Miracles of Thursday

To revive visitors and revenue for the dilapidated spa, a small Spanish town hatches a plan to imitate famous pilgrimage miracles. Five local figures—the mayor, the teacher, the doctor, the landowner and the spa owner—agree to fabricate a saintly apparition. They hope the staged miracle will draw visitors and revive the spa economy.

They select a local resident who resembles the town saint enough to pass as the miracle figure. The chosen person will play Saint Dimas in the successive appearances. The decision marks the start of a coordinated deception.

They enlist Mauro and stage a disastrous fireworks and light show to convince him of the miracle's presence. The spectacle is chaotic and the 'saint' appears only through their arrangement. Mauro pretends the miracle is real, while others watch with mounting doubt.

At first, Mauro's account fails to convince most residents and belief in a miracle remains uncertain. Some townspeople begin to doubt the authenticity, while the conspirators push ahead with the plan. The spark of doubt lingers, setting up a test to come.

On the following Thursday, the same show is repeated before a devout woman, but the faltering spectacle deepens doubts. The crowd's curiosity clashes with skepticism as questions about truth arise. The ruse teeters on collapse, yet the town persists in hoping for a miracle.

They go to the place where the apparitions were meant to occur, but the music, lights, and the 'actor' falter once more. The crowd leaves disenchanted, and Mauro alone clings to the hope of a real miracle. The ruse seems close to breaking apart.

A secretive magician appears, offering to help realize the fraud's desired outcome. He claims he can guarantee a 'miracle' and quickly aligns with the conspirators. The town's plan now includes a new, potentially dangerous collaborator.

From the top of the bell tower, the magician projects a radiant image of Saint Dimas using a silver mirror. The illusion appears luminous and convincing, strengthening the belief in the miracle. The conspirators grow bolder as the crowd gasps at the spectacle.

Under the magician's guidance, the conspirators pretend to be sick and, with the doctor's complicity, claim to recover by drinking the spa waters. Strangely, some villagers are actually cured by the spring's waters, muddying the lines between manipulation and healing. The growing fever to find relief pushes the town deeper into the ruse.

News spreads and a fever to obtain the miraculous spring's waters takes hold. People abandon skepticism in their search for cures and spiritual relief. The spa becomes the focus of a frenzy that overshadows the deception behind Saint Dimas.

The forgers repent and confess what happened, but the townspeople are too absorbed in seeking healing to listen. The group, once exposed, finds themselves dismissed as the miracle continues to lure visitors. The deception becomes irrelevant against the community's hunger for relief.

The conspirators confront the mysterious foreigner in their room, only to find a letter stating that the town's Saint Dimas does not resemble the real figure, along with a photo of the real Saint Dimas. The revelation reframes the entire episode as a deliberate manipulation tied to the mysterious visitor. The truth surfaces at last, but its impact is overshadowed by the ongoing thirst for the miracle.

The letter and photo confirm that the mysterious visitor is the real Saint Dimas, ironically not the idealized town saint. The town is left to grapple with the revelation as people still pursue healing at the spring. The tale ends on a note about belief, deception, and the costs of seeking miracles.