4.05.2025

The morning unfurled like a bolt of raw silk—pale gold and trembling—as the first sunbeams pierced the canopy of ancient oaks. Somewhere in the distance, a blackbird,

perched like a shadow given voice. Its inky plumage drank the light, save for the sly sickle-moon of its yellow beak, which

trilled its liquid, interrogative song—"Tschilp? Tschilp? Tschilp?"—as if questioning the day itself.

From a neighboring beech, a chaffinch answered, its body a study in delicate contrast: wings barred with white like freshly inked sheet music, its rose-pink breast glowing like a blush under morning’s gaze. It tossed its head with each cheerful, descending riff, the slate-blue cap atop its crown ruffling with the effort.

Lower down, on a gnarled holly branch, the robin held court. Its crimson breast burned against the gloom of the leaves, a living ember stoked by song. Each staccato burst of melody—"Tik! Tik-tik-tik!"—seemed to puff it larger, its body round as a ripe fruit, its black eyes sharp as thorn-tips.

During the concert outside, I had an English class, and after that, I ironed the clothes and took a shower. After that, I was working on my German.

Later, I cleaned the balcony, which was clad in smooth wooden panels, as the sun shone gently overhead. Then, I took the dog for a walk. The weather was wonderful. On the way, we saw dogs and their owners wearing blue chequered shirts.

Then, I headed to the swimming pool to blow off some steam. The water was blissfully cool against my skin as I spent about three hours there altogether—messing about with handstands and jumping in, trying to perfect my backflip entry.

After the swimming pool, I had a German class where I read a story about a magical carousel, which reminded me of my trip to Transnistria with its abandoned amusement park a couple of years ago.

After the German class, I played Merge Farm on Discord. It’s the sort of game I don’t particularly like, but I play it anyway because it’s addictive and doesn’t distract me from listening to audiobooks. I know I should quit before it takes over—hehe! By the way, I’m rich in the game now—I’ve got almost 1,500 gems—but I don’t spend them on anything. The new territory available for purchase costs 1,250 gems, but I don’t have enough resources to restore two of the new buildings on my farm, so I’m still "poor" in-game.

After playing Merge Farm, I watched YouTube videos about healthy (and not-so-healthy) food and hit the sack.