The Wall

An unnamed woman travels with her two friends, Hugo and Luise, and their loyal dog Lynx to a remote hunting lodge in the Austrian Alps. They plan a quiet summer in the isolated cabin. The mood is uneasy as they settle in for a season cut off from the outside world.

The morning after their arrival, the woman and Lynx discover an invisible wall that blocks passage toward the village. She tries repeatedly to pass, even attempting to drive through, but the barrier holds firm. The world beyond becomes a prison of silence and stillness.

From a distance, the woman realizes the village is emptied of life and that the people seem frozen in time. A farmhouse shows owners who appear lifelike yet motionless. The eerie discovery deepens her sense of isolation and fear.

While wandering the area, she encounters a cow and decides to keep it, naming it Bella. The animal becomes both a lifeline for food and a burden to manage in isolation. The bond with Bella grounds her amid mounting loneliness.

In a bid to reach the village, she drives Hugo's car toward the barrier, hoping to break through. The car crashes against the invisible wall, leaving them still trapped. The incident underlines the impossibility of escape.

Fighting despair, she decides to endure the summer by tending Bella, gathering food, and marking time on a calendar. A stray cat arrives, bringing a fragile sense of companionship, while Lynx remains her faithful, if weary, friend.

She hikes to another lodge tucked in a high mountain pasture, where warm sun and birds lift her spirits. The scenery offers a reprieve from fear and reinforces her capacity to endure. The experience begins a personal shift toward resilience.

During that summer, the stray cat gives birth to a white kitten named Pearl. The new life adds tenderness to a harsh routine and symbolizes a glimmer of renewal. Mother and kitten become part of the small world she tends.

She spends time harvesting hay in the meadow, establishing a steady rhythm of work and care. The task blends with animal husbandry and the need to provide sustenance. The routine brings a sense of normalcy to an extraordinary life.

Autumn winds claim Pearl, the white kitten, ending a brief period of lighter joy. The loss compounds the loneliness but also hardens her resolve to survive. She records the event as part of the ongoing narrative of life at the lodge.

On 5 November, she begins writing a 'report' on the back of old calendars and stationery. The act of writing becomes a counterpoint to the solitude, a way to organize memory and meaning. The document frames her experience in a way that keeps civilization at arm's length.

On 11 January, Bella gives birth to a calf, adding new responsibility and hope amid the winter. The arrival of new life shifts her routine and reaffirms her reason to persevere. The calf becomes an emotional anchor as conditions remain harsh.

After a year at the lodge, she and the animals leave the narrow valley and climb to the high mountain pasture for a second summer. The warmer season brings a sense of renewal and hints at becoming part of a larger whole. The move marks a turning point in her inner transformation.

In June, while returning with Lynx, she witnesses a stranger kill Bella's calf with an ax and then murder the loyal dog. She shoots the intruder with her rifle and rolls the corpse off a high cliff, then buries Lynx in a deep hole. The next morning she and Bella leave the pasture and return to the narrow valley.

Back in the narrow valley, she harvests potatoes and fruits as winter approaches. The cycle continues into winter and spring, and on 25 February she runs out of paper and ends her report. The act closes a long, solitary chronicle of life in exile from civilization.