Ancient forest legends say that deep in the dense forest, a Maiden dwells. She wears neither crown nor garland, only birds that circle her head and shoulders. They never settle or rest, some escape into the darkness, others return, as if drawn to her by an invisible force.

They say that every bird is a word unspoken, an action unfulfilled, a vow that remains empty. Everything a person leaves halfway does not disappear, but turns into a bird and flies to the Maiden.

That's why the forests rustle with their wings at night not flocks of living creatures, but human secrets and unspoken things circling around her head.

Anyone who encounters the Maiden immediately recognizes this, the darkness around her thickens, the air grows heavy, and suddenly, out of the darkness, birds fly. Their wings obscure the sky, and in that roar you hear a strange voice your own, spoken too late.

There's a belief that if a bird touches a traveler's shoulder, they'll remember something they wanted to forget or hear something they've avoided their entire lives. Few remain the same afterward.

And yet, birds speak not only by carrying memories of the unspoken. Some among them bide their time. When a person finally finds the strength to finish what they started or to utter what they've kept silent, one bird disappears from the flock and returns to its owner.

Thus, the forest gradually becomes quieter and the sky above the Virgin brighter. Therefore, meeting her is considered a test, she reveals not what has been taken forever, but what can still be returned.

Physical pencil, 2025