The Tale of Silyan

In the face of looming economic instability, farmers blockade city roads with rotten crops to protest government policies. The Conevs and their neighbors fear crop prices will collapse further. The action signals the severity of rural hardship in the region.

Ana decides to leave Macedonia for Germany, taking her husband and children with her. She seeks new opportunities while the family grapples with the high cost of living. Her departure strains the family and sets Jana on a separate path.

Jana follows soon after, leaving Nikola behind to tend what remains. The separation marks a deeper fracture in the family as migration pulls members away. Nikola is left managing dwindling resources and uncertain prospects.

Spring arrives and the storks return to the village to breed. Their nests appear on rooftops and trees around the fields, symbolizing renewed life amid hardship.

With many villagers gone abroad, there are fewer hands to care for the land. The storks begin to rely more on scavenging through garbage at the landfill to find food. This shift highlights how human hardship pushes wildlife to adapt in unexpected ways.

To earn income, Nikola takes a job as a bulldozer driver at the landfill. The work ties him to waste and the marginal economy, but it provides a safety net. He watches the storks nearby and hopes for a better future.

One day Nikola discovers an injured white stork, which he names Sylian. He cares for the bird, nursing it back to health and forming an unlikely bond.

As Sylian heals, Nikola's resolve to stay strengthens. The bond between man and bird becomes a beacon of healing amid hardship.

Under financial pressure, Nikola and others burn some crops to trigger insurance payouts. The practice underscores the moral ambiguities rural communities face to survive.

Nikola and a friend comb abandoned houses with a metal detector, hoping to uncover hidden valuables. They hope for a windfall that could keep the farm afloat. This desperate scavenging mirrors the broader collapse of the local economy.

Jana eventually returns to the village and reunites with Nikola. The family is reassembled, but the landscape remains scarred by years of hardship.

Sylian recovers from the injury, and Nikola's resolve hardens. He decides not to abandon the land but to work it with renewed determination.

Nikola resolves to plow his land again and remain self-sufficient. He commits to rebuilding his life through farming while staying connected to the village and its storks.