B. 2.

Zaharia Stancu, Barefoot

Grandmother had three sons and only one daughter, my mother. Tone and Lisandru,
older than my mother, had gone out in the world early on, worked for the masters, saved up some
money, and came to Omida, a poverty-stricken village, but large, with a train station, a postal
office and greek grain traders. They had bought land plots near the road, built houses, opened up
general stores. Both of them married city girls. Children in their homes... Grandma quickly
married off my mother. She couldn't stand the indoor narrowness, she had wanted to stay only
with the little boy, the only one of the offspring she cared for. Maybe grandma held mister
Dumitrache dear because he was skinny, silly. Grandma saw him as some sort of non- human, a
feeble-minded youngster, who clinged on to her and never disobeyed.
"Dumitrache, sweep the house..."

Dumitrache grabs the broom by the handle and sweeps the house better than a girl.

"Dumitrache, pick up some stinging nettle, chop it, boil it, mix it with bran and feed it to the
ducks."

"Dumitrache, tonight you're staying home..."

"I am, mother "Dumitrache, today you're going to the hora dance.

"I'm going, mother..."

"You're going to join the hora dance, Dumitrache."

"I am, mother." "

You're going to dance well, Dumitrache... So that people look and marvel at you..."

"I am, mother."

"After the hora dance is over, you're going uphill with the girls..." "Only if one of them would
want to go with me..."
 Ioana

A lot of things has happened in her life, things that make me fell sorry forher, everytime I
remember, horever, not always for a good reason.At the beginnig of our relationship, there was
this important man, mister X. He invited over a few students, n order to make himself fell
young.I don't know how, but we decided to go as well, we were unknown and at the same time
very proud, every gesture would bother us. Forty prople walked into a big hall Finally the host
showed up, smiling, but distant, he shook hands with the guests, chatting for a little more time
with the ones he knew. When he got to loana, he only shook her hand and quickly glanced at her.
Ioana answered him with a smile and mister x, moved on to the next one. She moved in the line,
mister Xwas standing in front of her again, without recognisig her, shook hands again and she
had to smile again. I watched both scenes from a/the distance never told loana, even tought we
became lovers) and Isaw her, the second time they shook hands, she was so small, trying to
smile, but herself-pride as a woman was damaged, she was asking herself every dailly ifshe is
beautiful.From that moment on, I always felt sorry for her, it hurts everytime Iremember that
moment, it did t matter how things between us were going, didn't matter how manydisasters
would come.

Noe mister X is dead, loana probablly forgot that, but me, Iwrite it down with the same
feelings I was sad for a lot of bad thingsthat has happened to her, however, later, when l hated
her, I was glad. Now, when the love and hate succeed one another and every moment differs
from another, and all the things she did, I see themdifferentlly, however, this visit at mister X's
place remained still in my mind. Mercy, like any other felling, it's hard to separate, to grade, it
starts, it turns and changes mysteriously.