He is looking straight into my eyes.

“I don’t understand, Mircea, I just don’t understand.”

The story of 1930 comes to an end. My formidable philosopher father and experienced mother had no inkling of the love play between these two young people. They had no suspicion, none at all; they learned of it from an eleven-year-old girl.

Sabi’s illness is unpredictable, fluctuating with her moods. When she wants attention, her rambling increases. That day, all of us—my brothers and sisters—were out by the lake, playing and running around. The two of us sat together by a bush on the north side of the new lake. Evening had fallen. There were hardly any people around. I can’t recall if Shanti was with us that day. We sat close together, wrapped in the silent darkness of the sky, our twin shadows stretched long on the still, wave-less water by the light of the lamps behind us. All around was quiet, and my mind was at peace. I was immersed in a strange tranquility. But he was restless, impatient, losing control. Suddenly, he touched my thigh—

“No, no, Mircea, no!”

“Why not? Won’t you be mine? Don’t you care for me?”

“No, Mircea, it can’t be. They will never agree.”

“What do you mean? They’ve already given you to me.”

Poor Mircea, he just couldn’t understand us. No matter how much he heard about our customs, religion, rituals, and ways, he couldn’t grasp them. He couldn’t understand me, either.

“Let go, Mircea, I’m afraid.”

“I’ll never let you go. Never, not in this life.”

Just then, suddenly, there was a commotion—someone called out. We rushed over to find Sabi rolling on the ground, shrieking nonsense. Mircea picked her up and laid her down on a bench by the big lake. I stroked her head and body, trying to calm her. Slowly, the moon was rising, its reflection falling on the lake’s water. Sabi was tossing and turning, “Euclid-da, sit by me. Give me a little affection.” Mircea came closer, “What hurts, what’s wrong?” He kissed her lightly on the forehead. Sabi said, “Now hug Didi, do it, do it,” becoming insistent. “Ah, Sabi, be quiet, what nonsense is this?” The more I tried to quiet her, the more stubborn she became, and Mircea was not about to let this opportunity slip by. “Alright, alright, I’m doing it,” he said, and embraced me a bit too eagerly. But at that very moment, Sabi started screaming again, “What did you do to Didi, what did you do?” No matter how much I tried to explain—nothing happened, see, Mircea is right here beside you—she wouldn’t stop. I kept talking to her, trying to calm her down, lifting her up—and inside my chest, a trembling had begun. The poison of fear spread through my whole body, overpowering the nectar of love, as if I had been bitten by a venomous snake. We got into the car. Mircea seemed unconcerned, unaware of what the future held. He couldn’t