"I've been worked all my life and now the state gives me a 200 lei (50$) pension a month, I have 7 children but none of them visit me, I'm alone and I'm dying slowly."
Every few months I go with my family to Beius in Bihor County where my wife parents live. Just above the town Varfurile ,at the top of the mountain I always see an old woman on the road selling many different types of natural syrups,pickles, cheese and fruit, I have often traveled there and always bought something from her. She was always silent and never looked into my eyes. A few days ago I was returning home from my parents-in-law and I saw her again on the side of the road. I stopped and went to her ,as if she was expecting me, she was tired and thirsty ... I took a bottle of water out of my car and offered it to her. I asked her to let me take a photo with her but she refused. I wanted to listen to her story and she did not hesitate to tell her story...
He asked me to sit down, and with tears in her eyes she started talking...
I'm 79 years old, I'm alone for more than 15 years ,I live from what I work, there are times when I feel I can not work anymore, I feel like I die but I do not stop ... I work for the people from the village, I go with animals in the field, , gardening, grabbing grass and besides all this I walk through the forest to gather flowers and plants from which I make syrups.!
My husband died 15 years ago, I do not have a house, I sold her to pay for hospitalization, he had cancer and I did my best not to let him die ... God chose to take it from me, he chose to leave me alone in this world ... but I'm not upset, He has something ready for me ... I just have to wait.
I have 7 children, 4 girls and 3 guys, they do not want to know anything about me they've gone abroad and they will not come back ... I've worked all my life to raise them and give them the best ,now in old age, no one is looking for me.
My only wish before I die is to see them all, to kiss them and tell them that I miss them very much ...!
The old woman stopped talking because about the tears from her eyes ... I let her have a few moments to relax and then I embraced her ...
It was sad, and it was saddest that she was living in that cottage that road workers made for her ... she told me that big-hearted people did not let her on the road without having a roof overhead and that for her that cottage was more than enough.!
Throughout this time she always looked elsewhere ... then to find out she did not see...she was blind.
She did not see for a few years because of an illness in the eyes ... this woman did all those things without even seeing it ... just by feeling ... I was very sad and I started crying ... he caressed my face and told me. ... "don`t cry my children, for all I have suffered on this earth God will reward me in heaven ... I'm not angry ... could be worse ...."!
After a few moments I asked her to come with me in the nearby village to buy her something to eat, she did not want to come,I hardly convinced her...in the village she asked me to stop at the house where she once lived ... she went into the yard and said,God help those who now live here ... let God give health to them because only with health you can pass over all ...!
When we left the village, I asked her to show me the surroundings ... she took me to such beautiful and yet so simple places ...
When we returned to she`s hut, I could hardly separate from her ,I wanted to help her more ... with tears in my eyes I kissed her hands and told her I would pray for her always ...and as always when I get over there I will stop at her ...
I left with my car and looked back at her, my soul broke...Till home the road was very long and full of tears.I look forward to coming back to her again, and I hope other people who go there can even stop talking to her ...
I enjoyed meeting her and I would pray for her as I promised.
Now I easily realize that whenever I passed by ,I was the blind one,I saw her as a simple old woman when in reality she is a day by day hero .
Photos taken with Canon Eos 60D in the near of Varfurile City from Arad County.