This was the first stage in which they seemed to start “colorizing” my working place, by the colors I knew and I wanted and I was receiving it. In the second phase, with any exaggerations, I simply got so close to these people that I myself looked to give them back the same proof of affection, liking them, trying to build them a place in my heart. An inner place through which we could communicate with no words but by the fruitage of our fraternal and helpmate trust.
– Listen, Thomas took hold of the teacher, so you won’t be the only grey and old man, look, a grey woman shows up on the road.
– Good evening, the old lady greets us.
– Good evening to you too, we hurry to greet her back, in chorus.
Buia Thomas, our host says:
– Being a part of my suffering, you may have noticed I am dealing harder and harder with my walk, although I’m not 50 years old yet.
I had the guts to work in that gallery, Purcaret, most of all because it was above my house and I didn’t have to go by car, to wake up with two hours earlier to get at the “entrance in the mine”, but the work terms were very hard.
We started the gallery in an autumn. All winter we were so cold, because we were really 10-20 meters far from the outside. Then these underground water that were daily filling our boots, frizzing our feet, it wasn’t any help. Still because of this water, from infiltrations, our wells compromised. That’s why now my feet aren’t listening to me anymore, nor my knees, in fact nothing else listens to me. From a head mine digger I became a “patch” at the age you see me.
– Mister Buia, you are “green” enough, cheered him the professor to whom was not suitable to contemplate the atmosphere of pity that lasted from the early morning till now when they got out from the grave yard.
– Well Mister Iorgu, Buia addressed him, it will be my pleasure not to talk about this subject but actually not only my feet hurt, nor all my wrists and then they said I have a “syndrome” that would affect my heart a lot, with the silicosis “I’m not bad”, second degree, and they decided to give take me in retirement. Honestly I’m telling you that this pain is so big sometimes that I don’t know what to do anymore. Then I give up my medicines and I start drinking until I go to sleep and I don’t feel anything anymore.

I may not feel, but my poor wife …The wife …yes, my poor female, she never thought she would ever get married. She married while she was still young. When my time came to get married she already had all these four kids. Her husband, may he rest in peace, was working at the tumbler. One night wanting to unbind two cars to get it by turns to dump his helpmate having no idea what he wanted to do, he thought he was straining to push the car in the tumbler and he doesn’t manage. Then with all his force he holds on to a beam and pushed as hard as he could the car. He hears a long scream and when he went to see from where it came, the head of his helpmate was hanging crushed between those two cars. The husband of my wife died leaving four kids behind, and his helpmate went crazy, leaving other two children with no father.
You may observe that if a woman remains widow or divorced the family doesn’t recover, can’t get married again because of the children. For many reasons lovers don’t want other’s children. Well being, I took Marie especially because she had the children. Why did I do this thing? Maybe some thought I did it from madness, maybe from closeness (my parents had land and they told me and my brother they’ll give us the ownership counting the number of children we have), but it wasn’t about any of these. Like any other man I myself had some experiences with some “girls”. One even told me she was pregnant only that she never gave birth. Down the village a young doctor came, that build a home wishing to settle down here. I was his main master for the construction of the house. From talk to talk I told him my suspicion. He made me all my tests and confirmed I’m sterile and I could not have children. I might have liked children till then, but since then, it seemed I was crazy after them. I was following them all the time, buying them sweets, toys, what else, I was becoming one of them. After the sorrow Marie went through with her husband, I did not think twice, I took her when she thought no one else would ask her to be his wife. I took her with no suspicions. I had a happy marriage. In the latest time this boy of mine, Relu, worries me. The boy I told you so many things about till now is 35 years old now and already has three children. They put me in retirement from the mine, I was already encouraging them, and him, a man with many jobs sent into retirement.

At the beginning he was happy, with the money they gave him according 22 Ordinance, the 15 salaries, and he thought he would cover “all the holes”. Only after he got the money he realized that in fact the number of holes grew up to a huge hole; the daily family meal, of the five mouths. I told you he is very hard-working. That’s how it is. He took his ragbag and through the country. He wasn’t thankful with what he got; he first went to Czech then to Poland and later to Israel. Stupid he isn’t, hard working as three, but the taps were already formed. From all he worked for others he hardly could feed his children. This fact was getting him out of his mind. Through were he has been all the bad ones sheltered. He told me that the Romanians that left he country, some from in here too, had nothing else to do (the police was looking for them) they were coming to them, teaching them something about the language, habits and when they had to get the money they would organize in gangs, beat them in their bedrooms or cabins and took them their last money. Relu got it too, right before coming home. He “earned” something, they smelled him and if he fought them and didn’t give them the money, they broke his hand.
Now he is staying at home in an almost thundering rage both because he is inactive but for the adversities that accumulate having no money to live his life from a day to another. I see this daily, I help him sometimes too with very little because actually I don’t have from where but I pity him, his convulsion, that I haven’t got the chance to know. So much harm was never surrounded our houses. In fact he was horrified from earlier, from when the ordinance with the discharge of “the bad components” was given by the collective. One of his helpmates being regarded by such ways of getting people off, expulsion form the working collective, without any other rights, he put dynamite in his pocket and left with Relu through Baia. A friend recognized Relu a bit. At a few steps his friend made the electric contact with the explosive and his whole body powdered in the city.
– Mister Buia, I am sorry for all this, and the others too, his “twin” Thomas cheered him, but our hope is too in the new elections when the ones that now impoverished us will become history, believe me when I tell you that I never thought there could be so many adversities on humans until they brought us all this and with no preliminarily “training”. Maybe they have a good life now, but all the curses of the needed mothers with many children or the widows will get them eventually. Let’s not loose our hope in God, because He pays everyone after what he deserves.