🌊 Salt in the Wind Episode 20: The Names on the Wall
The gallery was quiet again, but not empty. Ren walked slowly past the exhibits, now rearranged into a timeline. Aleksander's childhood. Masaru's summers. The cave. The cabin. The tree. The dock. The lighthouse. Each piece had its place. Each name had its echo.
Aleksy stood by the guestbook, flipping through the latest entries. One caught his eye.
"I never knew this story. I grew up here. I walked past the lighthouse every day. I never asked. I'm asking now."
He looked up. "They're listening."
Ren nodded. "And they're speaking."
That afternoon, the mayor of Kołobrzeg arrived. She was quiet, reserved, but her eyes lingered on the portrait of Aleksander and Masaru longer than anyone else's.
"I was told this exhibition was controversial," she said. "But I think it's necessary."
Aleksy stepped forward. "We're not rewriting history. We're restoring it."
She nodded. "Would you consider making it permanent?"
Ren blinked. "You mean… a memorial?"
The mayor looked at the wall. "A place where people can remember. Where silence doesn't win."
Aleksy whispered, "Yes."
They spent the next week gathering support. Locals donated frames, space, stories. A carpenter offered to build a permanent installation near the lighthouse. Mrs. Nowak brought more poems. The archivist unearthed a school photo of Aleksander, smiling, surrounded by classmates who never spoke his name again.
Ren and Aleksy worked late into the night, designing the memorial. It would be called The Names on the Wall. A tribute to Aleksander Zieliński. Masaru Takahashi. Janusz Zieliński. And anyone who had ever loved in silence.
On the day of the unveiling, the town gathered by the lighthouse. The wind was strong, but warm. The sea was calm. The memorial stood tall—wood and glass, etched with poems, letters, and photographs.
Aleksy stepped forward.
"This is not just about two boys. It's about all of us. About what we choose to remember. About what we choose to love."
Ren followed.
"We found pieces of a story. We stitched them together. And now, we give them back to the world."
The crowd was silent. Then someone began to clap. Slowly. Reverently.
Mrs. Nowak placed a single rose beneath the memorial. "For the boy who loved."
That night, Ren and Aleksy returned to the dock. The stars were bright. The wind was soft.
Aleksy looked at Ren. "We did it."
Ren nodded. "And we're not done."
The sea whispered.
The wall remembered.