You have become a widow. You have also buried your only daughter Marija and her husband, your son-in-law, Mohor, not long ago. Now, it is only you with their little orphans. You live at St. Lucy’s, also known as Pri Lovrču. 

You have a piece of land at St. Maurus, and you often sit beneath an old cherry tree there with your grandchildren. You can see far across and down towards the babbling River Soča. To pass the time, you keep them busy by singing, telling ancient stories and folk memories that the oldest of your grandchildren, Ivan, finds particularly intriguing. He turns ten in 1893. He is an extremely bright and curious individual, so you and your parish priest send him to school, first to Gorica and then to Vienna where he takes a course in creative writing. Due to the outbreak of World War I and the situation prevailing after it, he never returns to his home town of Most na Soči. Yet, he knows the Tolmin region inside out: its history, environment and people are skilfully brought to the forefront of his numerous works.