The Adventures of Baba Pena | Chapter 1

Meet Baba Pena!

Meet Baba Pena. She's your sweet grandma from the small village of Bansko in Bulgaria. She is just like everyone else and does what any normal baba would do. Coming for a visit? You best believe she's made fresh buhti, her famous pan-friend dough balls generously doused in powdered sugar, with homemade jam and honey from the neighbours.

Don't feel like a sweet treat? Good thing she always has fresh banitsa in the oven. Her special recipe for those filo pastry rolls, filled with cheesy eggy goodness, could be eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Or as a snack. She's just that good!

When not doting on guests, you can often find her with embroidery in hand. But this is no ordinary embroidery. It's a tapestry of intricate stitches that look like a mess of yarn up close, but once finished, reveal a beautiful image. A magical portal to another world. Just look around her living room. She has framed and hung up stitched portraits of mountains, forests, cottages, and all sorts of creatures.

Baba Pena's portraits aren't just the product of an old lady with time on her hands. They are special. And... so it seems, is she.

One of Baba Pena's portraits reveals a teal lake, pine trees dusted along the edges, and mountain peaks a stone's throw away. While the grass is sprinkled with lots of tiny spring flowers, all bright and colourful like a bunch of confetti, the mountain peaks are still capped with snow. It's as if winter is desperately clinging to the last bits of cold earth. And in the lake... behind one of the rocks, a siren's head is poking out.

She is portrayed leaning on the rock, her tail idly splashing around the water. Her golden hair pools on the water's surface at her waist and her lips are curled in a cheeky, all-knowing smile. And those cherry-dark eyes... they seem to follow you around, wherever you stand.

Although Baba Pena seems like any ordinary granny, there is always an air of mystery around her. She tells the most intriguing stories that leave her audience inquisitive for more. Want to hear one? No need to ask her twice! Next time you come over, she will tell you all about the time she boxed a siren in the forest. See you then!

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