Story
* (Listen to the corresponding song [in brackets] for each part of the story)
[Factory of Maimed Dreams] . Machines, assembly line, executives, operators working, going from one place to another automatically… suddenly one of them steps aside and stops, as if waking up. It's Fen, he rubs his eyes and his vision begins to fade. Suddenly his surroundings seem alien to him, unknown. He's moving away, he sees people from above staring with a lost look in their eyes, crossing the streets. He moves further and further away. Sound motifs appear around him. Fen chases them. They appear, disappear and transform into colorful and vivid scenes that fascinate him. However, they slowly fade away and the voice of someone calling brings him back to his gray surroundings. After a little hesitation, he returns to his automatic walking.
As he walks back home he thinks about making a change, but without warning, he feels a punch in the stomach. [I Fear] It's fear. Fear of the unknown, of failing, of what people will say, ... fear of himself, fear of making a mistake. Fear paralyzes him and he cannot reason. Anguish takes over his mind like a whirlwind running amok ...
Until something makes him react. An inner fire begins to grow, sweeping away the fears in its path. A strength and a feeling of determination that had never known and that progressively spread giving way to an intense internal heat.
[Listen] The next morning, a fresh and bright day, Fen, serene and calm, goes for a walk down the street and through the parks of his city. He is surprised by the amount of curious things and different people that he sees and hears on his way, of which he had not been aware until now. The world is inviting him to meet it and Fen is willing to accept the invitation.
[Spirits of Luck] The flame is lit. Fen watches the night over the city from a hill. Fleeting flashes cross the streets, like sparks of good fortune that can touch anyone. The stars twinkle and among the bushes, the fireflies glow intermittently. Will-o'-the-wisps. Luck is there, you just have to go out for it.
[aWay] Early morning, Fen in his bed, he opens his eyes abruptly. He knows what has awakened him. He sets foot on the floor and everything goes into motion. He fills his suitcase with clothes, prepares a coffee, opens the computer, buys tickets and goes out to find a taxi. Sitting in the back seat, he watches the lights of the still asleep streets pass through the window. The airport is half empty, he finds no queue, he boards. The plane takes off and his spirit with it. Flying. Sky. Clouds. Peace. Reading.
He crosses eyes with the girl in the seat diagonally across him, and his heart skips a beat. Who is she? Is she an angel from here, from the skies? She smiles at him and Fen at her and they look away. She is reading the same book as he is. When they arrive at their destination, Fen looks for her to talk to her, but she has vanished into the crowd.
He picks the suitcases and heads to the exit. As the outer door opens, a wide, bright horizon, a warm breeze welcomes him, and in the distance he recognizes the smiling face of his friend Jui who has come to pick him up.
[Para, mira!] He sleeps and showers at Jui and Dany's apartment, and they go out to visit the city. Museums, people, color, impossible buildings, craft stalls. People who argue, bizarre shops, a market with endless fruit and exotic food. Laughter, performers, jugglers, shows, magic, and street dancing. Fen can't help but be amazed. They return home strolling exhausted by the harbor as night falls.
[Distaia] Fen feels like never before with Jui and Dany. But he can't stop thinking about the girl on the plane. Hot afternoon, lying on the bed, staring blankly following the slow spinning of the ceiling fan, he lets his mind and imagination fly in search of his angel from heaven.
[Flying sheets] He goes out to dinner with Jui and several friends at a restaurant. Live jazz band. After dinner they decide to party. It's a neighborhood fest. Streets decorated with different themes and colors, and in the main square a stage with an orchestra that entertains and cheers up an audience of all ages and generations playing until late-night. They return through the streets laughing, joking, ... they walk away in the night. The city gently falls asleep.
[Uada Noctem] New experiences seduce Fen, and he lets himself be seduced. Black light, lounge, mystery, sex, trips, substances, sensory, pleasure, night. Day ... and night, temptation, lust, body, bodies, shadows, shapes, orgies, substances, ecstasy, night. Day Night. Night, black light, substances, night, night, sun, night, dark, ... night, light, night, substances, ... time, dark, .... pain, dark, night, substances, ... light, horizon, head, pain, ... feet, stones, blood, sand, fall, sand, saliva ...
A blurry figure comes from afar,… sand, smells of the sea,… first rays of sun dance on the water,…. Jui picks him up. Fen gets carried away.
The music disappears. In bed, physical pain, emptiness. Jui and Dany take care of him. He is overcome by feelings of immense gratitude and deep sadness. Aimlessly. They speak. Fen needs a change of scenery. Jui and Dany suggest him to go to the countryside for a while. They know a rural hostel owned by the parents of a friend of theirs named Bel. Fen hesitates, but at last agrees. Spending some time in the country might be good for him.
[NoWHere] Several weeks later. Fen is in the restaurant of a village hostel, mid-afternoon, 3 or 4 people having a drink at the bar or at a table. A wall piano in the corner. Fen at the next table, reaches out and absent-mindedly plays a few loose chords. Paper and pen on the table, Fen looks out the window at the green fields… and begins to write. He writes to Jui and Dany, to his family, to his old friends. He writes and explains about this place, about its healing power and how its mountains, its vineyards and its streams, its food and its people have given him back the thrill of tasting the little things in life, of fighting for a better world and living in the moment.
As he finishes the letter, he hears somebody bringing the drink he had ordered. Looking up, he gasps. There they are, the eyes that he had so often envisioned in his dreams. The waitress is Bel, and she's the girl from the plane! She also recognizes him. He's speechless. She smiles in surprise.
Bel and Fen get to know each other over the next few days. Bel is from this place. During the year she is in the city and has just arrived because she helps with her parents' business in the summer. She invites him to accompany her during the holidays that she'll spend with her friends somewhere on the coast. Jui and Dany, friends of Bel, will also go. He doesn't hesitate for a second.
[Riceland] Fen awakes. A fan on the white-wooded sloping ceiling of the cottage. He gets up. Outside there is already movement. He walks through the kitchen, some friends having breakfast, and steps out the door that leads to the patio. Light! Ricefields! Green plains get lost on the horizon. Children play on the esplanade of the village. A man in a straw hat, shirtless, weather-beaten skin, sitting in a chair smoking a cigar. Summer days. Sun. Bathing on the beach, in a boat on the river. Watching birds. Dining al fresco. Playing the guitar, laughing, talking. Wasting time. Gaining time. Sleeping with Bel.
[Arrieros] Evening. Fen and Bel in an outdoor concert at a chiringuito. Countless little bulbs hang around. Flamenco show. Without knowing why, the magic arrives at the place and people suddenly shut up. Absolute silence. The performers sing, play, and the music hypnotizes Fen. A lump in the throat. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees a tear fall down Bel's cheek, which she hides by wiping it quickly. He knows that summer is ending.
[Light up] Rain outside, the electric power is gone. Inside candles. A wind-up gramophone. Fen and Bel alone. Fen has to fly back to his country the next day. Lying down, between sheets, silence. They look at each other. They know that it may be the last time they are together. No need to talk. Their bright eyes speak louder than words. They melt, embraced, between sobs, their bodies fly with the night breeze, ... until they are caught by fatigue and sleep, wrapped in the warmth of naked skin.
[Tinguem por!] Fen has been back at work for several months. He keeps doing what he has to do, moving forward automatically, but something has changed. If he was afraid of the unknown before, now he is afraid of not knowing it. Afraid of missing the train and losing the opportunity to let life impact him with all its good and bad moments.
He receives a message: Jui and Dany are going to the festivities in Bel's village this weekend and they confess that she misses him a lot. Fen stops his automatic walk and, after a few seconds ... he runs off. He runs down the street, runs down the highway, runs to the airport window, flies, lands. He runs to the exit, finds a taxi. He arrives at night in the village of Bel. Parade with "dimonis" and "correfoc". He runs, searches among the people. Searches, searches ... and doesn't find her. Standing in the middle of the crowd, dejected, he shrugs his shoulders. However, something behind him makes him lift his head. He turns slowly and there are Bel's eyes, which light up at the sight of him. They look at each other excitedly for a few seconds and embrace without separating. A bubble of relief and silence in the midst of the bustle.
[La força d'un Batec] This is the story of Bel and Fen. Their paths have merged. They are moving to live together in the village of Bel. Fen looks for a job that can do partly remotely. Bel works in healthcare. They get involved in cooperation and aid projects for refugee children. They have children. The children are growing. They continue to see Jui and Dany often, also with children, who are always there when they are needed. Bel and Fen also support Jui and Dany when they lose their business and help them to set up a new one.
Things go well, things go wrong. Joys and disappointments. Failures and successes. Children become adults. Challenges and goals change over time. The years go by, and with them, Fen and Bel grow old. Getting old together. And from time to time, when looking at each other, their eyes shine and they smile again like they did on that plane.
[Listen to the Silence] Hospital. The heart stops beating. The world around fades, the sound recedes. Loneliness. Silence.
Little by little the memories begin to emerge. Painful at first, bittersweet later. Good memories. Memories in common, bonds, affection. Anguish is giving way to well-being. Tranquility. Satisfaction for a full life, with all its lights and all its shadows.
Slowly, the memories also fade, like the light of a party in the night forest, getting dimmer as it moves away.
… A hatch closes. A rocket takes off into the sky. The world dwarfs through the window….
The space ... Silence. Just breathing inside the helmet.
Out… the void.
*English version translated by: Javier Núñez