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of the screenplay "Ticket to Hell" based on Stoynie
Hristov's novel of the same name written at the Sofia
prison in 1985-1986 and confiscated by the State
Security officials of the 6th Head Office which kept
watch over the Bulgarian Unions of Artists and the
Prisons Department at the Ministry of Interior
A family celebrated the birthday of the father at a restaurant in Sofia.
An old man entered the restaurant offering lottery tickets to the patrons. When he reached the family's table - the father, the mother and the two children-a youngster and a girl - there was only one ticket left. The daughter bought it wishing her father luck.
Certain time passed - on the shop window of a lottery stand at the district appeared a big photo showing a happy family who had won with their lottery ticket a Volga passenger car.
At the same time the operative worker responsible for economic crimes in that district was checked by the Ministry of Interior. It was a thorough check of how he had accomplished his tasks. They saw the photo and commented it. The operative worker or Tanned Skin as they called him because of his ugly look was very fond of women. The only thing which could attract a woman was his official status and the power he had. And the bodies of the Ministry of Interior and the State Security in Bulgaria had unlimited rights and power at that time...
Tanned Skin quickly found out where the family lived. The father's name
was Stanislav and he was an engineer-architect; the mother's name was Helen
who was a director of a kindergarten; the son's name was Velizar and in the
autumn he would go in the army; and the daughter - Eve " was studying at a language
school in the grade before the last. Captain Tanned Skin ascertained the fact
that there was nothing unclear in the whole family, nothing the "law" could
bite; something more - the family was one of the models in the whole district.
He tried several times to seduce the mother but failed. That urged him more
and the captain decided to frame up a rape of a girl of easy virtue who offered
her services to the foreigner at the hotels in Sofia and who had been registered
as a prostitute with the Moral Militia. It had to look as if Velizar had committed
the rape. Every thing worked out as planned and Velizar was arrested, A judicial
inquiry was opened. Tanned Skin obsessed with malice used one of his secret
assistants at the designers' bureau Velizar was working at and hastily aroused
a financial revision. On the basis of forged by the operative worker documents
Stanislav was charged with deficiency of BGL 100,000 in connection with a project
for an exhibition of Bulgarian companies at a fair in Paris. The father was
arrested too.
Helen was horror - struck and desperate. She started to go to the same
restaurant where they had happily celebrated her husband's birthday; losing
herself in memories of the happy family life. The captain followed her and as
if by chance saw her in the restaurant. He sat at her table and Helen told him
about the troubles overwhelmed them, how all acquaintances and friends had fallen
away from her. He offered his help right away. He ordered drinks until she was
drunk and took her to one of the secret flats. There he slept with her. Helen
clutched the straw. Besides she hated herself because of the infidelity towards
her husband while he was in prison, she secretly hoped that the Captain would
settle everything down and would free Stanislav and Velizar.
Instead Tanned Skin used three recidivists from his district which were
in prison at that moment promising to them pardon if they raped Velizar. The
common criminals were just waiting for that. One night they put an intoxicating
stuff into Velizar's tea and raped him in the cell. On the next morning when
he woke up he realized what they had done to him and fell into depression. Usually
he saw his father at the canteen because they had been put in different groups
but from that day he started to avoid his father's look feeling terribly guilty.
Velizar was planning a suicide.
Tanned Skin was seeing Helen regularly convincing her again and again that
the release of her husband and son was a matter of a few days. One afternoon
they went to the foot of Vitosha using the won with the lottery ticket Volga,
They made love on the glade and half-naked lay on the blanket. Eve with her
boyfriend went out for a walk in the boyfriend's car and appeared on the same
place where her mother and the militia captain were. Eve got off of the car
and walked toward the bushes. At seeing her mother she froze with horror. She
felt sick and asked her friend to take her away at once. After a long internal
struggle Eve decided to go to Tanned Skin; she would agree with every thing
only he let her mother alone- It came out that way. The captain gradually left
the mother and started seeing the daughter.
Eve's boyfriend noticed the change and wondered what had happened to his
dear girl.
One day Velizar was on duty in the cell and decided that the moment to hang
himself had come. He tied a rope on one of the ceiling beams and hung at its
end. The jailer on duty found him dead and the news spread around the prison.
The father found out what sorrow he was in. He started to cry and mourn.
He felt that there was no life for him, he felt helpless, grasped the ends of
a high voltage cable and his twisting body fell by the lathe he was working
on.
A few days later, on Eve's school farewell day, a telegram from prison
brought the sad news to Helen. She decided to keep silence and not to tell her
daughter on that beautiful for her day. At that time Eve was at the hairdresser's.
Helen hastily swallowed several glasses of whisky, took a handful of pills which
would take her into the eternal sleep and lay in the bath. She drown herself.
Eve went out of the hairdresser's where waited Tanned Skin. They got in
his car and he took her to the flat for secret meetings to celebrate her school
farewell party. After making love to the girl the captain summoned the three
recidivists waiting in the next room. They had been released a few days before
that because of their perfect behaviour - they were those who had raped her
brother. Eve didn't know a thing. The terrifying scene continued for more than
two hours. Eve passed away. Late in the afternoon a little bit recovered due
to the drug injection which Tanned Skin gave her she came home.
Home she found the telegram on the small table. She started to scream and
cry looking for her mother. When she opened the door she saw her mother dead
in the bath. Falling into insanity Eve went out on the balcony. She could see
the whole block from the 12th floor. She could see also the Volga that she hated
so much. Her eyes bleared; she was losing consciousness and fell. Down on the
pavement she was dead. The beautiful white dress was smeared with red spots.
Many people gathered at once. In this very moment her boyfriend arrived with
a beautiful bunch of flowers. He understood that a girl had fallen down; some
one mentioned her name. He fell on his knees and cried. The flowers lay on her
breast and he fell unconscious besides her.
At that time in one of the halls of the People's Militia Office the socialist
emulation with theme "Defending of the Socialist property" among the Militia
Departments was reported.
The Chief of the People' s Militia bestowed an Honorary Diploma and the
high acknowledgement "Excellent worker of the Ministry of Interior".
Everyone applauded.
Sofia
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