Elias was genuinely fed up.

This time it wasn't about his brothers, but about his "problem." He was tired of the constant need to touch himself, his solitary hobby had begun to feel monotonous and empty. His brothers constantly mocked him, saying that if he kept this up, there would be nothing left for a girl (in the rare case that someone wanted to spend their time with a weirdo like him).

When Elias told Josef about his need for warmth, he only got a couple of laughs and pats on the back, followed by a lecture and the classic aphorism that any of the chickens were available to him. Later, at dinner, Elias sought advice from Gabriel. The man at least listened to him, and Elias thought he would receive great advice. However, a couple of pats on the back and a long sermon about getting busy on the farm to forget his problem were not long in coming.

Elias's spirits fell for a few days, at least until the Thanatos brothers went to town to sell a few pigs. The moment she crossed the street, Elías was amazed. The girl was young, pretty, she was even kind to him when he approached her to ask her name. She didn't look at him with disgust or rejection like the rest of the people usually did.

The brief experience kept him in the clouds until Franz brought up the topic at dinner time, telling him to stop the nonsense. That a normal person would never hang out with someone like him or his brothers. Gregor and Josef made fun of Elías, who went to bed with that on mind. He knew he was an ugly man, his previous attempts to find a partner were terrible failures. Women found him disgusting, not even a prostitute was willing to spend time with him.

Elias decided to try to forget about it, but his mind ended up returning to her. One afternoon, he was sent by his brothers to buy some hay for the bulls. He saw her in the distance, sitting on one of the benches in the luhar, holding a book. He wondered if he should greet her or not. But he remembered his brothers' words. She needs a man, not a freak... He murmured.