Teeth Page #4

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but they never stopped.

I think she's a witch.

As soon as she came,

she riveted my son's attention.

I think she cast a spell.

He stopped eating, sleeping,

always hanging around Ciuta.

I understood right away

she was a witch,

and she'd cast a spell.

It's like she made my son

slide under her skin.

I could see him under her skin,

like you can do with a pin,

inside her skin,

like wearing a shirt.

I thought:
"Is this

what a woman can do to you?

Capture you, like that?"

What was the dentist like?

He was all pink like a piglet,

with short hair.

Anyway, have you ever seen

a piglet with long hair?

They don't exist.

I decided right off I hated him.

His gaze stuck to my mother.

Please, madam.

Now open your mouth.

- No drill please.

- Not for the moment.

I looked at that man

lying over my mother

and thought he wanted

to get under her skin,

like with Ciuta.

I had the feeling

she had lost something,

still she was the same

as before, beautiful,

like all mothers.

Then suddenly I understood.

My mother had lost

her invulnerability,

she was exposed to the perils

and the wickedness of the world.

To share her with the world

and its mysteries,

to see she could feel pain...

She was the one who

needed protection

and I just sat there

watching while she suffered.

What did Grandma die of?

- A toothache?

- Die?

From each life, your grandmother

pulls out another

and then another...

She's a seamstress,

she knows how to use scissors.

Does this... and begins again.

- Of course she didn't die!

- So where is she?

Somewhere around here.

If we look hard,

maybe we'll see her.

It's your turn, young man.

I didn't want to give him

satisfaction, not even a moan.

I began to slide deep down,

beyond the floor,

beyond the house foundation,

to the centre of the earth.

There was no pain down there,

only outlines,

coloured stars and my mother

walking on the ceiling.

What a good boy!

And then?

And then Ciuta, the enchantress,

flew out the window

and hasn't been seen since.

Will you tell me another one?

Afterwards, sweetie,

the dentist is waiting for us.

Please sit down,

the doctor will be right here.

I beg you,

please be kind to him.

Certainly.

I can't find the crumbs

anymore that I dropped

to show me the way home.

The birds must have eaten them.

How can I get out of here?

Where are you going?

I don't know.

Everything's all broken.

It's the madmagik.

- I'm lost.

- That's not so terrible.

But if I don't know where to go?

It's no use dropping crumbs.

- Now what do I do?

- I don't know.

Look around you.

Only when you get lost,

can you discover something new.

- Want a piece of cake?

- Are you joking?

Papa?

The dentist is waiting.

Of course, sweetheart.

See where I brought you?

Well?

I need some advice for

my daughter's prognathism.

I need a little attention too,

a couple of prostheses...

Sit down.

Fathers always

come before children.

Little one, go sit on that cot,

if you're good,

you'll get a delicious candy.

Open your mouth.

Excuse me, don't you use gloves?

Don't let it worry you

and remember,

the real patient is not you,

it's the dentist.

Could we open this mouth?

What a magnificent set of teeth

this must have been!

How did you ruin them like this?

I hate my teeth,

they've disappointed me,

I ignore them as punishment.

I've also had bad dentists.

Dentists!

I'd shoot them all!

Maria, do I have to do everything

in this house myself?

How disgusting!

Where'd you disappear to?

Ciuta?

Why is the past coming back?

The syringe is on the table.

It's like all my ghosts

had arranged to meet there.

That syringe for example,

Beluga used it,

a deaf-mute dental technician

who'd come to our house.

Sorry.

Sometimes he'd come with

his young wife, Fiorenza.

When Fiorenza came

it was a special day for me.

What is it?

Can I do an immersion?

Now?

Here I go.

- Can I do another one?

- Yes, but hurry.

I asked myself why that girl

had married Beluga

and was playing with me.

It didn't last long though.

One evening Beluga chopped

her to pieces with an axe.

He slaughtered her in the tub,

after discovering she'd

had a lover for over a year.

As he worked

in my mother's mouth,

he already had

the hands of death.

Wait!

- You going to pull it now?

- Should we wait for Christmas?

Your Papa wants to wait

for the birth of Baby Jesus.

Do you take painkillers?

Yes, but it hurts just the same.

Remember, the sufferer here

is the dentist!

Juicy thick-lip!

Spit.

- Where?

- In the sink.

Papa?

What are you doing here?

Did he hurt you?

Go sit down.

Come back here!

Come on, sit down!

Ciuta, the tongs!

Hold his head.

Lean against me.

- Open your mouth.

- Don't mash my gums.

Putting in your two cents?

Do you realize how you

pronounce your words?

"Don't mash my gums!"

Let's see this huge root.

Hold his head, idiot!

And cut the drama.

I wish this man could pull

thoughts of Mara out of me.

Of Mara in his arms,

of Mara smiling at him

and doing the same things

she did to me.

Odd, such a small root

for such a large tooth.

There must still be

something under there.

- Then I'll come back tomorrow.

- Sit right there!

Don't move.

For the last time, remember

the real patient here is me,

not you.

Open your mouth.

Damned horseshit!

Ciuta get a light bulb.

Darling, don't yell!

At your age, are you still

afraid of the dark?

Shut up, or else no candy!

No problem,

after35 years of practice

I can extract the root of

an upper-left incisor

even in the dark.

Cut the quibble!

Rinse your mouth.

I'm off to get a light bulb.

- Did he hurt you?

- No!

No one can hurt your Papa.

I'm afraid.

Damned horseshit, I've always

got to do everything myself!

How can I work like this?

Where are you going?

- Come here.

- That's enough!

Let me take a look.

To see how the

operation came out.

Open your mouth.

Fantastic! In the dark!

How strange,

you've got the teeth of a boar

with the roots of a mouse.

- Something wrong?

- Don't tire your mouth.

An odontoma is important,

but it's also a trifle.

An odontoma?

Don't ask stupid questions!

I'll see you tomorrow at 3:00.

You just told me

I have an odontoma.

Tomorrow!

Should I keep

taking antibiotics?

Don't tire your mouth!

And now,

the little girl.

Papa!

Don't be afraid.

Come here.

I brought you some candy.

We said tomorrow.

Too bad though.

Can I tell you something?

Below those rotting

gums of yours

there may even be

a third set of teeth,

a complete one.

We'll never know.

He pulled both his teeth,

in the dark.

We were at the dentist,

don't get mad.

I won't get mad, let me see.

He says it's an odontoma,

I'm worried.

You know, we could

have been happy?

I just have to

think up a new life.

- Take care of yourself.

- Sure.

Here, they're your teeth,

put them under your pillow.

The first letting-go

is when we're born,

the last is when we die.

This is the lesson to learn:

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