Ren arrives in Kołobrzeg hoping to uncover the story behind the photo—a boy standing alone by the lighthouse. He meets Aleksy, who looks eerily similar to the boy in the image. Their first encounter is tense, but fate keeps pulling them together.
As Ren explores the town through his lens, Aleksy becomes his reluctant guide. Slowly, they unravel the mystery of the photo, which ties into a decades-old love story between Ren’s grandfather and a Polish boy during WWII.
Their bond deepens as they retrace the past, and Ren begins to see Aleksy not just as a connection to history, but as someone who makes him feel truly seen. But Aleksy struggles with his own fears—of being vulnerable, of losing someone again, of stepping into a love that feels too big to hold.

🌊 Salt in the Wind Episode 12: The Portrait Beneath the Paint


The gallery was quiet, its walls lined with seascapes and stormy skies. Aleksy hadn't brought Ren here before—not because he didn't want to, but because it felt too personal. Today, though, something had shifted. The tape, the napkin, the archivist's warning. The silence was no longer safe.


Ren stood in front of a canvas that bled blue and gray. "This one feels like him."


Aleksy nodded. "It's the first one I painted after I found the cave."


Aleksy shrugged. "I didn't know what it meant then. Just that something inside me cracked open."


They moved deeper into the gallery, past portraits of faceless figures and waves that seemed to whisper. At the back was a door, locked and unmarked.


Aleksy hesitated. "I haven't shown anyone this."


Aleksy unlocked the door and led him inside. The room was small, cluttered with canvases and charcoal sketches. In the center stood an easel, draped in cloth.


It was a portrait—Aleksander, young and solemn, eyes full of wind. Behind him, faint and ghostlike, was Masaru. Their hands didn't touch, but the space between them pulsed.


Ren stepped closer. "You painted this from memory?"


Ren looked at him. "You've been carrying this longer than I thought."


Aleksy sat on a stool, hands trembling. "I used to think I was haunted. That I was painting someone else's grief."


Ren knelt beside him. "You were painting truth."


Aleksy looked at the portrait. "I think they were here. I think they left pieces of themselves in this town. And maybe… maybe I'm one of them."


Ren didn't speak. He just reached out and touched Aleksy's shoulder.


They sat in silence, the portrait watching.


Later, they returned to the hostel. Ren printed a copy of the painting and pinned it to the wall. The collage was growing wild—letters, poems, photographs, sketches. A map of memory.


Aleksy stood behind him. "What happens when we finish?"


Ren turned. "We don't finish. We remember."


That night, Ren dreamed of the sea. Of Aleksander standing on the shore, Masaru beside him. Of a train that never came, and a lighthouse that never stopped shining.


Chapter 12 - Episode 12: The Portrait Beneath the Paint