Gypsy Roots

being able to foresee events any good. Her business was still lucrative and Letitia had no intention to retire in the near future. She saw herself as the much needed connection between the worlds of the light and darkness, seen and unseen. Till someone else came along, at least, she reassured herself.

  It was by now almost midday and she started to experience hunger pangs so she made an impromptu and conscious decision to provide her body with some fuel and headed in the direction of her favorite café. As she was thinking through the list of possible food choices that would indulge her gourmet senses, trying at the same time to avoid collision with the other people on the busy street, she started to get the feeling that she was being followed.

  Nonsense, she told herself. I took all the precautions. It can’t be possible. With that conclusion Letitia dismissed her well-developed intuitive feelings and let herself be driven by her olfactory system that was picking up faint but tantalizing kitchen smells. She chose an outside table at a nearby café: ‘Eugenia’s café’. It was under a large oak tree that somehow managed to keep most of its golden leaves and Letitia allowed herself to soak up happily the friendly and peaceful atmosphere emanating from the cobbled cul-de-sac street covered partially by the continuously falling autumn leaves and the numerous pots filled with red geranium. It was an enchanting atmosphere that stimulated the appetite and the mood and Letitia congratulated herself for selecting the place again. It was a bit chilly this morning but Letitia was suitably dressed and enjoyed the halcyon day. Wearing magnificently tailored wool coat and up to knee high heel leather boots, Letitia looked sophisticated and somehow intimidating. It would have been difficult even for her close acquaintances to recognize the usually bubbly, extroverted, friendly Letitia as the serious and self-absorbed women at the table.

  ‘Beautiful day Madame, isn’t it? We are lucky to have such a pleasant autumn’ the waiter said in Romanian, placing a vase with some fresh flowers on the table. Letitia replied automatically with a nod of approval and a smile not being able to find words easily today. She was definitely feeling better by the minute but not yet her easy going, voluble self. She inhaled deeply and smiled recalling the bucket list that she had started to sort out recently. What a dang year.

  She chose the chicken soup and a salad and finished with a crème Brule and a Turkish coffee. She saw her choices as a sort of compromise for the benefit of her heath. As she had to leave very early this morning she missed her breakfast and now she had planned to do some shopping so she considered this meal as a breakfast-lunch kind of event.

  ‘Is that man bothering you Madame? ’ the waiter who was bringing the first course whispered to her pointing quickly towards the direction of the front door. ’I can ask him to leave if you want Madame’ the waiter offered but Letitia declined his offer and thanked him after a quick glance at the stranger. Not someone from her community, she thought and forgot immediately about him. Letitia was used with admirers although their number dropped significantly as she grew older.

  While enjoying her coffee she heard the unmistakably sound made by the arrival of an SMS on her iPhone. Unlikely to be from Rose, she guessed glimpsing at her wrist watch. Still night in Australia, she sighted. The message was from her best friend, Ioana, and was laconic; it said ‘Poker? ’ and got a big smile from Letitia. It reminded her that it was time to go home. She wanted to take advantage of the daylight and get home before the sunset if that was possible, as it was about 50 km from the city to her small mountain village in the Carpathians Mountains of Transylvania.

  Lucretia was planning to drive off the beaten path on the return home and soak up the scenery. The autumn colors, deep red with abundance of yellow and orange had taken over the unspoiled and remote area where she was living. She wanted to take her time and enjoy the majestic view from a hilltop, listen for the bubbly brooks and the song of the birds. She could see some of the snowcapped mountain peaks from her cottage these days. The snow was coming, she could easily tell that. Ten years back she would have travelled the distance horseback riding, she thought, on a potholed road. She chuckled recalling those years. They were good times, though.

  These days the roads were dry and well maintained but it wasn’t a highway; the speed limit was low and the road was tortuous with not much light at night. Among other things, she had recently discovered that driving at night was challenging for her eyes. Of course, now after receiving a clean bill of health she felt once again optimistic about life and recalled her good genetic pool with her parents’ still alive and in good shape in their nineties.

  Letitia replied to her friend with an equally brief message: ‘tomorrow’ and then went to tackle her shopping list. As she left the café she was too engrossed in her thoughts to notice the stranger following her. He wasn’t a particularly handsome man but radiated good health and confidence. His athletic body was dressed in blue faded jeans, heavy leather boots and leather jacket. He was wearing aviator style reflective sunglasses pretending to be preoccupied with his mobile but followed Letitia’s trail through the small streets holding back when she stopped to check out the many small stall markets. Later that day, they parted ways at the exit from the city when it was clear that Letitia was making her way back home to the remote mountain village.

  She got back home just in time to enjoy a beautiful sunset cuddle with her animals on the porch. Her neighbor joined her later for a cup of tea and to share gossip. Elena, a good friend and neighbor of a similar age, brought a freshly made Sweet Walnut Bread (cozonac cu nuca) that was well suited to a cup of tea.

  ‘Tilia flowers, as usual Letitia’ Elena wanted to make sure that her favorite tea was served. She knew her friend well. With Letitia you could easily end up drinking a different tea each time, thought Elena. She wanted to know about Letitia’s trip and started the questioning as soon she settled in her chair in front of the lovely roaring fire that Letitia kept when she restored the old cottage. It must have been twenty years ago, thought Elena with some sadness for The years seemed to have past by at high speed.

  Although it was a lovely late autumn, the temperatures were dropping quite low in the evening up in the mountains so, in this part of the woods, country people had already started using the fire to warm up the houses. It was easy to find firewood and they used only the old, weakened and dead trees. Harvested that way it helped to reduce the frequency of bushfire.

  ‘Did you buy anything Letitia? ’

  ‘New bed sheets and towels. My kids have pointed out to me that my house is getting the old person smell. Can you imagine that? ’ she replied with good disposition. ‘I told them it’s cool vintage but the prospect of hearing the pee-yew expression scared the hell out of me’ Letitia finished pulling a face.

  ‘What about ‘Perio-breath? ’Elena asked developing the subject further. ‘My dentist suggested that I replace my old bridge work as it is more than 10 years old and apparently the acrylic can harbor bacteria and contribute to bad breath’ Elena confessed.

  ‘Oh God!’ Letitia said after a moment of shocked silence and then with a sigh. ‘I read somewhere that people lose about 75% of their sense of smell by the time they are in their seventies, ’ Letitia added thoughtful now. ‘That might be the explanation for why other people can smell what we can’t’.

  ‘So maybe it is time for refurbishing the house, huh? ’ both friends said almost at unison and then laughed.

  ‘I have something for you too Elena. I brought you some Anari cheese. The low fat soft goat cheese made in Cyprus that I’ve been telling you about, ’ Letitia said changing the delicate topic suddenly as she recalled her hostess duty. They continued to talk about the various prices and things on sale and then diverted into discussing about common friends and recent local events. In a nearby village someone was getting married and people were divided into their opinion about the couple’s compatibility. Less and less were arranged marriages considered these days, they both thought but neither brought up the topic? They couldn’t. Not after the
disaster it caused in Letitia’s family. Elena was suggesting a horoscope reading for the poor couple.

  They tasted the cheese and then had cozonac and Tilia flowers for tea and by 10. 00 pm Letitia was in bed with a good mystery book. The tarot reading room was always ready for use and she had a few people booked for tomorrow.

  ….

  Letitia woke up early in the morning. She liked the crispness in the air. The snow was unmistakably on its way and she tried to fully enjoy the last beautiful autumn days. This morning she found with surprise cigarettes butts on her porch. It was the third time in the last six months, she thought. Maybe it was time to have a talk to Domenic, their local constable. Not that she was concerned about her safety but it was the right kind of thing to do. She knew that Elena was not a smoker and she had no other visitors last night. Then she realized that she had not seen her loyal dog Lupu yet and started to worry. He would have not missed the scent of a stranger in his backyard or would he? He is getting older too.

  Letitia was relieved to hear him respond to her although her heart sank a little when she saw the state he was in as he approached the porch. As if