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“You remind me of someone I once knew,” the woman told her.
“I get that a lot,” Rene smiled, not wanting to reveal her identity unless she really needed to.
“Come on inside, and we’ll get you settled,” the woman turned around and walked in.
Hyde, Jesse and Rene immediately followed behind. It was an old house, made mostly of wood and brick, with low ceilings. In some spots, they even had to bend down a little, so that their heads wouldn’t bang on the ceiling. The woman showed them to their rooms and offered them a light snack once they settled in.
Once Rene closed the door, she sat down on the small bed, covered in a red and black checkered blanket, which looked like it was someone’s personal handiwork. She pressed against it with her open palm, feeling the texture. A little prickly, but probably very warm during cold nights.
She took a quick shower and, about half an hour later, all refreshed and changed, knocked on Hyde’s door first. He quickly opened it, and he also looked refreshed and ready for their adventure. The three quickly went downstairs, right into the kitchen.
The woman was standing by an old stove that worked on wood, releasing a soft heat all around the room. A slight smell of burning wood filled their nostrils, but Rene didn’t mind. It was a pleasant sensation to be here, to get to know everything her mother once knew.
“Some cheese and sarmale, that is, cabbage rolls, mamaliga, or polenta, and some homemade fresh, bread. Not too much, but if you are hungry, it will be more than good,” the lady smiled.
“That looks delicious,” Rene gushed. “Thank you.”
They sat down at the table and started eating. Rene realized that she knew and understood much more Romanian than she thought, and she was able to carry on a decent conversation with this sweet lady, who treated them as if they were relatives and not just guests at her guest house.
“We were told that there was once a well here,” Rene asked after a while. “Do you know where it is?”
The moment Rene mentioned a well, the lady’s facial expression changed. She looked worried.
“Why do you want to go there?” she asked them.
“They just said it’s a nice place to visit. The view is beautiful there,” Rene tried to come up with a plausible excuse.
“It is a bad place, you shouldn’t go there,” the lady urged them.
“Why?” Rene wondered.
“No good thing has ever come out of that well,” she started explaining, “the water is yellow, it makes you sick.”
“We don’t want to drink the water,” Rene smiled, “we just want to take a walk around the well.”
“There are so many nicer places, with a more beautiful view, you should go there.”
“Alright then,” Rene said, but it wasn’t because she agreed not to go, but rather because she didn’t want to risk insulting her kind host.
After a pleasant chit chat, Rene, Hyde and Jesse thanked their host for the wonderful meal and went outside for a walk. Rene gazed into the distance, listening to the howling of the wind. Hyde stood by her side, watching the mountains covered with snow.
“Does it bring back memories?” she asked him.
He sighed, without answering. A smile lingered on his lips, then he spoke.
“This is where I spent my childhood, up in those mountains, in these woods. All the memories I have of this place are beautiful, not even Culore could have destroyed them.”
“Are we going?” Jesse was the last one to walk out of the house to join them.
“Yes,” Hyde nodded.
“Do you know which way to go?” Rene wondered, looking at endless trails that started everywhere and ended far away in the distance, where the eye couldn’t reach.
“Let’s just start somewhere,” Hyde suggested, “I have a feeling that memories of old paths will come flooding back and I’ll recognize the one we need.”
“That sounds like a good plan,” she kissed him on the cheek. “I really appreciate you guys coming along. I would probably chicken out, if it wasn’t for you.”
“You can always count on us for anything,” Hyde assured her.
