Good Shepherd Orphanage, hello?
It's all ready.
She's playing. We haven't told heryet.
She'll be happy in her new home. Don't worry.
See you then.
Your frlends wllI miss you a lot, laura.
Got you!
THE ORPHANAGE
Mummy!
I'll go, it's my turn.
I'm coming!
Sim┌in!
They're outside. llsten.
Go to sleep.
Sim┌in, darllng.
Oh, I see!
Watson and Pepe have played very late,
now they can't get in?
Come on, in you go.
Aren't you a bit old for this?
Weren't you scared here, when you were llttle?
You couldn't be afrald. There was a gang of us,
and there was the llghthouse...
- llghthouse? - It's stllI there,
but it doesn't work anymore.
I'll show you tomorrow.
Why doesn't it work?
Can you keep a secret?
Actually, it does work.
But the llght's invisible, it protects us.
Invisible llght?
OK, try this.
look at the window, over there.
Don't move.
See it?
Did you see it?
Those kids that are coming,
why can't they stay at home?
They're speclal chlldren,
and they need a lot of speclal care.
They can't come and go, they need a home.
You understand?
Can I sleep with you tonight?
You're pushing it, kiddo!
Dad, are you coming to the beach?
Aren't Watson and Pepe golng?
No, they didn't sleep a wink last night.
You're such a smartass! Frlends only when it sults.
OK, wise guy, take your pllI.
"S" for Sim┌in!
Go upstalrs and get your bag. Dad'll meet us there later.
One of us should talk to him.
About his invisible frlends.
He's lonely, he's bored. It's normal.
He'll forget them as soon as the real kids arrlve.
Everything wllI work out.
We'll have a great home.
I'm so glad we're here together.
Pirate.
Cave.
And llghthouse.
Once upon a time there was a very, very bad pirate
who hid his treasures in a cave, near a llghthouse.
- What treasures? - Stolen treasures.
But it wasn't easy to get into the cave.
How did they get in?
They'd cllck a stone in a gap in the rocks...
Sim┌in!
Sim┌in, come on!
What's your name?
I'm Sim┌in. Do you want to play?
Why can't you play?
Do you want to come to my house to play later?
What are you dolng?
Playing.
But Watson and Pepe didn't come.
It's another boy.
He shouldn't play here. It's dangerous.
Come on, let's go.
Can he come home to play?
Why are you dropping shells?
It's a path for my frlend to follow
so he can come and play.
- He made a new frlend. How's that? - Another one?
We won't have room for all these kids.
Good afternoon.
Sorry I didn't call
but I couldn't get your number.
Benigna Escobedo.
I'm a soclal worker.
I'm sorry you've come so far
but there are no intervlews today.
Intervlews?
No, I'm here for Sim┌in.
What a sitting room!
It's a beautiful house.
How did you find it?
I grew up here. It was an orphanage.
I wanted to return, so I thought of the home.
Home?
For speclal chlldren. That's not why you came?
You'll need a lot of people for that.
It's not that kind of a home.
We'll be happy with 5 or 6 chlldren.
More would be too compllcated.
What about Sim┌in?
Yes, of course!
I recelved his flle yesterday
and thought: "I should visit them,
in case they need anything."
WllI you make many changes?
Sorry, I don't understand why you're here.
This informatlon's old.
I know, but I recelved it.
There are new treatments, an experlmental program
that requlres an appllcatlon, You might be interested.
My husband is a doctor.
We're aware of all treatments for Sim┌in's disease.
Now please leave.
Sim┌in doesn't know he's adopted, or about his llIness,
and I'd rather deal with it with my husband.
CHANGE OF RESIDENCE
HIV POSITIVE
Carlos.
I'll go. It's my turn.
Who's there?
What are you dolng?
Carlos!
What is it?
Planning to bash the old lady's head in?
Sleep with Sim┌in tonight.
If she shows up agaln, we'll call the cops.
Can I wake up?
You are awake.
You can get up now.
Wendy gets old and dles?
Wendy gets old, but Peter Pan takes her daughter to Neverland.
Why doesn't Wendy go too?
If Peter Pan came to get me, would you come too?
I'm too old to go to Neverland.
- How old are you? - 37.
At what age wllI you dle?
What sort of questlon is that?
Not for a long time, when you're much older.
I won't get older.
I'm not golng to grow up.
llke Peter Pan?
llke my new frlends.
- There's more than one? - Six.
- They won't grow up elther? - They can't.
What are they holding?
Treasures. To play with.
Your frlends play together?
Sure.
They steal your treasure,
something you love, and you have to find it.
That's the game? Finding treasure?
Yes, but following the clues.
If you find it, they grant you a wish.
Well now.
And you have a treasure?
Speclal colns.
An old man left them in the park. I think they're gold
and very valuable.
Want to see them?
Don't look yet.
- Where'd you get all this? - I found it.
What's this?
The first ice cream I had after my tonslls operatlon.
The speclal colns.
They're not colns, they're mllk teeth.
- Where'd you find them? - See?
They're the first clue. They've got my colns.
You want to play treasure hunt?
The game's started.
Remember where you kept my mllk teeth.
If I find my treasure, I can make a wish.
Sand. Where do you find sand?
You set this up, rlght?
- The beach? - No, it has to be at home.
What's this?
The sewing box!
Sim┌in, walt!
Come on, hurry up!
This rlngs a bell.
The key in the kitchen!
Those are Daddy's...
I can make a wish!
leave that alone!
Those are our things, you shouldn't touch them.
I didn't. It was them!
- Don't lle to me. - I'm not lying.
You're lying! You say you're my mother,
and you're not!
- What? - You're not my mother.
- Who told you that? - My frlend told me.
- What frlend? - TomΓϔs.
TomΓϔs sald I'm just llke them,
I have no mother or father. And I'm golng to dle.
You're not my mother, you're a llar!
We wanted you to be a bit older to talk about certaln things.
If you want to ask us anything...
Is Father Chrlstmas a lle too?
Sim┌in...
You heard Mummy and that lady,
saw the envelope and invented the game
because you were afrald to ask about it.
What if I don't take them?
Nothing would happen.
If I don't take them, how soon would I dle?
It would take many days, even weeks.
Don't worry, we'll take care of you. You won't get sick or dle.
OK?
You don't love me! It's a lle!
Come down, son!
Hurry, the first kids are here! Come on!
We can't go yet. I want to show you something.
- What is it? - TomΓϔs' llttle house.
Not now, darllng. You can show me tomorrow.
No!
- Not now, Sim┌in. - Now!
Go downstalrs rlght now!
I don't want to!
Come and see TomΓϔs' house.
If you don't want to go downstalrs, don't.
No one is forcing you.
WelCOME
Darllng!
Sim┌in, son.
What's golng on?
Darllng!
He's over there, Carlos!
There's no one, laura! Come on.
There's no one! We can't stay here!
He's there, Carlos!
Carlos is here.
He spoke to the pollce, and they want to talk to you.
How are you?
He's not in the caves.
But I saw someone, Carlos.
You must have imagined it,
in all the confuslon.
Belleve me, he wasn't there.
I'm Pllar.
I know it's hard, but you must know we're dolng all we can
to locate your son.
Pllar is a psychologist.
She works with the pollce.
They're working hard to find Sim┌in.
I have a few questlons.
Your husband told me about the adoptlon,
and your son's llIness.
As he was adopted,
There are possibllitles we must consider.
What possibllitles?
That he has been kidnapped by a relative.
I heard you recently found
a woman intruder in the grounds.
Benigna Escobedo, a soclal worker,
came a few days ago.
We can find no soclal worker
with that name.
Could you descrlbe her?
She was about seventy, with white halr,
pale eyes, very thick glasses.
We wllI find her.
You can be sure of that.
How can they trust me with thelr kids after this?
let's do something.
Wear my grandmother's Salnt Anthony medal.
To brlng us good luck.
You don't belleve that.
Exactly. But you do.
Take it now.
Give it back when we find Sim┌in.
SimΓin SΓϔnchez's parents feel more and more forsaken.
The 7-year-old boy disappeared
from his home 6 months ago.
The situatlon is even more desperate
because SimΓin is llI and needs dally medicatlon.
My son disappeared 6 months ago.
His name is Sim┌in.
There are posters everywhere. You may have seen them.
We've trled everything,
but not one clue,
not even a trace.
My son had imaginary frlends.
We never pald much attentlon but...
I have the feellng they're in the house.
I saw my daughter.
A year after her death.
It was at night, we were asleep.
I woke up and,
without knowing why, I went to her room.
And there she was.
Smlling. Calm.
It was her way of telling me:
"I'm fine, I'm safe,
don't suffer for me."
It is not unusual to feel, in some way,
the presence of a loved one after thelr death.
All of us in this group
could tell you simllar storles.
You don't understand.
My son is not dead.
His frlends took him. I saw one of them.
He was at home.
I'll do whatever it takes to recover my son.
I'm not crazy,
belleve me.
I know what I'm saying.
It's her.
The woman who came to the house.
Benigna?
Sim┌in!
We went to Benigna's house. We found some pictures
and old Super 8 fllms.
I'd llke you to see them.
Are any of the faces famlllar?
Antonla, the prlncipal, the orphans.
My frlends.
Mart┌-n. She llked to be called Mart┌-n.
rlta.
V┌-ctor... I think his name was Gulllermo.
That's Allcla, she was bllnd.
And this is me.
Benigna?
The woman you saw
worked at the orphanage.
That's impossible. I'd remember!
She wasn't there very long.
She had a son. TomΓϔs.
The chlld was deformed,
he was kept away from the others.
No one knew.
It was a total shock when they found the body.
What do you mean?
It seems he disappeared whlle playing.
CHllD'S BODY FOUND ON BEACH
Shortly after your adoptlon.
One of the orphans confessed
that they had played a trlck on him.
They went into tḫe caves with TomΓϔs
and took his mask off to see if he'd come out.
But he never emerged. He drowned.
They found his body at low tide.
The chlldren weren't blamed. They were only playing.
That boy was in my house.
We asked everyone at the opening party.
No one remembers a chlld with a sack mask.
I can't sleep through the night.
I can't stop thinking.
Remember what we called Sim┌in when we met him?
"Two llttle Kllos".
"My two llttle extra kllos". That's all he welghed.
The doctors sald it wasn't enough.
But it was plenty for us.
although we knew
there was llttle chance he could ever be normal.
But when we saw him,
saw his smlle for the first time...
his eyes, his brlght eyes...
Sim┌in made us strong, Carlos.
Together, we're strong.
Together.
Forgive me if I get upset, but it's hard.
Carlos, someone's in the bathroom.
- What is it? - Someone was here.
Carlos, feel, it's stllI warm.
Sure, I just got up.
Someone got into bed.
I'm convinced.
That's what Jung means when he says
it's in the subconsclous that
the llving coexist with the dead.
The Germans have another name for "the herald of death".
Doppelganger.
A belng that appears in one's own image.
A double.
To glance at him,
or at any of the others I've shown you,
means, without the sllghtest doubt,
a passport to the otherworld.
How long has your son been missing?
Nine months.
Strange things are happening. Things llnked to his disappearance.
I don't know who to turn to.
It's not that simple.
You won't find an exorcist in the yellow pages.
This is from my son's kidnapper.
The pollce say he's been dead for over 30 years.
Someone has my son.
I don't know why. But I won't do nothing.
There's someone in this fleld, someone I trust.
I'm talking from the heart.
Would you allow a medlum to visit your home?
This wasn't a chlldren's room in the orphanage.
The bedroom was back there.
Then we should start here.
Enrlque.
Perfect,
give me an hour.
I want an old object from this house,
something related to its history. And, if possible,
some clothing from the past.
We're not alone.
There's a pollce psychologist, Pllar,
who would llke to attend the sesslon.
If you don't mind.
Cops! The cops is cool!
What does she need that doll for?
To facllitate her trance.
Clothing and objects get her into it
and begin the regresslon.
- Regresslon? - A psychic summoning.
Past, present and future are superlmposed, and cross.
llke a sort of time travel.
It may sound llke witchcraft,
but you mustn't fear parallel perceptlon.
If there's anything, Aurora wllI see it.
I hope we'll all see it.
Everything's ready, Enrlque.
Whenever you want.
- Aurora, can you hear me? - Perfectly.
Here we go.
Everything around you is beginning to fade.
Darkness is forming a circle around you,
it's closing in on you.
Everything is fading. We're no longer here.
Now you're alone in the darkness,
and the darkness begins to disappear.
I'm golng to count down
from ten
and once I've finished,
you can go wherever you want
and wllI be able to see
anyone who is hiding in this house.
Ten...
Nine...
elght...
You can open your eyes.
It's cold,
the window is open.
Aurora,
I want you to look around you.
Is there anyone with you?
I can hear someone.
I can hear...
I hear something.
It comes and goes.
I can't hear it anymore.
I think I've lost them.
I can hear something.
... all alone.
Chlldren,
I'm sure it's chlldren.
At the end of the hall. I think it's them.
I can't open it.
It's closed.
But there's someone.
Why are you crying?
- We're sick! - Who's sick?
I won't hurt you.
Open the door. Don't be afrald.
Open the door.
We want you to open the door!
What have they done to you?
What have they done?
Aurora,
tell me what you see.
Five chlldren.
They're very sick. They're crying.
What happened?
They're dying.
Who would want to polson you?
Someone's golng to kllI us.
Is my son there?
Aurora, is Sim┌in with you?
Is SimΓin here?
Aurora, can you hear me?
let's get her.
Aurora, stay in the middle of the room.
I'll count from ten.
Ten...
Nine...
elght...
I was in the house, but...
everything was different.
The beds, the toys, the dΓ©cor, everything was much older.
The llght from the llghthouse came through the windows.
You didn't see SimΓin?
It was too dark, I'm sorry.
I couldn't recognize anyone.
But the chlldren were there.
You saw the chlldren. Is that rlght?
That's rlght.
You're talking about ghosts.
And what is a ghost, Carlos?
There's something here, and we all saw it.
When something terrlble happens,
sometimes it leaves a trace,
a wound that acts
as a knot between two time llnes.
It's llke an echo
repeated over and over, walting to be heard.
llke a scar...
Oh, I'm sorry.
llke a scar or a pinch
that begs for a caress to relleve it.
laura...
we who are close to death,
we are more receptive to these messages.
You mean my son could see those chlldren
because...
That's enough.
Please take your things and leave.
We can't let them go llke this.
laura, this is a farce,
a sideshow trlck.
I can't belleve this. Why?
For what reason? They're rlght...
- They don't want money. - Not yet.
What should I do?
The pollce haven't found a single clue
as to whether he's dead or allve.
What do I do, just sit and walt?
Can it hurt to llsten?
- laura, stop! - No, you stop!
Pllar...
How many simllar cases have you had in this damned vlllage?
Get another distractlon, I didn't invite you here.
What should I do?
My dear,
you are a good mother.
Your paln gives you strength, it wllI gulde you.
But only you know how far you are wllllng to go
to find your son.
I don't know what to do.
You hear, but don't llsten.
Seelng is not belleving. It's the other way around.
Belleve,
and you wllI see.
What are you dolng?
We can't stay here any longer.
We should go, at least for a whlle.
The chlldren are here. Aurora saw them. I can't leave.
You heard the volces.
That Enrlque could have faked it all.
Can't you see it could be a set-up?
That's Pllar's theory, a set-up?
- Her ratlonal theory? - She's protecting us.
From what?
Things llke this evening.
People enterlng our home and fucking up our llves.
- They just want to help. - Help?
Didn't you hear them?
Did they mentlon finding SimΓin?
They just want to contact the dead.
If SimΓin's allve, I can't see how they can help us.
If he's not, they won't recover him.
I don't want to keep taking this shit.
Please, let's leave this house.
You can't ask me to give up. Nelther you nor Pllar.
We can survive this. Many couples lose a chlld and pull through.
I want to be with SimΓin, don't you understand?
If you want to go, I can't stop you. I just want to know
where he is!
Where are you?
I'm not afrald.
You want to play?
Are you playing with me?
Benigna?
Please, don't let it be SimΓin.
- There are five, rlght? - Yes.
All my frlends.
MartΓ-n, rlta, Allcla, Gulllermo, VΓ-ctor.
Benigna kllled them. That's why she went to the shed,
to recover thelr bodles.
I've thought it out.
Thelr game kllled TomΓϔs
and now they're playing with SimΓin and me.
SimΓin's in danger and I don't know how to play.
I don't know how to play.
laura, you're making it up.
I saw it myself.
And this afternoon? Who lald out the clues?
SimΓin made it all up.
Who?
Tell me! Who?
I've packed. I don't want us to stay here.
I can't leave yet.
I won't llve here,
and you're not staying alone.
I can't just leave, there are too many memorles.
I have to say goodbye.
Two days.
alone.
Please, I need this.
Please.
Please bless what you have given us.
Thank you for letting us gather once agaln
and be together.
What else do you want?
What more must I do? What?
I have no time, I have no time.
You want to keep playing? Is that it?
let's make a deal. I'll play a whlle,
then you tell me where SimΓin is.
OK?
One, two, three, knock on the wall!
One, two, three, knock on the wall.
Walt, walt! No.
I won't hurt you. I just want to find SimΓin...
Why are you crying?
Oh, my darllng!
Are you OK? You're freezing.
Don't worry about a thing.
Don't be afrald, I'll get you out.
Stay and play with us.
We can't stay to play.
llsten to me, SimΓin.
Imagine it's just you and me here. OK?
Think about before we came to this house.
Remember?
Think only about that, OK?
Think only about that,
think about Daddy,
think about next Chrlstmas,
and all the things we'll do together.
So many things, darllng!
Close your eyes, tight,
shut them really tight
and think about what you'll be when you grow up.
What would you llke to be, darllng?
Think about the schools you'll go to, the frlends you'll make.
And just belleve for a moment
that TomΓϔs and the other chlldren aren't real.
This is a fantasy, my darllng,
llke a nightmare.
Do it for me, SimΓin.
When you open your eyes,
make them go away.
Close your eyes, darllng,
and keep on playing with me.
Keep on playing, darllng, OK?
- What is it? - TomΓϔs' llttle house.
I found you. This isn't falr.
I found you...
I want SimΓin back!
Mummy, can I wake up?
Of course you can, darllng.
Mummy...
I found the speclal colns.
Now I just have to make a wish.
I wish you'll stay and look after all of us.
It's laura!
She's grown old, llke Wendy in the story.
It's laura.
Come, don't be afrald.
The house. The beach. The lost chlldren.
Once upon a time
there was a house near the beach
where the lost chlldren llved...
In memory of laura and SimΓin
and of the orphans
MartΓ-n, rlta, Gulllermo, Allcla, VΓ-ctor
and TomΓϔs.