Laguna (2025)

[bunniefuu]

My daughter, Ina Marija,

loved nature since childhood.

Tenderly, deeply.

One day, from Mexico,

where she was acting in a film,

she called me.

I can still hear her say

to me, spellbound,

Dad, this country is

so beautiful, so alive...

It's as if I were born here.

I feed the squirrels

in the park."

We both returned to

Mexico shortly after.

We strolled in nature,

we watched the birds.

The trace of our footsteps

was printed on the

beach where the

turtles would soon arrive.

Returning to the

place of their birth, they

would lay eggs to

perpetuate their lineage,

renew their life cycle.

Time has passed.

In this life within my reach,

my daughter is no longer there.

It's another life now...

A life that I no longer recognize.

I returned to Mexico with Una

Marija, my youngest daughter.

To walk the same roads

and breathe the same air,

this deep-sea air

that Una's sister

was still breathing

until recently.

We came to contemplate the

immensity of this Pacific Ocean

that our ancestors already

contemplated millions of years ago,

and that, in turn, future generations

will look at with new eyes.

The great foaming

wave of life will

continue to sweep over humanity.

It burns.

Come on...

Ah, there you go!

Good. So...

The cake.

And now?

Make a wish.

And...

One, two...

And...

On the first try! It's a miracle.

Well...

Okay, I'll pour myself some tea,

and then the feast can begin.

Yes.

Wait.

What is this?

Is it for me? - For you.

Oh...

Sweetie...

Thank you.

It's beautiful.

You can use it that way.

Where did this idea come from?

I don't know...

It came like that.

A pack of cigarettes and teeth.

It goes together!

Wait, we can try this.

How?

It's actually really cool!

He may now have it.

Yes...

Thank you, sweetie.

He's a nice monster.

It was nothing.

Thank you, my darling.

I love you.

My little cat...

I love you, Dad.

Me too, my darling.

So, and now...

What else?

Happy birthday,

Happy birthday, Dad...

Happy birthday...

Happy birthday, Dad!

Hooray! Hooray!

Thank you, sweetie.

You're welcome, Dad.

It's like a Chupa Chups.

Tchin!

It's really good.

You have to chew well.

Normal.

Well,

another year has gone by.

Yes.

Another year of flying

around the sun, the two of us.

If someone ever asks

you what you do, you

know what to say.

I fly around the sun.

"What are you doing?"

I fly around the sun.

Whether you're reading something

or eating meat, it doesn't matter.

I fly around the sun.

That's what's important.

Dad!

My little cat.

Wait.

Look.

What's your name?

Bryan.

And whats your name?

Una.

My parents were poor.

We only ate once

a day sometimes.

There wasn't enough for everyone.

I suffered a lot.

We had no electricity,

no car, we had nothing...

When I was little, I

would have liked to

go to school, but

my father forbade me.

He said, You dont

have a mother.

My mother died when

I was three years old.

He said, Who will wash your

uniform, since you dont have a mother?

We went to the ranch, and

we had to forget about school.

That's why my father forbade me.

But I wanted to study.

Know how to write my name, at least.

But no.

Thank God there is work on

the ranch, I can earn a living.

I prepare tamales,

atoles, tostadas...

We grind the corn

to make tortillas.

Fish...

Food for the poor.

I work all the time.

I take the chickens out,

they run everywhere...

Eventually, they lay eggs.

That's why I raise them,

to eat.

I left the village

where I spent my entire childhood.

I grew up there, with my parents,

but we could no longer survive.

Nothing to eat, no work,

I had to leave to

find better elsewhere.

Here I found work.

The salary is low,

but I have a job.

I get tired more quickly now.

My movements are slower.

After sixty years, seventy...

Now I wait.

I await eternal rest.

There I can rest!

You know...

When we are young, we

do not think about death,

but when we are old,

we begin to desire it.

We no longer want to live,

because it's too hard.

Without money, without

corn, without food, we suffer.

Suffering is life.

But I thank God

who gave it to me.

Working constantly is

what my life is about.

That's a hundred.

Not sure that's enough.

- Fifteen.

I have just enough.

Before, I dreamed that I knew how to fly

and that a bird was following me.

He was chasing me,

but I was flying, flying...

He never caught up with me.

I was exhausted, but...

I flew again and again, and

then I woke up suddenly.

I had this dream

often, I don't know why.

But not anymore.

I dreamed that I came

here, to this lagoon.

Amid the trees,

there was a photograph.

And birds, lots of birds.

Maybe I dreamed of this place

because I knew I would come here.

Look! There are plenty of them.

Oh! A cormorant.

Yes.

Gorgeous.

- Do you see?

- Yes.

The wind carries us.

Yes.

Do you see the mangrove trees?

Yes. They are everywhere,

it looks like a forest.

They grow in water, you know.

- Here, look.

- Yes, I see.

- Do you see the roots?

- Yes.

I'll catch one.

Oh, there! Stop, stop...

Do you see the little ones up there?

Do you see them?

And there, the roots

immersed in the water.

They filter the salt.

This is how mangrove

trees can grow in salt water.

These trees are the only

ones that can purify the water.

If they weren't there,

the lagoon would change its

appearance, many animals would die.

Without the mangroves.

That's why here,

after hurricanes, people

plant mangrove trees.

- Yes.

- The little ones, here.

After a hurricane they have to be replanted

because everything was destroyed.

Do you understand?

The hurricane uproots trees

and carries them away in its path.

And then,

the waves crash in, and

water comes in from the sea

through the narrow passage.

You saw it there.

The seawater comes in there,

and the salt spreads everywhere.

And freshwater fish...

It's over for them.

Fish, freshwater

turtles, all animals.

Do you know when I

first saw a mangrove?

In Brazil, with your sister.

We were...

We were driven to the

ocean, we walked on the sand,

and there were mangrove

trees growing there.

It was probably there that

I saw it for the first time.

It's dark.

Dark?

Well?

Are you afraid of the darkness?

No, not darkness, but...

I'm afraid of what's in the darkness.

In the darkness?

What do you think,

what is in it? Wait.

It's hot... What do

you think is in the dark?

I don't know. Monsters, maybe.

Monsters?

I know they do not exist,

it's just my imagination.

When it's really dark...

Then I'm afraid.

I don't know what could come out.

Opossum, for example?

Yes.

Opossum...

You shouldn't be afraid of opossums.

I'm not afraid of it.

In fact, it's my favorite animal.

- Here.

- Oh, here.

Hold the lantern.

High up, so I can see.

Ah! It was stuck.

I'm going to put some spray on you.

- Stretch out your arms.

- What is it?

For mosquitoes.

Not just mosquitoes,

against all kinds of ticks.

Turn around.

Why do you ask?

You know it very well.

I know, but I can't do it...

What?

Is it the smell that bothers you?

- It smells not bad...

- Come on, let's go home.

Let's go.

Do you see where you're going?

I'll go first, okay?

- Wait for me. - I am here.

Sometimes I can't keep up.

You go fast...

Everything is fine. Come on.

Follow me.

Una!

Una!

Cuckoo.

Come see what I found.

See?

Wow, that's cool.

Someone must have tried to capture him.

Look there.

On the top there

are broken spikes.

A dog must have

chased him, or people.

Around here, it's common

to hunt them to eat them.

Yes.

- Oh my God.

Have you seen how big he is?

Yes.

He's almost your size.

He must be several years old.

It's a male, obviously.

Big and orange like that...

- Really?

- Yes.

Females are smaller,

and the green is brighter.

That's a male iguana.

Sometimes its color

turns bright orange.

There, it's just a little orange.

Looks like he had a manicure.

A manicure?

Do you want to hold it?

I'm afraid I'll drop him.

Don't worry.

I will help you.

Do you see how he opens his mouth?

Yes...

What is it?

I'm just looking to see if there

are any lesions, bite marks...

No, it seems okay.

Normally, it would be hard to catch.

He climbs trees very well.

And he is vegetarian.

There are black ones.

We saw some, remember?

Oh yes.

These are carnivorous,

they feed on insects.

Do you see his little teeth?

It's for tearing leaves.

What's on the menu?

Salad or cabbage?

What do you prefer?

You'll get to try both.

We put it all on fire,

and some kind of broth will turn out.

You have to wait

while the wood burns.

Oh, an Indian!

- Who?

- An Indian.

- Dad!

- If I had a mirror, you would see.

What is it?

One or two?

How many do you want?

I'll start with just one.

Give it a try first.

I like it when they catch fire.

Look.

I don't like them.

Too bad!

That really doesn't look appealing.

Are you going to eat the burnt part?

Yes, of course!

It's eaten like

this, just this part.

Just this end?

A coal to go with it, perhaps?

No coal, really?

- No, no.

- A good black one.

A tasty black coal.

You eat a lot of embers.

And it's delicious!

I've been waiting for this for a long time.

Have you been waiting?

I respect my marshmallow.

Do you respect him?

You respect him, but then

you stick him in the fire?

C'mon...

It catches fire very quickly.

It never used to happen

that fast in Lithuania.

You have a spider on your shoulder.

A spider?

I'll cool it down a bit...

Dad!

Look.

How can you not like that?

It's the best thing in the world.

There are many best

things in the world for you.

Sometimes I don't even know which ones.

This is one of the best.

All right.

It looks like it's going to rain.

That doesn't stop me from

eating marshmallows.

I remember...

It was with a pure heart and

curious eyes that I

looked at the world.

I remember...

One beat of an eyelash

chased the other,

and everything amazed

me with its novelty.

And I was...

A fragment of this

infinite world that I loved.

Everything was true and simple.

Today, only fear remains in me.

And doubt.

My little flame

has burned out, the

embers have been

cold for a long time.

And without you...

My dear flame, there is no more...

No more life, no more meaning.

Only loyalty remains.

Loyalty to this

very flame, to love.

And for every expression

of it on this earth.

What happens to people when they die?

What is happening to them?

They are buried

or cremated.

Yes, I know that...

they are buried and

placed in graves, but...

do they feel anything?

Probably not.

But...

No, they don't feel

anything. But there

are people who believe

that we have a soul.

And others think...

Others believe that...

that we are reborn,

that we reincarnate.

We become a tree, or a bird, or a

small animal, or another person.

Yes.

What do you think is going on?

I think people fly to heaven...

And up there, there is a

garden waiting for them.

Do they have wings?

They have wings, but

they don't fly with them.

It's just for decoration.

They levitate,

like that, they float.

They float?

Yes. They move as

they want, like that.

And they can fly.

No need to flap your wings...

They levitate, they

float here and there.

So, what happens next?

They sleep on the clouds.

And God takes care of them.

He watches over them...

He makes sure there are no problems.

What kind of problems?

Well, they might go too far.

Somewhere, I don't know.

Could they get lost?

Sweetie.

Dad.

My darling.

It's like another

world up there.

A very beautiful world.

In my opinion...

When someone dies, they turn into

soil, that's what science says.

But I think we've been here since...

For millions of years.

We have one life,

because someone gave it to us.

And so on, someone

gives life, another is born...

This child is growing up

and gives life in turn.

Life comes and goes like a

wave that has been spreading

since the dawn of time.

And there you go, I think...

our origins are very

ancient, very distant.

Yes, it's true. Adam and Eve.

They had many children.

So we are all brothers and sisters.

It continued and continued...

And we are all brothers and sisters.

After so many years,

it becomes difficult

to count, and we don't

even know anymore

that we are all brothers and sisters.

Because everything has

changed so many times.

- Do you know what we should do?

- What?

Lower the light a little.

To save battery, okay?

Yes.

How humans appeared is unknown.

We'll never know.

And how it will all end, either.

Maybe that's for the best.

If we knew that, life

wouldn't be so interesting.

There are people who

live to be very, very old.

Yes.

And then others, like

your sister, our Inutl...

Yes.

She was so young.

Her life had barely begun.

She was just a few minutes away from home.

And suddenly...

she was gone.

We will never see her again.

We can't change anything now.

All we can do is carry on.

We'll do a few things in her

memory here in Mexico, okay?

My little one.

Sweetie...

You know, the beautiful

thing is that we knew her.

She never left our hearts.

She still lives in her poems.

In her writings, in her drawings...

Yes.

It would be much worse if we

hadn't had her at all.

We wouldn't even know that such

a person could exist in the world.

Yes.

So kind and so gentle, so loving.

Let's not cry.

Wipe away your tears.

See how good it is that there

are holes everywhere.

I can smoke without

smoking up the room.

The roof is full of holes,

with no windows or doors.

A wooden cross as

simple as possible

- that's all I ask

for when I'm dead.

Above all, nothing luxurious,

no million-dollar coffin.

Let us sing songs,

that's all I want.

Let the death of a poor

man be a grand celebration.

I don't want tears or sadness,

I don't want any of that.

And for any funeral wake, a

serenade in the early morning.

When it's time to bury me,

the only goodbye I desire,

is that tequila is poured at the

corners of my

grave as holy water.

I don't want tears or sadness,

I don't want any of that.

And for any funeral wake, a

serenade in the early morning.

I remember when...

we used to go to Pilies Street.

And we'd go to the funfair...

And we'd ride the little train.

We were having so much fun.

Do you remember any other moments?

When we used to draw,

together in Bekupe.

I remember this jar...

Glass jars, filled

with brushes that

we dipped in

water while drawing.

Enough, sweetie.

Calm down.

Your memories are like pearls.

You need to cherish them.

As long as we remember her,

your sister remains alive.

But, Dad...

Are we going to stay long?

Where?

Here, in this little house.

In this house? Or in Mexico?

In this house, here.

As long as we want.

Do you like it here?

Yes.

Sleep, sweetie. All right?

I'm going to stay here a little.

Good night.

I never thought a hurricane

could be so violent...

Until I found myself

right in the middle.

Unimaginable

power of nature.

I felt like a little ant.

And then I thought,

how little a person really needs.

It seems that the strongest

human emotions...

The desire not to die

The longing for true love.

These emotions can go unnoticed

because they have nothing tangible.

Like the ocean currents,

they carry you away.

My treasure.

Good night, sweetie.

My darling Ina...

I miss you so much.

If I were a believer...

I would be sure that our

reunion would be soon.

If I were a believer.

Humans are fragile.

And this very world,

which seemed immense, infinite to me...

This world is so small now.

With its planes and

its cables,

it travels at the speed of light...

The world is like an

apple or an orange.

It's fragile too.

Like you, my Inutl.

For every little creature I see,

every bird, every flower,

a hummingbird...

I...

Instinctively...

I want to say,

"Inut, look!"

And I say, in my mind.

And I catch myself.

And then I think about it,

and I say to myself, why not?

Why should I deprive myself of it?

Look, my little one!

Look, Inutl, what a bird!

What a sky!

What an ocean!

Let's go sit down.

The day dawns.

The sounds of the lagoon

change little by little.

The birds start to sing, the sun

shines through the mangrove.

Around me, in every being, I

see the trace of

what will remain.

In every piece of earth.

The echo of Inutls footsteps continues.

Her clear laughter still resonates.

I see the traces of

her tears in the dust,

in front of the hungry

and helpless dog.

What you gave to

the world, my little...

Your warmth, your kindness, your love,

live in our memories.

The foam of life flourishes.

Like a star, it will guide us

in our lives, like

a delicate light.

Tonight, creatures of the lagoon

will rest, and

others will awaken.

There will be endless new noises.

And everyone you loved, even in

their dreams, will be by your side.

In awakening, we will be

together facing this bitter reality.