Love, Death and Robots. Volumes 2 & 3

JIBARO Alberto Mielgo

A procession of mounted knights ride through the forest. They are led by several dark-robed priests bearing silver crosses and CHANTING in Latin. Their path winds beneath a green canopy of tall, thick birch trees. Rusting IRON CRUCIFIXES and moss-covered, derelict ancient shrines mark the path they follow. The group makes camp near a small, green lake. It is serene; the water is deep and still, but the vegetation surrounding the lake seems OFF somehow — lush, but sickly in color. Birds soar above the lake, coming close to the water’s surface yet never diving in.

JIBARO, a towering deaf — mute knight, with a brutal, almost archaic appearance, has left the camp and walks along the shores of the lake, gazing into the shallows. For a moment, we “hear” through his ears and see the world through his eyes.

SILENCE.

Jibaro kneels to drink; beneath the rippling surface, a gleam of metal catches his eye. He reaches in and takes hold of the object. It is lodged at first, but as Jibaro pulls harder, it comes free. The bright object glows in Jibaro’s hand, nearly blinding him. He shakes his head, squinting, and can just make out a GOLDEN SCALE resting in his palm. He glances around to check if he is alone and then, stuffs it in his pouch. Jibaro continues around the shore, searching for more golden scales.

A priest performs a blessing over the kneeling knights, he stops abruptly; listening, he raises his hand to command silence. A SOUND floats through the air, mellifluous and clear, and then — it is quiet. All the men turn and gaze toward the lake, they see something glowing upon its surface.

In its center, a GOLDEN WOMAN rises from the water. Her skin is covered in thousands of golden scales while her lithe body, neck, and head are adorned with elaborate jewelry from bygone eras. Her mysterious dark eyes, flecked with emerald and gold, fix upon the men. She opens her mouth and releases a sound again. Is it a song?

The entire camp is stilled by her singing, and then, as though it were a deadly virus permeating their senses, they begin walking, and then RUNNING toward the lake, screaming in ecstasy and pain. Jibaro, being deaf to the melody, continues to comb the shore for more gold. He is unaware of the clamor, until the first knight to reach the lake clips his side, throwing Jibaro

briefly off balance. More knights thrash by Jibaro, running madly into the water. Alerted now, his eyes dart frantically to behold the morbid scene.

The men tear at their own flesh, maiming and biting their own fingers off, while frightened horses, guided by their riders, gallop into the waters. Jibaro tries to stop the herd, but they push him aside, desperate to reach the Woman, slaying anyone in their way with a crazed ferocity.

The Golden Woman continues her “song,” swaying seductively atop the water. She retreats, drawing the entranced men further into the lake. A golden FRILL of bone and scaled webbing unfurls from her neck and ripples in an obscene DISPLAY. Jibaro watches helplessly as the water becomes a churning vortex of carnage.

Beneath the surface, the blood swirls thick like oil as it mixes with the green water. The knights spasm and the horses kick as they sink deeper, both driven so mad they have forgotten how to swim. The priests writhe as they drown; their robes billowing around them like beautiful black and purple jellyfish, until their blood bubbles up and tints the water a bright COPPER.

As the last of the men drown, the Golden Woman realizes that only one man remains. It is Jibaro; standing at the shore, gripping his sword. Confused, the Woman sings louder, just for him. But Jibaro is not affected at all.

The Woman is taken aback and quickly sinks under the water’s surface, stunned at Jibaro’s strange immunity. After a moment, Jibaro seems to awake as if from a nightmare. He looks around and sees that EVERYONE is gone. The camp is empty, its fire dying, with just a few scattered corpses cut down by their comrades before they could reach the lake.

The Golden Woman’s head breaks the now-calm surface. She watches Jibaro, like a crocodile, her eyes just above the water. There is confusion on her face, how could this man have resisted? Whereas before she was confident and all-powerful, now she looks lost. But all Jibaro can see are her piercing eyes staring at him from a distance. Panicked, Jibaro grabs a saddlebag and gear and stumbles toward the ONE remaining horse tied to a tree. He quickly mounts and spurs the horse, galloping off into the forest.

The Golden Woman watches him go with a look of longing, and then dives beneath.

Jibaro gallops through the trees beside the water. Soon, he reaches the RIVER that feeds into

the lake, and follows it upstream. The turbulent water flashes and shimmers as it crashes against the rocks. For a moment, Jibaro catches a glimpse of something swimming, reflecting golden before it disappears into the murky water. Afraid, he steers his horse in a hard left, away from the river, pushing the beast up uneven terrain in a frantic and desperate flight.

Galloping ferociously, Jibaro and his horse reach the top of a steep hill — the horse jumps off the summit spectacularly but can not stick the landing as the hill’s edge is too steep. The animal is unable to maintain balance and violently plummets downward. Jibaro and the horse tumble down the precipice between the trees. Everything happens too quickly for Jibaro to react, and then CRASH he smashes his back against a tree and passes out.

He wakes up groggily under the tree. His eyes are slow to focus. He walks cautiously through the forest. Down the hill there is yet a steeper slope scattered with the sharp remains of trees that after many years have become brittle and fallen. There he finds his horse — dead, with branches and trunks piercing its innards.

Jibaro grabs the horse’s caparison, covers himself with it, and walks among the trees with sword in hand and a saddlebag on his shoulder. The night begins to fall and it is cold. Looking in all different directions, the forest itself seems menacing to Jibaro as he tries to find some

alternative route, some clearing among the thicket. But he only finds again the river that zigzags between the hills.

Dejected, he sits near the river. Wrapped in the caparison, shivering and trembling with cold, Jibaro scans the environment on high-alert. He fights the urge to sleep but after some time he succumbs to his exhaustion and closes his eyes.

A shadow watches Jibaro through the branches, it is the Golden Woman from the lake. Her

body gleams as she passes through a shaft of moonlight and drops to the ground near him. She sniffs at his body like an animal. She carefully caresses his hair and licks his face and his armor, recoiling with each lick. The Woman caresses his skull, breathing heavily as she wriggles

herself nearer, pressing closer, and sensually rubbing her body against his. Her breathing starts to accelerate. CUT

The Woman sleeps tenderly hugging Jibaro’s back; her golden face reflected in the knight’s armor. Jibaro awakens and finds himself lying in a shallow pool of water. He stretches a bit, still asleep himself. Suddenly, he freezes as he sees the Woman’s golden arm hugging him at chest height! He takes a second to understand what his eyes are seeing. It is indeed the most beautiful, golden arm covered in scales, rings, and jewelry of all kinds. He turns towards her

very slowly, stealthily, and sees the Woman’s face with her eyes closed, asleep. He tries to turn completely towards her to have a clearer look but at that moment the woman suddenly OPENS her striking eyes and runs away in terror.

Jibaro attempts to hold her back, grabbing her by the arm, but her wrist slips between his fingers and cuts the palm of his hand with the sharp scales and jewels that cover it. Jibaro jerks his arm back in pain. The Woman escapes to the river and enters its waters. Jibaro, still on his knees, opens his clenched fist in pain; he observes that in the palm of his hand several shining golden scales are embedded in his lacerated skin. One by one he removes them from his wound. Jibaro realizes that the scales are identical to the one he found in the lake the day before. He bites the scale to verify— it is gold. With a thought, he looks at the Woman who is watching him from the river timidly behind a rock. Jibaro puts the scales into his pouch, along with a pair of chains and rings that are scattered on the ground.

Jibaro is hiding behind a large tree, observing the Woman in the river. Stealthily, he follows the Woman alongside the water; passing through seemingly impossible landscapes of unusual beauty. With his sword in hand, he is like a jaguar on the lookout for a crocodile. HOWEVER, outside of Jibaro’s soundless ears, his technique is not so refined. The noise of branches splitting at every step, the rocks tumbling and splashing into the water and most importantly— the continuous screeching and scraping of his armor amuses the Woman, playing among the rocks. Every so often, she appears and then just as quickly disappears.

While stalking her, Jibaro STUMBLES on a root. He staggers and turns on himself to avoid falling, but his sword clashes to the ground. He manages to keep his balance, however as he regains his footing, he exposes himself from his hideout between the trees. He looks up to see the Woman facing him — his cover completely blown. Amused by this, the Woman, whose strange movements always seem like a dance, now imitates Jibaro, turning herself but in an elegant way. Playfully, she smiles back at Jibaro. However, he is unamused and retrieves his sword from the ground. The Woman mirrors him, returning an embellished interpretation of his clumsy and masculine movements. Then with idiotic EFFORT, Jibaro smiles.

His teeth are a total mess: there is no tooth alike, clean, or identical in color, with a few golden dental prostheses here and there. But he has a gentle smile. Excited, the Woman twirls again. Jibaro smiles. The woman turns and turns, dances and splashes, playing in and out of the water, behaving like a child. Jibaro watches the Woman dancing, aroused at how beautifully her body contorts, twists, and glistens.

Jibaro thrusts his sword decisively into the mud and gingerly approaches the water, slipping awkwardly and advancing slowly. The current is strong and Jibaro has to concentrate on not getting swept away.

But the Woman retreats and hides again, eyeing him behind a rock like a reptile. Jibaro fears the current and each step is a weighted decision— until the water reaches his waist. In an attempt to re-establish the dialogue, Jibaro turns theatrically and open-armed, slipping with each step, miraculously staying afloat. He smiles in a forced way this time. The Woman smiles back; leaving her hideout, she advances, turning and meandering little by little from rock to rock, until she reaches Jibaro. She moves effortlessly, which seems impossible due to the force of the current.

Jibaro does not move, with his hands in the water and his body relaxed, he watches the Woman approaching. She encircles Jibaro in some sort of mating ritual, sniffing him like an animal, raising her peculiar reptilian neck frill on and off. During her dance Jibaro touches her skin, and pinches one of the scales around her ribs. The Woman allows it and Jibaro tears it off. She opens her mouth, ecstatically biting her scaly lips. After the scale is fully plucked, a small trail of blood zigzags downward, eventually getting lost between her legs. The Woman embraces Jibaro sensually and with absolute need. Her reflection melts into his silver armor.

She sinks into the water and playfully swims around again. Jibaro attempts to follow her in his excitement, but stumbles on the mossy riverbed. The Woman slips between the rocks, heightening the dance. She and Jibaro come face to face. They both freeze, looking at each other closely. He leans forward to kiss her but she shyly retreats. Jibaro, aroused, pulls her in and kisses her but he suddenly retracts, covering his mouth in pain. Blood spills through his fingers, and as he pulls his hand away, we see her scales have lacerated his lips. Unaffected by this, the Woman grabs Jibaro violently and passionately kisses him.

Jibaro cannot pull his head away as the Woman holds him firmly by the neck. They both move their mouths against each other’s while streaks of blood gush down their chins. Jibaro tears his tongue as he screams and tries to escape. Until she, satisfied and fully in heat, embraces Jibaro and they fall onto a flat rock.The Woman is incredibly aroused, and savagely rubs her body against Jibaro’s armor — letting out a shrill grinding noise. Jibaro caresses her, heightening her arousal, and then violently rolls with her until he is on top. She is LOVING IT. Jibaro’s hand runs along her torso, slowly, against the sharp erected scales cutting his palm. He passes his hand under her reptilian neck-frill until he reaches her neck, right below her chin. He tightens his grip. The Woman excitedly writhes like a beast in heat smiling back at her lover, slowly running her tongue over her lips, obscenely flapping her neck frill wide open. Jibaro squeezes her neck tighter and tighter… The Woman’s look of pleasure morphs into one of terror. Her body convulses and kicks violently under Jibaro but he holds firm. CUT

Jibaro, squatting, searches the Woman’s lifeless body, peeling off all the golden scales and jewelry. It is not an easy job so he carelessly hacks at it with a knife. From each scale or piece of jewelry pried from her skin, blood pours and gushes and the scene looks like something from a slaughterhouse.

Different times of day. Jibaro moves the Woman’s lifeless body like a puppet, searching for any last scales to tear off. HE WORKS NON-STOP FOR HOURS long past midnight. Exhausted, he lays next to the Woman and falls asleep covered in her blood.

Jibaro awakens to hundreds of flies buzzing. Several black crows peck at the bloodied body of the Woman, who lies in a grotesque position next to Jibaro — lifeless and unrecognizable, on a bed of her own plucked scales.

Jibaro waves the crows away. He is exhausted and walks with difficulty; grabbing the caparison, he fashions a sack in which he compiles the golden treasure. He flips the Woman’s body over, gathering the scales from her underside, until her body inevitably rolls down to the shore, hits the water, and is dragged fiercely away by the current. Her corpse bounces against the rocks, vanishing and reappearing violently, shaken by the waters on her long journey downstream. Meanwhile, Jibaro stacks every single scale into the improvised bag. Once the job is done he follows the path up the river. The bag is heavy and Jibaro loses his balance every so often.

Far away now, the pale body of the Woman finally reaches the serene waters of the lake where she is from. Her body floats peacefully, leaving an oily residue of bright red blood that twirls and spreads in the calm greenish waters. Her lifeless form sinks pitifully beneath the waters edge and all is still for a moment. Then, as if pumped from the water’s depths, blood bubbles up and

out, spreading until the entire lake is tinted red. The red waters of the lake move toward the river but somehow the current seems to change directions. The blood now rises against the current, turning the entire river red.

Jibaro has been walking for hours and the sun is high. The bag is heavy and with difficulty he carries the treasure like Jesus Christ carrying his cross to Calvary. He stops every so often to catch his breath, leaning on the trees and rocks he finds on his way next to the, now bloodied, river. Jibaro is fatigued and dehydrated, he collapses to the ground and drags himself to the water. Blinded by his thirst, he pays no attention to the bloodied water and drinks as much as he can stomach. His chin is now covered by a thick red mud that falls down to his chest.

Satiated, he takes a breath and looks around. A chill runs through him a moment, and his breathing falters. Suddenly, Jibaro shakes his head. He closes his eyes and grips his skull tightly. For the FIRST TIME in his life SOUND is leaking into his deaf ears. At the chirp of a bird, Jibaro turns and panics. He screams and covers his mouth in horror as the SOUND OF HIS OWN VOICE shatters his senses. The thunderous splash of the river is like torture to him.

Jibaro desperately flees into the forest, so frightened that he leaves behind his treasure, now scattered on the ground. Sounds assault him from every side— crows calling in the trees, his own footsteps crunching through the underbrush, the booming rasp of his own terrified breathing. He runs, and runs, covering his ears as best he can, as MADNESS seems to erupt all around him. He falls, stumbles, stands up, bangs into trees and thrashes forward as if all the demons of hell are behind him. He runs until he can no longer sustain it.

Finally, Jibaro staggers out from under the trees and finds himself once again on the shore of the lake. He collapses at the shoreline and presses his face into the mud, crying hysterically. Gradually, he calms down. The lake and its surroundings are tranquil. It is in this beautiful bluish moment just after sunset, where all of nature seems to pause and rest, that Jibaro focuses on the microscopic sounds of his surroundings; the rustling of the leaves, the buzzing of flies. ANY sound for him is a marvelous discovery. He laughs with joy — and then suddenly, pauses surprised by the sound of his own voice. He laughs again hysterically, this time at himself. Jibaro is totally absorbed in his new-found hearing, so much so that he overlooks the figure of The Woman emerging from the red water, splashing blood, staring in his direction. She opens her mouth and sings that strange melody which causes Jibaro to turn towards the lake… and his fun ends. Her song begins to invade his mind like it had the other men — he howls and claws at his face as the madness takes him. He tries to cover his ears, but he cannot resist the mellifluously horrific melody.

The Woman watches him suffer triumphantly and then slowly, sinuously moves back towards the center of the lake… and Jibaro can not help but follow. He screeches like a rabid animal, bites his fingers and tears at himself to stop, but he keeps moving deeper into the lake. Until with a final howl of madness, he sinks below the surface.

As Jibaro’s corpse sinks gently through the red water, the Woman swims to him and, with her now pale scaleless arms, embraces him as they descend deeper together. All around them, we see hundreds of bodies from other times, in different states of decomposition — the totality of her victims, which from their bodies GOLDEN SCALES and jewelry sprout like poisonous coral.