Lidia a str\u00e2ns din maxilare, \u00eencerc\u00e2nd s\u0103 nu izbucneasc\u0103. Sim\u021bea cum furia \u0219i frica se ciocnesc \u00een\u0103untrul ei, amestecate ca focul \u0219i ghea\u021ba. \u00cen loc de r\u0103spuns, s-a \u00eentors spre foc \u0219i \u0219i-a \u00eentins palmele deasupra fl\u0103c\u0103rilor, c\u0103ut\u00e2nd un strop de curaj.<\/p>\n
B\u0103rbatul o privea din umbr\u0103, cu ochii lui negri, t\u0103cu\u021bi, dar plini de o hot\u0103r\u00e2re de neclintit. Nu \u0219tia \u00eenc\u0103 ce anume o \u021binea pe ea dreapt\u0103, dar sim\u021bea c\u0103 femeia aceea nu era ca altele.<\/p>\n
\u00cen urm\u0103toarele zile, Lidia a descoperit c\u00e2t de aspr\u0103 era via\u021ba \u00een acele locuri. Oamenii din sat tr\u0103iau \u00een colibe din lemn, lupt\u00e2ndu-se zilnic cu frigul, foamea \u0219i moartea. Clanul era pe cale s\u0103 piar\u0103, femeile lor muriser\u0103 \u00een urma unei boli ciudate, iar b\u0103rba\u021bii r\u0103m\u0103seser\u0103 singuri, \u00eenr\u0103i\u021bi, condu\u0219i doar de instinctul de supravie\u021buire.<\/p>\n
El \u2013 Mihai, cum i-a aflat mai t\u00e2rziu numele \u2013 era conduc\u0103torul lor. \u00cel respectau ca pe un zeu \u0219i se temeau de el ca de o fiar\u0103. Lidia a \u00een\u021beles cur\u00e2nd c\u0103 fusese adus\u0103 nu din poft\u0103, ci din disperare.<\/p>\n
Dar nu putea accepta soarta asta. Nu era un animal, nici o femeie care s\u0103-\u0219i plece fruntea \u00een fa\u021ba unui b\u0103rbat, oric\u00e2t de puternic ar fi fost.<\/p>\n
\u00centr-o sear\u0103, c\u00e2nd Mihai a venit cu un bol de ciorb\u0103 aburind\u0103 \u0219i i-a spus, scurt, \u201em\u0103n\u00e2nc\u0103\u201d, Lidia a ridicat ochii spre el \u0219i a zis calm, dar hot\u0103r\u00e2t:
\u201eNu sunt a ta. Po\u021bi s\u0103 m\u0103 \u021bii \u00eenchis\u0103, dar nu po\u021bi s\u0103-mi iei voin\u021ba.\u201d<\/p>\n
El a r\u0103mas pe loc, nemi\u0219cat, privindu-i ochii verzi \u00een care nu era fric\u0103, ci doar o lumin\u0103 puternic\u0103. Pentru prima dat\u0103, Mihai a sim\u021bit un fior ciudat \u2013 nu de furie, ci de respect.<\/p>\n
Timpul a trecut. Iarna s-a a\u0219ternut peste mun\u021bi ca o blestemare alb\u0103. \u00cen caban\u0103, \u00eentre foc \u0219i t\u0103cere, doi oameni care ar fi trebuit s\u0103 se urasc\u0103 au \u00eenceput, f\u0103r\u0103 s\u0103-\u0219i dea seama, s\u0103 se \u00een\u021beleag\u0103. Lidia \u00eei vindeca r\u0103nile, iar el \u00eei aducea lemne \u0219i hran\u0103.<\/p>\n
\u00centr-o noapte, c\u00e2nd furtuna b\u0103tea \u00een pere\u021bi ca o fiar\u0103, Lidia s-a trezit tres\u0103rind. Mihai st\u0103tea la u\u0219\u0103, cu ochii pierdu\u021bi \u00een fl\u0103c\u0103ri.
\u201eDe ce m\u0103 ur\u0103\u0219ti at\u00e2t?\u201d a \u00eentrebat el, f\u0103r\u0103 s-o priveasc\u0103.
\u201ePentru c\u0103 m-ai r\u0103pit. Pentru c\u0103 m-ai f\u0103cut prizonier\u0103.\u201d
\u201e\u0218i dac\u0103 n-a\u0219 fi f\u0103cut-o, tot neamul meu ar fi pierit\u201d, a murmurat el. \u201eNu \u0219tii cum e s\u0103 vezi moartea \u00een ochii fiec\u0103ruia \u0219i s\u0103 nu mai ai ce face.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lidia a t\u0103cut. \u00cen glasul lui nu mai era arogan\u021b\u0103, ci o durere veche, grea ca piatra muntelui. Atunci, pentru prima dat\u0103, a sim\u021bit mil\u0103.<\/p>\n
\u00cen zilele ce au urmat, Mihai nu a mai poruncit. A \u00eenceput s\u0103 \u00eentrebe. A \u00eenv\u0103\u021bat de la ea cum s\u0103 foloseasc\u0103 plantele pentru a vindeca r\u0103nile, cum s\u0103 \u00een\u021beleag\u0103 semnele v\u00e2ntului \u0219i ale frigului. Iar Lidia, de\u0219i nu voia s\u0103 recunoasc\u0103, \u00eencepuse s\u0103 vad\u0103 \u00een el nu doar un r\u0103pitor, ci un om fr\u00e2nt de durere.<\/p>\n
Prim\u0103vara a venit t\u00e2rziu, topind z\u0103pada \u0219i lini\u0219tind muntele. \u00centr-o diminea\u021b\u0103, Mihai a intrat \u00een caban\u0103 cu un bra\u021b de flori galbene \u0219i i le-a pus \u00een fa\u021b\u0103.
\u201ePentru tine\u201d, a spus simplu. \u201eNu pentru c\u0103 te vreau, ci pentru c\u0103 te respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lidia a z\u00e2mbit pentru prima dat\u0103. Focul din sufletul ei nu se stinsese, dar acum ardea altfel \u2014 nu ca o flac\u0103r\u0103 de r\u0103zbunare, ci ca o lumin\u0103 care topea ghea\u021ba din jur.<\/p>\n
A\u0219a, \u00een acel loc uitat de lume, doi oameni pierdu\u021bi au \u00eenv\u0103\u021bat c\u0103 uneori puterea nu st\u0103 \u00een for\u021b\u0103, ci \u00een iertare.
Iar muntele, martor t\u0103cut al suferin\u021bei \u0219i rena\u0219terii lor, \u0219i-a l\u0103sat \u00een sf\u00e2r\u0219it v\u00e2nturile s\u0103 c\u00e2nte din nou, nu a durere, ci a pace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lidia a str\u00e2ns din maxilare, \u00eencerc\u00e2nd s\u0103 nu izbucneasc\u0103. Sim\u021bea cum furia \u0219i frica se ciocnesc \u00een\u0103untrul ei, amestecate ca focul \u0219i ghea\u021ba. \u00cen loc de r\u0103spuns, s-a \u00eentors spre foc \u0219i \u0219i-a \u00eentins palmele deasupra fl\u0103c\u0103rilor, c\u0103ut\u00e2nd un strop de curaj. B\u0103rbatul o privea din umbr\u0103, cu ochii lui negri, t\u0103cu\u021bi, dar plini de […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11370,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11369","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\/11369","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=11369"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11369\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11371,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11369\/revisions\/11371"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11370"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11369"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11369"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11369"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}