“Dedicated to the moving shadows and silent spirits of my random rooms. I wish them to rest in peace and walk towards the light.” The moving shadows and silent spirits that accompany Andreas Nikolacopoulos must express their gratitude for this dedication to his new book Saltos (published by Ikaros, p. 172). It is clear that he is aware of how his 13 stories are born, dark, cruel, full of fantasies and horrors, allusions and unspoken, with heroes who struggle unequally with their tragic fate.

Saltos is a real place, a rock of doom, where the villagers where he grew up dragged old and lame horses, unwanted newborn puppies and kittens and tore them to the ground, a rock that meant only death. “K” spoke to the author about his new book, deliberately avoiding the dichotomy fixed for Nikolacopoulos: a cook is a writer. Maybe because he considers himself not a cook or a writer, but a painter, even if the brushes and easels stand still and he chooses to write by letter.

“Of the three, lack of freedom stifles me the most. Not only in the literal sense of isolation, but also in the form of any lack of freedom, such as the lack of freedom of choice, counterargument, denial and uncontrolled thought. Death certainly affects me and anyone who says otherwise is lying. But not with the very moment of the tragic event, but with something that will forever disappear from my eyes. I think the disease shakes me less than the three, since in recent years the monster among us has been tamed and I looked at him more coldly and rationally. All this and more, as hypocritical societies and legal injustice shape my thinking, my stance on things, and of course my writing, which is nothing more than flashes of danger to scattered survivors.

– I have sympathy, understanding and respect for a different state of mind at the moment. I try to remind myself that each person has his own truth and axis and refuse to play the role of judge, judge and reasonable householder, with everything in order and clarity.

I am looking for people who, despite the daily bombardment, believe that the game is not yet lost.

“I hate attachment to the past, nostalgia for the past, and salty memories. However, watching the past as a guide to the future and studying it so as not to forget and pay for past sins or heroic deeds while it is in my hands is extremely beneficial for me. This observation and research, unwittingly or perhaps not, determines my present and future movements or opinions.

“The women in the story didn’t just become ruthless. I can’t put him on a par with someone who shoots second in response to the killer’s first shot. Of course, women in the continuation of history and in obedience to the propensity to corrupt in the name of power became exactly what they fought against in the first place. I never wanted to divide it into women and men, but into ruling and ruled, who change their baton and worldview depending on the position in which they are. To me, the women in the story still seem heroic, pioneering, dynamic, but at the same time trapped in human nature, open to contagion. In my mind, they are born looking at old photographs of women who looked prematurely old. Not only from the hard work, but also from the words they kept to themselves and the tears they kept from flowing.

Yes, they are by no means identical. Death is a biological event that happens to everything on Earth. However, death is something that is decided by the people left behind or who died during his lifetime and based on the actions he took or the attitude he took during his lifetime. But the worst thing is that your death will come while you are still biologically alive. Death is something that comes and often sets you free, but loss is an endless and dramatic event that takes many with it.

“I’m looking for a world where people, instead of being dependent on the side they choose to fanaticize, choose to be dependent on those they love. But I’m also looking for people who, despite the daily bombardment, feel the game isn’t over yet.