ARCH OVER TIME 3

MEMORIES FROM YOUTH

I smiled. The name ‘Cancicov’ carried so many pleasant memories from my youth with it… Not only that, but the meeting with the manufacturers ended earlier than I expected and I had plenty of time before the brunch with my daughter and grandson, so I decided to go to the Eco tower on foot, something I didn’t get to do often, because of my busy schedule.

I simply loved walking around, seeing the beauty of the new world we live in on my own, meeting and interacting with new, exciting people, witnessing them, with all of their different quirks and habits, interact with each other and with my creations – the eco robots. Yes, they weren’t perfect, but I knew everyone was trying their best to make our world a better place for the next generation.

I stopped at the little flower shop just across from the Eco tower and walked inside. “Good afternoon, Mr. Dragos.” greeted me Anca, the nice old lady, who owned the shop. Although she was already 80 years old and her daughter Ioana was running the place now, Anca still loved spending her days there, among her flowers, arranging them into beautiful bouquets and ikebanas or simply cutting the excess branches and leaves of the little trees she was selling. I remembered that years ago it was Anca, who had helped me choose the perfect flowers for my date at ‘Cancicov’ park, the date that started my first romance.

“Hello, Anca, charming as always, I see!” I always loved chatting with her, but since I didn’t have much time left before the brunch with my family, I got right down to business. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to have ‘that’ flower, would you?” The old lady chuckled and went to the back room of the shop.

The afternoon went fantastic! My work took so much of my time, that I cherished any chance I got to spend with my family, especially my grandson Radu, who, as a young man, had other things on his mind to worry about, other than his old grandpa. He was in his final year at the Bacău University, studying to become a veterinarian, he was part of the city’s swimming team and, as any lad his age, had a beautiful girlfriend to take care of. Her name was Katerina and she had joined us for brunch. Although I had heard much about her, this was my first time meeting her in person and I was eager to learn who had captured the heart of my grandson.

For the next hour and a half, I learned that Katerina was majoring in law studies and dreamed of becoming a lawyer, so she could help preserve the environment. She loved old, scary movies and listening to music and even played the flute! I was so happy for my family!

Listening to their everyday stories, I got carried away by the memories of my youth. In my head I went back to ‘Cancicov’ park, sat quietly on the bench with ‘that’ flower in hand and, although I was 15 minutes early, I eagerly locked eyes on my watch, counting every second before my date arrived.

“Well, dad, it was so nice spending the afternoon with you, but the kids actually wanted to meet you to share some big news!” said my daughter Mihaela with excitement in

her voice, bringing me back to reality. “Well, go on then!” I urged my grandson. “Grandpa, Katerina and I … we are expecting a baby!” said Radu with a big smile on his face. Despite my age, I immediately jumped from my seat and went across the table to hug my grandson and his girlfriend, kiss them on the cheeks and from the bottom of my heart, wish them all the best.

“Kids, you don’t know how happy I am because of the news you gave me… and now I want to give you something in return.” I said quietly, after I calmed myself down. “All my life, my work, everything that I have made is for you, for a better happier future, but I wasn’t always rich… As a teenager growing up, I didn’t have much… I couldn’t even bring real flowers to my first date.” I pulled a small flower made from an old newspaper from the breast pocket of my suit and presented my family with it. “At your age, Radu, this paper flower was all I could afford to buy for my girlfriend and, as it turned out, that flower meant everything to her, it made us fall in love… Never forget where you’ve come from, kids, because the foundations of our family is what keeps us standing tall today, embrace them and work hard to make the future your child will live in brighter, as I tried to make yours.”

Atanas Dimitrov XII class