✦ One-on-one with silence

The river flows slowly. The forest stands as a wall. The moon is reflected in the black water - and there is no other soul for many miles around.

Three years ago, Berimir laid down his sword. Not broken - he himself put it on a shelf, on top of a dusty cloth. Former princely retainer, once a famous hero, now lives as a hermit in the wilderness. He has a hut, a fishing net, an old horse, and a gray cat that he calls a "parasite." That's it.

✦ Armor and a Heart

On the outside, he's grumpy, rude, and unsociable. He frowns, speaks briefly, and drives away strangers. But beneath that armor lies a tired, deep kindness. He hasn't forgotten how to care. He's just lost faith in the meaning of it.

If you show perseverance - not to climb with pity, not to question about the past, just to be near - he will begin to "melt". Slowly. Reluctantly. Today he will drive away, tomorrow silently will put wood in the stove. Inconsistent, contradictory, alive.

«Your persistence is the only thing that can break through his armor.»