Ferien vom Ich

The story opens with a quiet homecoming to the valley of Waltersburg, where the ancient Johannisbrunnen still murmurs beneath a weather‑worn statue of the Baptizer. Legends of a pagan army turned saints swirl around the stone basin, while the narrator recalls floating paper ships toward distant lands as a child, watched from a green balcony by a mother’s patient hands. This tender portrait of place grounds the tale in a landscape that feels both timeless and intimately personal.

Family ties soon surface: an older brother, Joachim, now a university student, trades childhood games for magnetic fishing experiments, while a mother tends her needlework, eyes fixed on the fountain’s steady flow. Their bond is tested when Joachim’s marriage brings a striking yet troubled bride, and a sudden, unsettling courtroom confession hints at a darkness that will ripple through the household. The narrative balances the comfort of remembered rituals with the uneasy anticipation of hidden strains beginning to surface.