Dup\u0103 ce feti\u021ba a disp\u0103rut printre oameni, Toma a r\u0103mas pe loc, privind \u00een gol. Avea m\u00e2inile tremur\u00e2nde, iar ceva \u00een pieptul lui parc\u0103 se rupea. Nu mai sim\u021bise mil\u0103 de mult. \u00cei era team\u0103 de emo\u021bii, le \u00eengropase sub contracte, cifre \u0219i pere\u021bi de sticl\u0103.<\/p>\n
S-a urcat \u00een ma\u0219ina lui scump\u0103, dar motorul t\u0103cea. Nu reu\u0219ea s\u0103 porneasc\u0103. \u00cen oglinda retrovizoare i se p\u0103rea c\u0103 vede chipul acelei feti\u021be, cu ochii mari \u0219i tri\u0219ti, \u0219i pe copilul din bra\u021bele ei. \u00ce\u0219i amintea perfect cum, la opt ani, \u0219i el ceruse odat\u0103 o bucat\u0103 de p\u00e2ine. Nimeni nu-l ajutase.<\/p>\n
\u00cen acea sear\u0103, a ajuns acas\u0103, dar vila lui uria\u0219\u0103 p\u0103rea mai rece ca niciodat\u0103. A deschis frigiderul plin \u0219i s-a a\u0219ezat pe scaun. \u00cen t\u0103cere, a m\u00e2ncat o lingur\u0103 de iaurt, apoi a \u00eempins cutia deoparte. \u201eE prea mult… \u0219i totu\u0219i prea gol\u201d, a murmurat.<\/p>\n
A doua zi, s-a \u00eentors \u00een acela\u0219i loc. Treptele erau goale. Doar o cutie mic\u0103 de lapte r\u0103mas\u0103 pe jos, goal\u0103, amintea c\u0103 feti\u021ba fusese acolo. A ridicat-o \u0219i a dus-o cu el, f\u0103r\u0103 s\u0103 \u0219tie de ce.<\/p>\n
Zilele au trecut, dar imaginea ei nu i-a dat pace. A \u00eenceput s\u0103-\u0219i aminteasc\u0103 de copil\u0103ria lui, de mama care lucra p\u00e2n\u0103 t\u00e2rziu, de iernile \u00een care adormeau fl\u0103m\u00e2nzi. Poate c\u0103 banii \u00eei aduseser\u0103 respect, dar \u00eei luaser\u0103 inima.<\/p>\n
\u00centr-o diminea\u021b\u0103, a luat o decizie nea\u0219teptat\u0103. A mers la prim\u0103rie \u0219i a cerut s\u0103 vorbeasc\u0103 cu cineva de la Protec\u021bia Copilului. A aflat c\u0103 o feti\u021b\u0103 pe nume Mara<\/strong> \u0219i fr\u0103\u021biorul ei, Andrei<\/strong>, fuseser\u0103 du\u0219i \u00eentr-un ad\u0103post temporar. Inima i-a tres\u0103rit.<\/p>\n C\u00e2nd a ajuns acolo, Mara l-a recunoscut imediat. L-a privit ne\u00eencrez\u0103toare, dar ochii ei s-au luminat. \u201eA\u021bi venit…\u201d a spus \u00eencet.<\/p>\n \u201e\u021ai-am zis c\u0103 nu-mi datorezi nimic\u201d, i-a r\u0103spuns el cu bl\u00e2nde\u021be. \u201eDar eu \u00ee\u021bi datorez ceva.\u201d<\/p>\n Din acel moment, via\u021ba lor s-a schimbat. Toma le-a asigurat o locuin\u021b\u0103 modest\u0103, aproape de biroul lui. Nu voia s\u0103-i \u00eenfieze, dar voia s\u0103 le fie sprijin. Mara mergea la \u0219coal\u0103, Andrei la gr\u0103dini\u021b\u0103, iar Toma… Toma \u00eenv\u0103\u021ba din nou s\u0103 z\u00e2mbeasc\u0103.<\/p>\n Presa a aflat \u00een scurt timp. Ziarele scriau despre \u201emilionarul care \u0219i-a reg\u0103sit sufletul\u201d. Dar el nu c\u0103uta laud\u0103. Ceea ce \u00eel bucura era c\u0103, seara, c\u00e2nd ie\u0219ea din birou, cineva \u00eel a\u0219tepta. O feti\u021b\u0103 care ridica m\u00e2na \u0219i striga: \u201eDomnule Toma, am luat 10 la matematic\u0103!\u201d<\/p>\n \u00centr-o zi, c\u00e2\u021biva ani mai t\u00e2rziu, Mara a venit la el cu o scrisoare. \u201e\u021aine\u021bi, e pentru dumneavoastr\u0103.\u201d Pe foaie scria cu litere tremurate: \u201eV\u0103 dau banii \u00eenapoi. Nu cu bani, ci cu recuno\u0219tin\u021b\u0103. Pentru c\u0103 m-a\u021bi f\u0103cut s\u0103 cred c\u0103 bun\u0103tatea exist\u0103.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Toma a citit \u0219i lacrimile i-au curs f\u0103r\u0103 ru\u0219ine. \u201e\u0218tii ceva?\u201d a spus el. \u201eC\u00e2ndva mi-ai promis c\u0103-mi vei da banii \u00eenapoi. \u0218i te-ai \u021binut de cuv\u00e2nt.\u201d<\/p>\n A ridicat privirea spre cer, iar soarele str\u0103lucea ca \u00eentr-o zi de var\u0103. Poate c\u0103 nu to\u021bi oamenii boga\u021bi au inim\u0103, dar unii o pot reg\u0103si… \u00eentr-o simpl\u0103 cutie de lapte \u0219i un z\u00e2mbet de copil.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dup\u0103 ce feti\u021ba a disp\u0103rut printre oameni, Toma a r\u0103mas pe loc, privind \u00een gol. Avea m\u00e2inile tremur\u00e2nde, iar ceva \u00een pieptul lui parc\u0103 se rupea. Nu mai sim\u021bise mil\u0103 de mult. \u00cei era team\u0103 de emo\u021bii, le \u00eengropase sub contracte, cifre \u0219i pere\u021bi de sticl\u0103. S-a urcat \u00een ma\u0219ina lui scump\u0103, dar motorul t\u0103cea. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10824,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-povesti"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10823"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10825,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10823\/revisions\/10825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}