A Whisper I Hear

Slavka lives in a house beneath the hill. During winter, her mother Miluša stays with her. She takes care of her, cooks, dresses her, helps her. She deals with insomnia by keeping herself busy with housework and small daily tasks. She gives insomnia space to live. When she sits down, the silence bothers her. In the workshop where her husband used to work, besides the empty space and dust-covered machines, there are piles of coal and firewood. She goes down to collect them. Sometimes she starts the machine, just to hear the sound. She chops the wood into small pieces on it. At night, she lies down, but soon enough, another morning arrives, another day that never seems to end.