Hello, it’s your heart! Can you hear me?

It started to get dark and cold. I didn't have a headlamp, but there was still time before complete darkness. The "walnut therapy" was over. I moved on, and after another thirty minutes, I was already at the top. I could see the countless colored lights that Sofia was emitting into the space. The Bulgarian flag was waving, and the full moon was just appearing behind the nearby trees, illuminating the eastern parts of Vitosha…

…While we connect continents through our screens, the person on the other side of the wall remains unknown. We’ve crammed ourselves into concrete. We’re among people, but we feel alone. We serve algorithms. We make videos. To reach others. Through glass, through cheap plastic! We help thousands of people worldwide with our technologies, yet we pass each other on the street with stone faces and hardened hearts. Suffocated souls…

The Animal Farm

This and all the other buildings were constructed from junk—leftover materials that others had discarded after deeming them useless, spoiled, and unnecessary. The whole farm was abundant with such items. Collected, carried, dragged there. Window frames, metal structures, glass, panels, all sorts of electrical appliances, mattresses, sofas, sheets, blankets, textiles, carpets, tables, chairs, lumber, faience, shower cabins, roofing, and much more.

Choices and Actions

I hadn't allowed myself to raise my voice like that in many, many years. In a tense situation, I always tried to restrain my nerves and react consciously. To choose my words and tone and do everything necessary to prevent conflict, a scandal, and an ugly turn of events. To treat others as I would like them to treat me, even if they were showering me with attacks spoken in an unpleasant tone. I only recently realized that I had chosen this way somewhat subconsciously to avoid repeating moments from the past.

From Different Perspectives

I opened my eyes, stood up, and continued upward and ever upward. The path with the pine needles snaked twenty meters from the edge; tiny pebbles gradually took over. My steps became more resonant. Emerging into the open, I could now see the reddish peak of La Fortaleza against the backdrop of the massive black-and-gray pyramid of Teide. Up to this point, it had been forest and shade.

On the Roof of Spain

The rays colored the ocean, clouds, and rocks that had turned gray from the darkness. But the spectacle didn't stop there. To the west, the enormous shadow of Teide gradually sharpened, leaping over the entire island of La Gomera. In those first moments, the colossal silhouette stretched for several hundred kilometers across the Atlantic. Its contours became clearer and clearer while its size subtly decreased. We witnessed a sight almost unique on our planet, and it was on a full moon, and it was on St. George's Day!

A Way of Life

The "low technologies," as they playfully call them here, unfolded before our eyes one after another. Eric took us to the next one, which impressed me the most. It was the first time I had seen such a thing in person. The cylindrical installation with pipes on the side looked like a brandy still. Only it wasn't making brandy, but gas—methane from plant waste, which the family uses to cook.

With a Companion on the Road

I was close to the black lava on its north side. A road with no exit. I walked down a turn-off to one of the solidified rivers of stone. A year and a half later, some people had already returned to their homes. At least, those who still had them. I approached a house. Three-to-four-meter-high lava had jumped the concrete fence, covered part of the square slabs in the yard, and stopped right next to two large, living palm trees five meters from the house. In the yard—two parked cars and a moped…

The Teacher Arrives on Time

I stood under the tree of an overturned boat and contemplated the ocean's play. I was alone that day, too, but I felt different. I felt connected. I didn't know why, but I sensed that this was the right place for me at this moment. The few people who had been on the beach until recently left. Just the shore, the ocean, the few small houses, and El Pato—the bird that arrived every day and flew away after sunset.