Winsburger Chronicle

Winsburger Chronicle (Serbian: Vinzburška hronika) is a story, published in Antarctica in 2024 as Penstubal's first book. It tells the tale of the residents of a bustling new metropolis; a city recovered from the battles and wars that had previously razed it in the past and looking ahead towards a new, brighter future in a promising new world. On one hand, there's that side of the story - on the other, it's the side of penguins and a society that both includes and excludes, that looks ahead while searching for inspiration in the past, a city that is inspired by others but also creates its own - the story gives an exclusive glimpse into old and new, traditional and modern, itself highly contradicting Winsburg.

Not only is the reader given an introduction into his city and its many different sides, but Bobbie Wood, the main character of the story, himself discovers sides of the city he might not have known of - and, to varying degrees, is either thrilled or disappointed. Find out what it is about Winsburg that makes it stand out among so many other cities in Antarctica!

Chapter 1
"We're here!"

"At long last!" thought Bobbie Wood, after a three and a half hour flight that to him, thanks to his uncontrollable excitement and the adrenaline that's been pumping into his body, felt truly like an eternity. After several hours of boring himself to the Penstubal Post, he finally arrived in beautiful Winsburg. "My kind of town!"

He hadn't seen his city in basically several years now, ever since he decided to go study in Moon Island with his friend Penstubal. Indeed, though, it is a beautiful city to live and work in, a lovely place, with truly terrific penguins, who, in Bobbie's view, one could never have anything bad to say about. He shared Penstubal's discontent with the country itself, however, but both could very well agree that the city is very, very different from the rest of the country. The rest of the country, they would say, has a very backwards mentality and seems to always pin the blame for nearly everything bad going on in their lives on the Winsburgers, and they claim that Winsburgers are detached from the Snowinn culture, that Winsburgers are weak, fragile, emotional, that they do not know the true meaning, the true purpose of life. Indeed, Bobbie would proudly assert, Winsburgers do not know the true purpose of life - for the very reason that to them, it really has no purpose. Yes, they're animals and they're proud of it!

No, jokes aside, Winsburg is a core part of Snowinn culture. You can not understand Snowiny without understanding Winsburg. Winsburg is the historic capital of the country - it is where emperors and kings and autocrats and democrats ruled, it is a place that switched control from one side to another so many times in its history, it is a city that had been razed - yes, it is true - an unbelievable 44 times, with virtually every single generation bearing witness to the destruction of the city and its subsequent revival that they play a central role in. Winsburgers really love their city, and have a very strong work ethic that still stands strong to this day, and Winsburgers have a certain optimism and a determination to fight for their city, to rebuild it over and over, to make it even better, to brainstorm different ideas nobody had ever thought before.

This is the Winsburg that Bobbie Wood loves to love. This is the Winsburg that he's known. And this is the Winsburg he had left in 2019.

Now, having touched down at Winsburg Airport - the question that had been lingering in his mind during the entire flight was, obviously: how much has the Unwithering City changed? How much have Winsburgers changed? How much has the city's beautiful face and warm and embracing hug changed? That is what he set out to find out.

"You awake?", whispered the nice penguin next to him, "we've landed."

"I'm awake, thank you sir" It seemed that he had been all but completely lost in his thoughts, daydreaming about the adventure that lays in front of him. "Thank you for providing me company during these three long hours. It wasn't easy."

"Of course" he responded, "We're all here with the same reason, aren't we?"

The penguin next to him is a very warm and friendly aqua penguin, wearing nothing but a plain red shirt. He is a clearly simple penguin who seemed to live his life in the present - he is completely unconcerned with what happened in his past, he is completely unbothered by the future and what's in the present, stays in the present. Once something happens, time to move on - do not look back too much. He's devoid of any ambitions and goals for his future, as Bobbie learned from their conversation - he seems to be a shopkeeper somewhere in some town outside Winsburg, in Staplia, where he sells homegrown fruits and vegetables, GMO-free, without any additives, of such outstanding quality only Snowinns can recognize it is theirs.

"You should come by sometimes" he added, "I'd love to have you taste some of what I have to offer! It is cultivated at home, the plants originate from all areas of Snowiny - from Penland to the Puffepelago, all over, and you have such a variety, so many nuances, you have got to give it a try."

He then smiled and added further, "And I will give you for free, completely free of charge."

"I'd certainly love to come there" said Bobbie, albeit dishonestly, "I'd love to try out what you have to offer"

At the moment, he was starting to get slightly annoyed by his attempt to force him into eating "ground-grown food". But, nothing could hurt his mood today. He's in Winsburg - hey, Winsburg! Bobbie knew very well he does not get to say that often in his life anymore. "Winsburg, Winsburg, here I come!"

To be continued