The bus that took me from Zagreb to Motovun was almost empty. Most of the trip, there were no more than six passengers on it, and all of them were sitting far away from me. I had all the time to entertain myself with all kinds of ideas. And so I started thinking about all the selections from my Residua that I have attempted to this day. There are eight of them at present, and the ninth one is in the making. It will be finished within a few months. This is the selection about yoga, which I like to think as the very last one. Enough is enough. But the long bus ride enticed me to think about yet another possible selection. What in the world could it be? Several possibilities came to my mind, but I dismissed them pretty quickly. “Zagreb Postcards,” I almost exclaimed at some point. “Nah,” I shook my head at once, “nearly everything I’ve written about the city of my birth is sort of ghastly, if not even spiteful.” Nonetheless, the idea stayed with me through the end of my trip, and I decided to give it a try one fine day. Who knows, it may even be entertaining. By the time I reached my home close to the top of the Motovun hill, I had hard time stopping myself from starting the search of my magnum opus right away. There is time aplenty for yet another selection. Having calmed myself down, I decided to put the whole exercise into words. Whence this awkward foreword of sorts.

Addendum I (December 12, 2015)

Two days later, one more book of selections from my Residua is no longer just an idea. There are more than thirty-thousand words to it at present. I keep scolding myself for my rush with yet another mindless project, but without any success. Every now and then, I remember something I have written about the Croatian capital, I find it by searching the World Wide Web, and then I find its place in the new book. As ever, the order is strictly chronological. But I keep promising myself that I will let it simmer for a while. There is no rush, it goes without saying. Given my double life, it will take quite some time for it to come to a natural conclusion, as it were. One way or another, now I have ten selections at hand. Hard to believe, but still true. Ten!

Addendum II (December 15, 2015)

Five days later, there are nearly seventy-thousand words to my new book. Obviously enough, scolding myself is utterly useless once again. What is worse, I have no idea when the passion with which I am compiling the book will subside. For it is a passion, indeed. As ever, the best I can do is let it go its own course. Sooner or later, it will find its, as it were, natural end. For it must, or so I dare to hope. In the meanwhile, I am the slave of my own passion, which I was not even aware of before that fateful bus trip. Lamenting is for the sissies, though. Back to work!

Addendum III (December 22, 2016)

For the record, there are a hundred-thousand words to my Zagreb Postcards at present. On many of my visits to the Croatian capital, I add a few pieces to the selection. This is what I will keep doing in the future, as well, which means that the book will keep growing. I do not expect it to change very much over the years, though. The main reason for this is that I cannot imagine that either my understanding or appreciation of the city of my birth will ever change appreciably. In this sense, my book is closed. And so is my mind, I must confess. Zagreb is Zagreb is Zagreb.