Mile Gibanica was born to the comforting scent of his father’s bakery, a world that promised a simple, honest life. His childhood was a potent mix of flour and forbidden flavors. Even as a child, he possessed a precocious talent for alchemy, a gift that manifested in his "rum cakes." He would brazenly add a bit too much rum, transforming the humble confectioneries into potent, sought-after treats. These boozy bites earned his family a comfortable living, but his parents, ever critical, saw Mile and his sister Monika as "schmucks" and lazy bums, wasting their potential. When war struck, they saw an opportunity to flee and cut ties. They went to Licca, leaving the two of them with nothing but the silent, abandoned brewery.The brewery, once a symbol of family legacy, became a monument to their abandonment. With Monika gone to join the partisans, Mile was left alone, with a bitter duty to look after a sister who may never return. The war hardened him, transforming the baker’s son into a survivor. He quickly learned that in a world torn apart by conflict, survival wasn't about what you baked, but about what you knew. He became the local "I know a guy" guy, a shadow in the local trade routes, a whisper in the ears of the law. He specialized in finding “lost” goods and reselling them, operating in the gray areas between legality and desperation.He didn't do it out of greed, but out of a gnawing need to prove his parents wrong. The moonshine he makes in the old brewery is barely enough to get by, but it’s a physical manifestation of his refusal to fail. The illicit trade, while dangerous, provides the means to keep the home fires burning, a defiant beacon of hope for Monika’s eventual return. Mile's heart remains tied to that brewery, a painful reminder of the life he was meant to live, but his hands, calloused not by flour but by the hardships of war, are now those of a man who knows the true cost of survival and the bitter taste of being left behind.
genericvill — 22/09/2025 17:59

genericvill
genericvill
Looking/Into/The/Well

"Which flesh is your flesh?"