Broken Hearts On Boulevard Unirii novel Chapter 81

When we arrived, the weather had improved slightly and it stopped raining. What we saw was a small old building which housed a wooden counterweight elevator that took us down two hundred meters below ground level. As it descended, it swung from side to side, hitting the wall several times and made all kind of frightening noises. When we got out of the elevator, we were hit by a blast of cold air. It was a good thing that we had taken our coats along.

When we entered the mine, we were amazed at the size of the mine shaft. In different corners of the halls there were huge sculptures carved out of the salt. Some were over one hundred meters high. Although I didn't know what they represented, I was nevertheless impressed.

The elevator ride back up was more frightening than the one going down. The lift swung even more violently and Oana dug her nails into my arms every time the lift banged against the wall. I vowed never again to enter such places, especially when the elevator, made of wood, functioned by the weight of the people in it.

When we got out of the elevator we were both pale and felt sick. We ran to the snack bar located in a small building near the parking lot to buy a cup of coffee and relax a bit. The first and only sip I took, I spat back into the cup, as it was the most revolting cup of coffee I had ever tasted.

Since the sky had brightened and the sun was peeking out between the clouds, we decided to drive on to the city of Campina, not far from the salt mines. That is where the famous Iulia Hasdeu Castle is located and since Oana knew the history behind it, she very much wanted to see it.

The castle was built in the late 1800s by the famous Romanian historian and politician, Bogdan Hasdeu, to memorialize his daughter Iulia, who died suddenly at age nineteen; an event that dramatically shook and changed Hasdeu's life. Iulia was a child prodigy who at age two and a half spoke German and French and at age four could read and write. When she was twelve she was enrolled in the Sorbonne. He claimed that he built the castle with the spiritual guidance of his daughter, with whom he supposedly communicated until the end of his life.

After our trip to the castle we went to eat. As we didn't know any of the restaurants in Campina, Oana asked several people if they could recommend a good restaurant. Everybody pointed us to the same one, a typical Romanian restaurant that served decent food. We ordered ciorbă soup which was hot and filling and we gulped down several tuicas. After the meal we all of a sudden felt very tired.

As it was almost dark and I didn't want to take the risk of driving back in a half-drunk state, we decided to stay the night. Above the restaurant there were rooms for rent, so Oana pulled out my wallet and paid for a room for one night. She dragged me to the second floor and as soon as I lay down on the bed I fell asleep.

"Giorgio, I won't change my lifestyle; I won't go to restaurants, I won't buy a car nor will I buy clothes unless I desperately need them. I grew up having nothing and won't waste money on mindless things. I will sell my mother's apartment together with the furniture and have her move in with me. I won't waste money and be left without any financial security. You have already changed my life enough, I don't want you to change it anymore," Oana lectured me.

While I was trying to navigate the winding roads, I reached out and stroked her silky hair and looked at her beautiful face.

"This girl has fantastic external beauty, but her inner beauty rises above all," I mumbled to myself as she looked at me quizzically.