#laurisilva

This is Madeira's Fanal Forest, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known for its ancient laurel forest. Many of the trees are almost a thousand years old. Fanal is renowned for an almost constant presence of fog, creating an otherworldly atmosphere where dreams flourish and time drifts into other dimensions.

Wizard of Madeira

I began writing these stories in January 2025 when my mother told me she had been diagnosed with cancer. This news shook me deeply and I began to experience recurrent dreams of a strange spirit wandering the forest of my subconscious.

As the year progressed I started to contemplate life, death and the nature of grief. I was journaling and writing these short stories as a way to process my feelings about mortality.

In this book you can journey through chronicles of stowaways and shamans - walk beside wanderers and pirates who found sanctuary in caves where the boundaries of the physical world dissolve. Discover the untold tales of the 16th century levada workers who glimpsed alternate dimensions while carving the impossible channels through stone. Discover the prophetic dreams mapped for eternity in the valleys between sacred realms, guided by an ancient forest guardian - a living manifestation of nature’s consciousness that has protected this sacred ecosystem for millennia.

Each tale pulses with the healing power of nature. Deep within this ancient forest you'll unearth a refuge of divinity where rare birds carry messages between dimensions, where butterflies trace patterns of cosmic significance, and where the flora itself holds keys to spiritual alchemy and ancestral knowing.

For centuries, the powers that be have buried these timeless secrets beneath official records and colonial narratives. The winds of change are blowing and through the mist of twisted laurel branches, a different story is emerging: one of an island where reality bends like light through volcanic crystal; where time pools in hidden valleys and the veil between worlds grows thin.

Some ancient truths can only be rediscovered where the map ends and faith begins. Each chapter illustrates tales of suffering, awakening and redemption; of treasures both material and metaphysical, of transformation, reincarnation and eternal return.

Fanal💚🌿

https://www.instagram.com/simajakubcovie