“Show me your friends, and I will tell you who you are,” I whispered. Then the dog took two steps forward. Behind him, the cat followed hesitantly. She was unsure if people considered her a true friend. Immediately, I, who feed both of them, took the floor: “I wanted to write about people,” I said. “I found no better way than to observe my closest companions: two tails and eight legs in total… The dog won. Because I love him more. But that doesn’t matter.

In these pages, you will not find stories about animal lovers who tear up over tender muzzles and pink noses. At least not just that. You will mostly encounter animals that act human. And humans who sometimes behave like animals. We inhabit the same universe. Up here, we bleed and heal our lives, talking about pain: which has color and shape and face. Sometimes it drips like a song from Melina’s lips. And other times it pierces like a vein in Amy Winehouse's arm. But more often, it burns, like light, in the eyes of a stranger. Beside him, stray or owned animals “testify” to the moment. Their presence sufficiently affirms our own.

Nikolas Perdikari was born in Athens in 1979. He studied in the Department of Communication and Mass Media at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He continued his postgraduate studies in the same department, focusing on Political Communication and New Technologies. Part of his study related to research on the use of interactive-digital narratives in education. He worked as a journalist at ERT until its closure. Today, he is a municipal councilor responsible for cultural issues in the municipality of Vrilissia.

The dog with the flower in its mouth is his first book. Among his forthcoming writings is the children's novella: “The dwarf Luth, the whale, and the moon.”