Chiar \u00een clipa \u00een care pantofii i-au atins pietri\u0219ul fin de pe alee, a sim\u021bit cum to\u021bi ochii se \u00eentorc spre ea. Nu erau mul\u021bi oameni \u00een curte, dar suficien\u021bi c\u00e2t s\u0103-i aprind\u0103 obrajii de ru\u0219ine. Doi servitori \u0219u\u0219oteau \u00eentre ei, iar un b\u0103rbat \u00een costum negru, probabil \u0219eful personalului, o m\u0103sura atent din cap p\u00e2n\u0103-n picioare.<\/p>\n
Dar Sorina \u021binea b\u0103rbia sus. De\u0219i \u00eei tremurau genunchii, a decis c\u0103, dac\u0103 tot trebuia s\u0103 fie acolo, m\u0103car s\u0103 nu par\u0103 dobor\u00e2t\u0103.<\/p>\n
B\u0103rbatul \u00een costum s-a apropiat.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Dumneavoastr\u0103 sunte\u021bi… domni\u0219oara Sorina? \u00eentreb\u0103 el, ridic\u00e2nd o spr\u00e2ncean\u0103.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Da, r\u0103spunse ea \u00eencet.<\/p>\n
Privirea lui a lunecat pentru o secund\u0103 spre rochia prea mare, apoi spre valiza pr\u0103fuit\u0103. N-a zis nimic, dar Sorina a sim\u021bit judecata \u00een aer ca o lam\u0103 sub\u021bire.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Veni\u021bi. Domnul M\u0103nescu v\u0103 a\u0219teapt\u0103.<\/p>\n
Inima ei a s\u0103rit o b\u0103taie.<\/p>\n
A urmat b\u0103rbatul printr-un hol imens, cu podele lustruite \u0219i tablouri vechi at\u00e2rnate pe pere\u021bi. Fiecare pas \u00eei p\u0103rea prea zgomotos, ca \u0219i cum toat\u0103 lumea ar fi putut auzi frica ei. \u00cen fa\u021ba unei u\u0219i duble, b\u0103rbatul s-a oprit \u0219i a b\u0103tut \u00eencet.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Pofti\u021bi, se auzi o voce ad\u00e2nc\u0103, cald\u0103.<\/p>\n
U\u0219ile s-au deschis.<\/p>\n
Sorina \u00ee\u0219i imaginase un b\u0103tr\u00e2n sever, cu privire rece \u0219i atitudine de st\u0103p\u00e2n peste mo\u0219ii. Dar b\u0103rbatul din fa\u021ba ei era cu totul altceva. \u00cenalt, cu ochi c\u0103prui \u0219i o expresie calm\u0103, avea o prezen\u021b\u0103 care umplea tot spa\u021biul. Era \u00eembr\u0103cat simplu, \u00eentr-o c\u0103ma\u0219\u0103 alb\u0103 \u0219i pantaloni elegan\u021bi, f\u0103r\u0103 nicio ostenta\u021bie.<\/p>\n
Andrei M\u0103nescu.<\/p>\n
Se ridic\u0103 \u00een picioare.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Bun venit, Sorina, spuse el, iar vocea lui avea o bl\u00e2nde\u021be nea\u0219teptat\u0103. Am fost informat c\u0103 a intervenit o schimbare \u00een program.<\/p>\n
Sorina sim\u021bi cum stomacul i se str\u00e2nge. \u0218tia c\u0103 trebuie s\u0103 spun\u0103 ceva, dar cuvintele parc\u0103 i se blocau \u00een g\u00e2t.<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u00cemi cer scuze pentru… pentru orice nepl\u0103cere, reu\u0219i ea s\u0103 rosteasc\u0103, sim\u021bindu-se mic\u0103, aproape ridicol\u0103.<\/p>\n
B\u0103rbatul o privi cu aten\u021bie. Nu cu dispre\u021b, nu cu surpriz\u0103. Cu curiozitate, poate chiar empatie.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Nu exist\u0103 nicio nepl\u0103cere, Sorina. Te rog, ia loc.<\/p>\n
Ea se a\u0219ez\u0103 pe marginea scaunului, cu m\u00e2inile str\u00e2nse la piept.<\/p>\n
Andrei continu\u0103:<\/p>\n
\u2013 Mi s-a spus c\u0103 ai fost preg\u0103tit\u0103 \u00een grab\u0103 pentru aceast\u0103 \u00eent\u00e2lnire. A\u0219a este?<\/p>\n
Sorina ezit\u0103 o clip\u0103, apoi zise adev\u0103rul:<\/p>\n
\u2013 Nu am fost preg\u0103tit\u0103… deloc.<\/p>\n
Andrei \u00ee\u0219i \u00eempinse u\u0219or scaunul \u00eenapoi, surprins.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Deloc?<\/p>\n
\u2013 Deloc, repet\u0103 ea, \u00eentr-o \u0219oapt\u0103.<\/p>\n
Timp de c\u00e2teva secunde nu spuse nimic. Apoi, spre uimirea ei, r\u00e2se scurt. Nu \u00een b\u0103taie de joc, nu cu superioritate. R\u00e2s cald, sincer.<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u00ce\u021bi apreciez onestitatea.<\/p>\n
Sorina ridic\u0103 privirea. Era prima oar\u0103 c\u00e2nd cineva, \u00een afar\u0103 de c\u0103r\u021bile ei, \u00eei aprecia ceva.<\/p>\n
Andrei se aplec\u0103 u\u0219or \u00een fa\u021b\u0103.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Sorina… majoritatea fetelor care au venit s\u0103 m\u0103 \u00eent\u00e2lneasc\u0103 s-au ascuns dup\u0103 m\u0103\u0219ti. Dup\u0103 vorbe \u00eenv\u0103\u021bate la cursuri, priviri studiate, z\u00e2mbete false. Tu e\u0219ti… real\u0103.<\/p>\n
Cuv\u00e2ntul acesta \u2013 real\u0103 \u2013 o lovi direct \u00een inim\u0103.<\/p>\n
Pentru prima dat\u0103, nu sim\u021bea nevoia s\u0103 se mic\u0219oreze, s\u0103 se ascund\u0103, s\u0103 dispar\u0103.<\/p>\n
\u00ce\u0219i drese vocea.<\/p>\n
\u2013 N-am vrut s\u0103 vin aici ca o povar\u0103, spuse ea. Doar… doar \u00eencerc s\u0103 fac ce pot.<\/p>\n
Andrei o analiz\u0103 c\u00e2teva secunde, apoi spuse:<\/p>\n
\u2013 Vrei s\u0103-mi poveste\u0219ti ceva despre tine?<\/p>\n
\u00centrebarea o surprinse mai mult dec\u00e2t orice.<\/p>\n
Nimeni, niciodat\u0103, nu-i ceruse asta sincer.<\/p>\n
Cu respira\u021bia tremur\u00e2nd, \u00eencepu s\u0103 vorbeasc\u0103. Despre bibliotec\u0103, despre c\u0103r\u021bi, despre serile \u00een care doar pove\u0219tile o \u021bineau \u00eentreag\u0103. Despre cum \u00eenv\u0103\u021base s\u0103 tr\u0103iasc\u0103 f\u0103r\u0103 s\u0103 fie v\u0103zut\u0103. Despre cum se obi\u0219nuise s\u0103 cread\u0103 c\u0103 nu merit\u0103 nimic.<\/p>\n
Pe m\u0103sur\u0103 ce vorbea, Andrei asculta cu o aten\u021bie care o f\u0103cea s\u0103 simt\u0103 c\u0103 fiecare cuv\u00e2nt conteaz\u0103.<\/p>\n
C\u00e2nd a terminat, el spuse:<\/p>\n
\u2013 Sorina… nu \u0219tiu ce \u021bi-au spus al\u021bii despre tine. Dar eu \u00ee\u021bi spun ceva acum: tu e\u0219ti o femeie puternic\u0103. Ai trecut prin multe \u0219i totu\u0219i e\u0219ti aici, \u00een fa\u021ba mea, curajoas\u0103 \u0219i sincer\u0103. Asta valoreaz\u0103 mai mult dec\u00e2t toate bijuteriile din lume.<\/p>\n
Ochii ei s-au umplut, dar lacrimile r\u0103m\u00e2neau acolo, ne\u0219tiute.<\/p>\n
Atunci Andrei se ridic\u0103 \u0219i \u00eei \u00eentinse o m\u00e2n\u0103.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Vrei s\u0103 vezi gr\u0103dinile?<\/p>\n
Sorina \u00ee\u0219i puse m\u00e2na \u00een palma lui. Era cald\u0103, sigur\u0103.<\/p>\n
Au cobor\u00e2t \u00eempreun\u0103 treptele conacului, iar v\u00e2ntul serii le-a r\u0103v\u0103\u0219it u\u0219or hainele.<\/p>\n
Pentru prima dat\u0103, Sorina nu se sim\u021bea o povar\u0103, nu se sim\u021bea invizibil\u0103.<\/p>\n
Se sim\u021bea… v\u0103zut\u0103.<\/p>\n
C\u00e2nd au ajuns l\u00e2ng\u0103 f\u00e2nt\u00e2na cu mozaicuri colorate, Andrei s-a oprit.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Sorina, s\u0103 \u0219tii un lucru, spuse el, privindu-i direct \u00een ochi. Nu conteaz\u0103 cum ai ajuns aici. Conteaz\u0103 ce faci de acum \u00eenainte.<\/p>\n
Iar \u00een clipa aceea, sub cerul limpede al Ardealului, Sorina a sim\u021bit cum tot destinul ei se rearanjeaz\u0103.<\/p>\n
Nu pentru c\u0103 era frumoas\u0103.<\/p>\n
Nu pentru c\u0103 cineva o alesese din obliga\u021bie.<\/p>\n
Ci pentru c\u0103, pentru prima dat\u0103, ea \u00eens\u0103\u0219i \u00eencepea s\u0103 cread\u0103 c\u0103 merit\u0103 fericirea.<\/p>\n
Finalul nu era un basm.<\/p>\n
Era \u00eenceputul unei vie\u021bi adev\u0103rate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Chiar \u00een clipa \u00een care pantofii i-au atins pietri\u0219ul fin de pe alee, a sim\u021bit cum to\u021bi ochii se \u00eentorc spre ea. Nu erau mul\u021bi oameni \u00een curte, dar suficien\u021bi c\u00e2t s\u0103-i aprind\u0103 obrajii de ru\u0219ine. Doi servitori \u0219u\u0219oteau \u00eentre ei, iar un b\u0103rbat \u00een costum negru, probabil \u0219eful personalului, o m\u0103sura atent din cap […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12993","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\/12993","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=12993"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12993\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12995,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12993\/revisions\/12995"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12993"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12993"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bumzi.ro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12993"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}