1: The Grilovačka (2017)

The boy sprinted at the pool, limbs flying about in a whirlwind. Kicking off from the ground, he flew upwards for a moment before swiftly making contact with the water, and though the splash was large, the shallowness of the pool and the boy’s determination to protect the lit cigar–dangling precariously from his mouth–kept his head dry. From the other side of the house came bounding a shepherd; built like a clumsy rocket, the barely half a year old pup had grown large and strong. Chasing after the boy, the dog sprinted to the edge of the small pool and stopped in horror. A few of the other members in the party eyed the dog with some solicitude as she hopped back and forth along the rim. The boy turned around, puffed on the cigar, and reached out for her collar. Noting the threat of imminent wetness the shepherd made a mad dash to the right. The edge of the pool was dotted with glass cups and with a resounding yelp the on-lookers watched in a helpless stupor as the dog danced in and out of the glass army. Laughing hardily to himself, the boy again, moved lackadaisically towards the dog. Looking back, the dog once again gave a harsh cry as the hands of her owner reached out for her once more. In a mad frenzy, the dog hopped and zig-zagged along with the rim dodging, not just the hands of the boy, but several pairs of the once-spectator’s. The eyes of the group grew fixed on the dog, the silence seemed to abound in an endless trice wherein the cores of the onlookers groaned in mournful unison, as a disturbed wine glass teetered to the ground–shattering. The boy held the cigar in his hand and lunged for the dog. Catching hold of her collar dragged her back towards the open yard and she galloped away. Returning to the broken glass, he replaced the cigar once more into his mouth, shooed the others from the glass, and attended to the shards and splinters placing each of the smaller pieces inside of the larger half piece that had remained unshattered. After a few quiet moments, the shepherd returned to the rim, and in jubilation danced into another glass, rendering it to dust at the shouts of the swimmers.