In 1993, in the Croatian town of Brode, there was an old man named Vikč who adopted a female white stork with injured wings. He also gave the white stork a very romantic name - Marlena, which comes from the name of the heroine in the movie "The Beautiful Legend of Sicily".
Old Man Vikči has been taking good care of Marlena and building a warm home for her.
Vikchi loves Marlena as much as he loves his daughter. Marlena's leg was injured and could not be preyed, so the old man went fishing every day to feed it, and Marlena always accompanied the old man quietly and obediently, like a very caring little daughter.
And just like that, a few years flew by.
In the spring of 2001, the old man Vikči noticed that Marlena had a male white stork by her side. The old man thought that the male white stork would hurt Marlena, but he did not expect that there was no conflict between them, but moved intimately, and the old man knew that this "daughter" was in love.
Old Man Vikchi also named the male white stork Ake. In order to facilitate the two white storks to get along, he made a larger bird's nest for the little couple.
Marlena and Ake snuggle together every day, really a pair of immortals who envy others. But something unfortunate happened. One day Acker said goodbye and never returned. After that, Marlena was depressed all day and didn't even eat, but every day she climbed to the highest place and waited for Ake. The old man felt sorry for Marlena, so he forced it to eat fish and take it for a walk, and under the careful care of the old man, Marlena gradually improved, but there was no longer the spirit of the past.
But unexpectedly, the next spring, Ake flew back. It turns out that Ake is not a "negative man". Ake left because of the instinct of migratory birds to migrate, and flew south for the winter in autumn and winter. In order to meet Marlena again, Ake had to cross thousands of mountains and rivers from distant South Africa and fly more than 16,000 kilometers to Marlena's side, and everyone was touched by their love story.
Ake flew from South Africa to Marlena's side for fifteen years, and in order to spend more days with Marlena, Ake was always the last to leave and the first to fly back.
In March 2017, Marlena waited for Ake to return home as usual, but Ake, who was supposed to return, never appeared again. Later, the old man Vikč checked the Internet that the migration route of migratory birds would pass through places where hunting was rampant.
The old man Vikchi was very anxious, so he wrote a letter to the Lebanese president with the feathers left by Ake, telling him the love story of Marlena and Ake, hoping that he could fight poaching. When the Lebanese president read the letter written by Vikci, he was very moved and decided to specifically change the law to protect migratory birds.
The old man Vikči also recorded a video with the help of well-wishers, calling on everyone to protect migratory birds and pay attention to Marlena and Ake. After Vikchi's video was posted online, countless people were praying that Ake and Marlena could be reunited.
But Ake has never been heard, his fate touches everyone's hearts, and some media have set up 24-hour surveillance cameras next to Marlena's nest for uninterrupted live broadcasts.
People all over the world are praying for Acker's safe return. But a long time passed, and there was no Ake's figure, everyone thought that Ake had been killed, people began to cry, and some netizens even spontaneously held a memorial ceremony for Ake.
On April 12, 2017, a miracle finally happened and Ake returned.
The returning Arc is scarred and covered in blood, and no one knows what kind of bumpy journey it has undergone, but we do know that it was Ake's unswerving love for Marlena that supported it to fly back.