keeping classified. Nothing could ever restore her to physical perfection, but it was not over. It had never been horrible enough to layer everything Valeria wanted closely with frustration or contempt. Too simple and unreasonable an idea in retrospect, and she had known it all along, nothing was hers to keep forever.
Amidst the deafening commotion still pervading around them, Valeria firmly gripped yet another reminder of the temporariness of life- her canine friend. At the crack-of dawn after the cancer surgery, he had visited with her, dispelling her misery and loneliness. Now Valeria’s grip became tighter, embracing the ugliness of life’s untamed ride; she understood not to keep trying to finagle everything perfect, endlessly. The comfort she sought lay no further than the temporary companionship of those she valued, those she loved. It was sufficient for the moment. Nonetheless, moments are often fleeting, especially when bad guys have bullets.
Armando swung at the nearest attacker blindly, in the prequel stunt modality he fully embodied. Bodies jostled, the sound of scuffling filling the dingy alley when, out of the chaos, an explosion tore through the group. Octavio hit the ground and knew he had to follow.
The church bell boomed somberly in the relative silence after the gunfire faded away, perhaps diminished, but now who was telling fate that it was her business to declare something as central as his moral codes in recognizing innocents from the guilty. It certainly wasn’t right, but as he views the blood flecking a pile of rubble a few feet from him, he knows that he can’t afford to take time to reflect on the grays of life now.
Tomorrow, when he was still alive, was a different story. Today felt like practice—unfinished business, and all that gasoline poured on it. The residue created too much commotion to be ignored.
In a shroud of collapsed iron and rampant threads, the last ounces of defiance escaped as Susana fearfully groped Cofi’s leash to secure him far away in the van, the only sagacity she possessed. Taking a long clinging gaze of appreciation backward, her last line-of-defense toppled and the hope seized in her heart withering. She split, a left-behind memory was the old lifelessness, furthering the case that hers had been lost forever.
Octavio lay in a building’s barren hallway, his body refusing to stand up. He took one final, shaky breath before his sight failed him. As he slipped into darkness, with gangsters still threatened, he felt calm, calm been ever thought impossible. Anticipating some solution was permanent, or in his case, the once-in-a-lifetime notion of love was folly that life had thrown his way.
Chapter 9 – A Friend and an Ally
El Chivo knew he needed help. He needed someone he could trust to aid him on his next mission. He eventually ends up calling an old friend; Un Chivo, who is known for being as ruthless as he himself used to be.
After a noise in the room confirmed their meeting, he walked towards the window and observed for the umpteenth time. “What do you want, El Chivo?” Un Chivo greets.
“Un Chivo, nice to talk to you after so many years,” replied the former Guacho turn homeless vigilante. “I need your help.”
“I’m not in that world anymore. We made our wealth back in the days, and it brings me tranquillity that leaves their seedy world,” Un Chivo responded.
El Chivo makes an ardent plea. “Listen to me, this little girl, and her mother are terrorized; I need to be certain that they will not face more threats. They are under my protection.”
Un Chivo frowned, “Alright! Start talking.”
El Chivo started by delivering details of the middle-aged woman and her daughter who were watching before her home to protect them from being harassed by the men of her ex who had axes to grind. the mission of his coalesformation de band was to hack them apart if they don’t succeed in controlling the woman’s interview and get the re-flowering contract at loggerheads. El Chivo continues thus into the dangers hired by his partner’s husband: shaming videos, leaks of long- lost nude pictures aside from threatening silence with various audacious harassment mechanisms.
El Chivo’s former comrade raised a glass towards him, “You still haven’t lost your touch,” Un Chivo remarked.
El Chivo smiles cautiously, “What do you mean?”
Un Chivo responded, sipping his drink, “When was the last time you talked to an old friend? It can only mean one thing there’s a string attached’.”
“That’s not true,” El Chivo interrupts; “and even if it were, it doesn’t make it invalid.”
Un Chivo goes, “the difference between you and Meuche is- You transformed mentally; lives of people you never heard of do not bother you anymore.”
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say I don’t care,” replies El Chivo.
“You preach self-worth, do not create a connection with your stray puppies,” Un Chivo said.
“I rescue these animals; I try to make their lives a little better, and they in some way-always filled a gap,” El Chivo responded.
Un Chivo remained silent, as he perceives his old friend’s love for animals. There is no one, even him, without flaw.
After discussing the logistics, Un Chivo hands El Chivo a suitcase, “Your payment is in there. I’m doing this for old time itself.”
Un Chivo watches through the window as El Chivo drove off. He ends with an uneasy feeling of having resumed an old talent that had long last resided within himself.
Chapter 10: Unforeseen Connections
As the sun sets over Mexico City, the lives of the characters in the aftermath of the car crash continue to intersect in ways they never could have predicted. Octavio is on the run, being chased by both his enemies and the police. Susana is struggling to come to terms with the consequences of their ill-fated plan. Valeria is gaining strength and courage, constantly supported by her new friend Irene, and El Chivo is being forced to confront his troubled past years after it happened.
The city slows to a crawl as everyone heads home for the night, and one by one, the characters go about their business. Octavio darts from alley to alley, hidden in the darkening streets, unsure how far away his pursuers are but still on the lookout for them at every turn. Every creak of a door, every dropped item or rustle in the wind fills him with dread.
After reconfirming their risky commitment several times, Susana knocks on Valeria’s door. The supermodel’s new eccentric and courageous outfit conceals her wound and the therapeutic qualities of her socializing shine through. The women sitting and laughing together flickers through Octavio’s mind as he catches a break from running.
El Chivo finds himself watching once more on TV street shows trying to enter into the consciousness of today’s society as scenes of the turbulent events that have taken place throughout the city day colored the presentations before he transforms it into his own routine and platforms the rising image for Cofi his trusted eternal sidekick in people’s lives gone wrong. He once again stands mesmerized by the screens and bombarded with their simulated perfection and circumstances that seem incredible to him.
As dawn breaks, Valeria and Irene take a walk to a nearby park to enjoy the cool breeze and calmness. Valeria hesitatingly suggests to Irene how difficult it has been for her to restart her career after the traumatic incident but the metal limb draped largely by hiding her shortcomings helped her ignore the conditions needed back on the film set. The pleasant refreshing green of the trees helped her silence her doubts while they went ahead for a short casting. Gradually her belief is chiseled. Maybe she can start clawing her way back up again if she keeps taking these little steps.
El Chivo tracks down a former colleague in order to form an alliance in dealing with some urgent issues at the moment. After a tense encounter, they reach an agreement on how to deal with these issues, putting together their skills in a novel approach, far from what they ever had before. Following certain tests proficient El Chivo trusts him now to accompany for a couple of his fiascos with huge risks he perceives as opportunities for benefits later on.
Octavio sees his wife fighting the battle alone at home: saving enough money to escape Veracruz and completing her education. He desires to help but complications in his life leave him feeling powerless. He believes Susana is better leaving town since he won’t be making things very safe for long, but he fears losing any kind of relation he shares with her if he imparts his suggestion.
Valeria’s world starts spinning off of her new course for her younger brother Vivendo, her babysitter’s daughter Julia Maria heavily relies on her to pursue knowledge and experimentations the industry throws out, looking up to Valeria as a person who has made it in the larger scheme of pursuit.
As dusk creeps in once again, Octavio feels panic, he cannot escape his enemies as they spotted him watching him like a hawk as he anticipated for their next move. The toll of recent months starts ringing heavily, as the unyielding reality fades around him, leaving him in his moment of deepest despair. Outside on the noisy street, over a dozen men wait inexplicably weaving to use their knowledge to emotionally disarm Octavio, who is fell into complete oblivion.
Late into the night, the air ripples with sinister intent and a sense of inevitable tragedy. As the final events in the storyline approach, the destinies of each character will come together triumphantly, and their actions will ripple through generations. Through these tightly woven plot rumors emerge that key who made it all happen got hold of a dog who had khan that life would end up in a catastrophic end for them all – Dog who followed his heart, acting when he shouldn’t have. Perhaps casting kindness on others fulfills life. Could they have gradually succumbed to a bitter reality ? perhaps only now they will know.
Epilogue
He sat on the edge of the bed staring down intently at the woman who slept peacefully next to him, oblivious to his scrutiny. She looked like an angel with her curly hair falling perfectly over her shoulders while her eyelashes bent at a perfect angle, casting a soft shadow on her sun-kissed skin. He reached out and gently brushed aside a strand of hair from her eyes, smiling at the feeling of absolute joy that filled his being.
Five years ago, his life was empty and meaningless. He was a man without direction or purpose. But since fate had hurled him onto that vicious whirl of intertwining storylines that linked these powerful people, and the ubiquitous dogs, with a perfectly crafted fate, each embodied by unpredicted characters, his life was never the same.
He still had moments when he found himself drifting, all of a sudden left with the acrid stench of memories that triggered ensnared guilt, rage, and helplessness that once had menaced his daily existence, shattering his beliefs in the process.
But over the years that he had secluded into isolation, he experienced a shift; a sense of redemption was slowly growing in him.
When one gets hit unawares, they feel disenchantment, disturbance, and hate – all entangled within them! It takes the soul and the body through an unfortunate pit of deep malaise to forsake and return to its human state from its beasts’ intensity.
He resolved to confront what by then had dissipated any prospects of happiness and a better life. He needed to make amends in his spirit. He understood that his predicaments were part of his salvation, and with a clear conscience, he found eventual release.
After they —Choco, El Chivo and Maru— completed the monumental but heartbreaking task of safely returning the babies victimizes of prostitution to their parents, the essential fraction between Octavio and his family and, consequently, his purposeless chase to attain cash for vengeance eroded. Remaining was sheer vulnerability to allow emotion to set in, but in ultimately tearing himself out of the esclavage. Healed heartaches and grief, namely his mother’s demise he barely mourned, clouded his peace but swallowed his tear, showed a new form of acceptance of life without a rebel behaviour.
As Maru gradually taught him how to handle Valeria, requiring all energy at adapting different selfless reciprocals non-plants and, ultimately falling in deep unsullied emotional dimensions that got him exposing always core values of telling the truth, putting efforts in everything he inherited and ignoring what doesn’t augur well for tomorrow.He found a steadiness which no most immeasurable tribulation in life could sway.
He promised himself that he would always be truthful, to the woman he had been lucky to spend the rest of his life with. He allowed himself to grieve for what had been lost, but finally found peace and purpose – both in life and just ‘being’ a human being who feels less torment on the vagaries of life than anyone else- for being true to morals and self-discovery across life trajectory. It wasn’t what he had ever planned being, but as he looked at the woman who had played a pivotal role in his life’s metamorphosis, he realized this is what he needed, and it was enough.
TAGLINE
Ultimately, three seemingly separate destinies had led to encountering each other, their lives colliding tragically but eventually interlacing in a dance of fate, betrayal, redemption that blossomed outside their sense of reasoning into purer freedom.
Some scenes from the A.I. movie Amores Perros
Title: Amores Perros
FADE IN:
EXT. MEXICO CITY STREETS – MORNING
The bustling city of Mexico comes to life as we see the sun rises over the buildings. The camera flies through the busy streets filled with traffic, street vendors and people hurrying to work.
The sounds and energy of the city overwhelm the senses as we navigate the busy road, avoiding the swarms of people and vehicles.
CUT TO:
INT. OCTAVIO’S APARTMENT – MORNING
Octavio, a young man in his twenties, lies in bed, wide awake, staring at the ceiling. He stays quiet, focusing on something off-camera.
After a long pause, he takes a deep breath and sits up. Octavio peers over to a nearby room and overhears knocking coming from behind the door.
Octavio’s brother, Ramiro, enters the room.
Rami: Hey, is it early? What are you doing up?
Octavio: Just thinking.
Rami: What about?
Octavio remains silent.
Rami: I need some help on something later today. Think you can be in for a while?
Octavio: What could be so important?
Rami: Heck, it’s just kind of secretive. Are you in?
Octavio nods in agreement.
CUT TO:
EXT. MEXICO CITY STREETS – MORNING
As the brothers walk down the street, Rami appears hooded in his appearance. Octavio is portraying tense nerves even before their plan begins.
Rami: Quiet doesn’t have to be bad.
Octavio: Don’t start, Ramiro.
Rami: I’m not starting anything. I’m just asking if you understand.
Octavio stays silent, avoiding any verbal conversation until they reach their destination,a dog fighting arena.
They pass through the dark back entrances of the arena and found themselves on the feed store which essentially enclosed the dog fighting ring.
CUT TO:
INT. DOG FIGHTING ARENA
As the killing chaos of gambling and the savage spectacle of dogs fighting in a pit unfold behind them, two extraordinary stories are set in motion and gambit on the outcome.
AND SO START the blood sucking, shocking profanity entrenched, Amores Perros.
INT. PARISIAN GARDEN – DAY
Valeria finds herself in a tranquil Parisian garden, sitting on a park bench and staring out into the distance. Tears fall from her eyes as she reflects on the tumultuous events that led her there.
As a viewer, we see flashbacks of Valeria’s previous life in Mexico, where she was a well-known supermodel. We see her posing for the camera and walking the runway, but also the darker side of her life, where she struggles with an addiction to painkillers and the pressures of the fashion industry.
Cut back to present day, where Valeria composes herself and pulls out a small notepad from her bag. She writes something on the paper with a shaky hand, circles it, then tears it out and gently folds it.
Valeria gets up from the bench and makes her way toward a nearby tree, looking around her to ensure she is alone. She places the paper underneath the bark of the tree and gives it a tender pat before walking away.
As Valeria leaves through the garden’s gate, we get one final glimpse of her face, which expresses a mix of uncertainty and hope.
FADE TO BLACK.
Scene 3:
INT. SUSANA’S BEDROOM – DAY
Octavio is pacing around the room on his phone, waiting anxiously for Pedro to arrive.
OCTAVIO
(whispering to himself)
Where is he? He should have been here.
Susana enters the room, wearing a long-sleeved hoodie.
SUSANA
(relieved to see Octavio)
You should take this hoodie; they won’t recognize you with it on.
Octavio hesitantly takes the hoodie from her and puts it on.
OCTAVIO
(nervously)
What’s taking Pedro so long? Why hasn’t he called back?
Suddenly, the bedroom door is forcefully thrown open, and a group of men, dressed in black with guns drawn, storm in.
EXT. DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY – DAY
Pedro is driving his car at breakneck speed, gripping the steering wheel tightly. Suddenly, one of the car tires bursts, and the car starts swerving off the road.
He manages to bring the car to a stop on the side of the road, as he sees a police car approaching him.
POLICE OFFICER
(over the loudspeaker)
Step out of the car with your hands up!
Pedro hesitates for a moment, then reaches for his glove compartment, pulls out a weapon, and holds it tightly.
FADE TO BLACK.
TO BE CONTINUED…
Scene Four:
Fade into the next day with El Chivo still on the bus. He is sitting with his eyes closed, grappling with a tortured past as people get on and off the bus.
EL CHIVO (V.O.): My acts seem foolish now. But at the time, they felt right. It’s hard to justify living like a monster, but there have been times when I wanted to hurt some people so badly, it haunted me.
El Chivo’s flashback – his comrades leave him in solitary confinement, water dripping and high-pitched sounds playing through interpoler’s speakers.
EL CHIVO (V.O): Sometimes…I would cry. Foetal positon, tears running down my warm face, trying to convince sensory deprivation that there was strength in weakness.
Cut back to the present day, El Chivo sleeping covered in a shabby blanket. Short snores. Suddenly, a security guard taps on his window and startles him awake.
SECURITY GUARD: This is the end of the line, get off!
EL CHIVO: Where am I?
SECURITY GUARD: The end of the line!
El Chivo stands atop a bridge looking beyond the monstrosity of Mexico City; the mountains that gird the smog are covered with green clothes.
With tears on his gray beard, he pinches two small candles from inside the tatty boxes that were his lying substitute pillow. Racing the sound of the bus trailing away, he tip-toes out of frame.
EL CHIVO (Voiceover): Diablo…PLEASE to take care of Cofi – who I’ve raised like family, sometimes seeing in a different way, a friend, someone who listens when nobody is by your side, especially at meal-times. In her basket you’ll find a blood bundle if you get hungry.
He leaves the candles burning while Cofi continues snuffling at his sewer habits. El Chivo towers backwards off the rusty bridge, and in his descent, watches tears catch fire:
EL CHIVO: Miss my cheek, you ones unbeholden to the world – I’ll try lift up with wishes so high, there’ll be little points of curiosity penetrating through heaven’s tar-pits, daring anybody around and unaware to hold hands and be led into the unknown…
He touches the ground like these wishes arresting into stars, swiftly picking up his coat and knife that remained resting beside a recent hobo’s fire-order before it gets munched by tired fumes.
Scene 5:
INT. VALERIA’S APARTMENT – DAY
Valeria sits with her back against the wall, legs extended in front of her, with a notepad resting on study books in her lap. She is scribbling intensively, pausing once in a while to rest her damaged leg.
As Valeria stretches out her limbs, Olga, her nurse, walks in the room holding out a mug of steaming coffee.
Olga: “Good job on taking rest, Valeria. May I have a look at what you’ve been writing?
Valeria: (smiling) Sure.”
Valeria hands the notepad to Olga, who reads through the words inquisitively.
Olga: (renewed)) “These are beautiful Valeria, you write like an artist. And your work appears quite evocative. You must look for avenues where you can earn a livelihood off your art. “
Valeria: (downcast) “I am without my muse Olga. I do not know how I’d ever recover lost time like this.”
Olga: (chuckling) “Oh, you have enough to inspire you. The world is your theatre now. Look at yourself, you can be a role model for many. You write from you heart, let the emotions flow and defy the tragedy that’s tried to cause you down.”
Valeria nudges her coffee with still shaking hands, at a loss for words, tears welling up.
The doorbell chimes.
Olga: “Let me see who that is and come back again at evening.”
Olga walks up to the door and opens it.
Octavio appears, let in silently by Olga.
Olga: (snapping at him) “I don’t know who you are, but you’re going to leave.”
Octavio: (shyly) “I know, Olga. But there’s someone in here I have a message for…to tell her Su confirms she can make it for dinner tonight.”
Valerie, with excitement on her face looks at Olga for approval.
Octavio: (muttered) “I am so sorry, so really sorry for intruding,” he fumbles, and starts to hurry out, interrupting Valeria.
Valeria: It’s OK, Octavio. I need to know, though. Is Susana coming?
Octavio peeks in the room and shakes his head affirmatively, but with worry for mood changes shown by Olga. Valeria bits her lip and on a verge of tears.
Olga: (firm, distrustful) “Time for you to go now.”
Octavio abruptly leaves.
Valeria begins to weep silently in a corner, still blocking into the moment of the last tragic altercations with Octavio.
Olga shakes her head partly tensed, partly compassionate, moving up to assist Valeria, as the camera reframes to slowly circling out.
Scene 6:
INT. VALERIA’S APARTMENT – DAY
Valeria sits alone in her apartment, watching a news segment on the car crash that happened on the highway. She stares blankly at the screen, trying to make sense of everything that has happened recently.
NEWS ANCHOR (on TV)
(in Spanish, with subtitles)
Tragically, five people were killed in a car crash on the highway yesterday afternoon. The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but witnesses at the scene reported that the driver of one of the vehicles appeared to be under the influence of drugs…
Valeria switches off the TV, the strain of the situation finally bringing a tear to her eye. She picks up her crutches and gets up to make her way to the kitchen, determined to make herself something to eat.
As she turns the corner into the kitchen, she is startled to see a tall, wiry man standing by the back door. It is El Chivo, who has somehow gotten access into her apartment.
VALERIA
(surprised and wary)
Who are you? Why are you here?
EL CHIVO
(somberly)
I need your help.
Valeria is uncertain whether to be frightened or curious, but she has a feeling that her life is about to get much more complicated.
FADE OUT.
The camera cuts to a high-angle shot of El Chivo cooking breakfast for his dogs in front of his shack. Suddenly, a man in a suit emerges from a luxury car parked on the street and approaches El Chivo. The man tells him that his latest job is of utmost importance and he must do everything in his power to get it done.
El Chivo listens without expression, nodding only at the end, and the man hands him an envelope full of photographs of a young woman.
FADE OUT.
