Fifth Journey Day 146: Leaves That Refused Descent

"Leaves That Refused Descent" — Quiet drift above the Ibar, where tension and flow travel the same current.

Date: October 1, 2025
Location: Mitrovica, Kosovo

In Mitrovica, Kosovo, the Ibar River threads through daily life and memory. Bridges span its shifting colors, carrying people and their pauses; autumn haze, a faint breeze, and the scent of wood smoke settle over stone and water.

The River as a Backbone

This morning I arrived in Mitrovica. The air here feels full of layers. Every breath feels like it brings in not just moisture and smoke, but also memories. The river is like the backbone of the city—it's always moving, but in a calm way. As I walked along it, I noticed how the bridges made me feel different: one felt serious and straight, while another felt more relaxed, with its railings a bit broken, but still holding people to lean on. The river's current changed from gray-green to brown. It carried branches, trash, and light. It spoke in different parts, as if it didn't want to form one complete thought.

Between Voices Across the Water

I passed men sitting in groups on the other side of the river. They were talking quietly. On the same side of the river, I could hear children's voices. In between these sounds, there was silence. It was a kind of silence that felt full of tension, but it was also strangely calm. I kept listening, not to find answers, but to hear the way the air feels when things are left unsaid.

A Bench, a Wind, and the Vanishing Leaves

I stopped at a bench facing the water. The metal seat was still cold from the night. A strong wind picked up the leaves and carried them above the water for a moment, but then dropped them back into the river. Watching them disappear felt like watching thought itself slip away before it could be understood.

Holding Space for Tension

I was tired in the afternoon, but not exhausted. Instead, I felt like I was floating — as though the city had suddenly stopped for me. The walk wasn't about arriving at a destination or understanding something fully. It was about standing quietly beside something that doesn't have a clear answer. I think of paint as I write this: how washes of pigment can overlap without blending, how edges bleed but do not erase one another. Mitrovica felt like that today — it was tense and flowing at the same time, like the water was carrying both drift and insistence. I leave the river with its unfinished thought still moving in me.

Travel Notes

• Weather: Hazy skies; cool air around 14°C; a faint breeze moving along the river; light shifting from gray-green to brown on the water.
• Scents: Wood smoke from morning fires, damp stone by the embankment, a metallic tang rising from the river.
• Sounds: Low conversation from groups of men across the water, children’s voices nearby, wind lifting leaves, and a layered silence between them.
• Reflection: The day held an unfinished thought—like leaves that rise, hesitate, and return—teaching me to stand with tension without forcing it to resolve.

Continue the Journey

You may also linger with another Kosovo moment in Second Journey Day 86: Arjeta Krasniqi (Prizren), where conversation carries its own kind of river.