EN 
Romana
Lumi was a hard-working little girl, she spent all days helping her mother in daily house hold activities and had very little time left for her herself. In fact, she had no friends, living so far aways from the village, on top of the hill, next to the forest so this meant that her only friends were the little animals that lived in the forest: bunnies, the fox cubs and some quails that Lumi was taking care of every day.
And just as kids of her age, Lumi was daydreaming about having a beautiful house, with a lovely flower garden and a lot of friends to play with and chase butterflies in the forest. She was craving for sweets and cookies and rich meals full of delicacies, but all of these were for Lumi just a dream, as she and her mum were so poor that they could barely afford a modest living. And years went by, golden summers faded into hazel autumns, then harsh winters came, and this was how their years passed by.
But one cold winter day, a very old lady passed just in front of Lumi’s house going to the woods. She looked rather weird: a lean silhouette, not taller than Lumi, dressed up in 12 different coats, all worn, one on top of the other. At first Lumi stared puzzled at the old lady, but then she noticed that she could barely walk, so Lumi rushed to help her. “Can you please give me a glass of water?” the old lady kindly asked Lumi “I’ve walked so far, and I still have a long way to go till home” she said.
It was hardly anything that Lumi could find at home, but she could definitely offer the old lady some bread and a glass of water. She rushed to the dwell to bring fresh water and served her guest. The old lady was quite impressed with Lumi’s hospitality, she thank her for the bread and water and just before she left the house, she took something out of her backpack, it was a bunch of brushwood, and she offered it to Lumi:” You are a kind hearted girl, Lumi, and Baba Dochia thanks you for your help. I have something for you, take these plants and when spring comes, plant them, one by one, in your garden, here, in this bare field. And you will be rewarded accordingly.”
Little Lumi was so anxious that she couldn’t wait for spring to come, but rushed to plant her little bushes in the first sunny day of February. She planted them one by one exactly as the old lady told her, and had a lot of fun playing with the soil. As days went by,the trees started to bloom, birds came back to their nests, the cuckoo bird started to sing and the black locust trees were all flowers. It was then that Lumi noticed that her small tiny bushes, turned into big, fluffy silvery green bushes and that swarms of bees used to hide behind them. But little Lumi was sad, she kept thinking of the colleagues and friends that she missed. She wished to see them playing over there with her, in the middle of her garden. And tears rolled down from her eyes and fell down the bare fields where only some fat silvery bushes could be found.
It was Midsummer’s Day, the day of Fairies called Sanzaiene, and the Fairy Goddess felt pity for Lumi, as she was crying for her friends. But there was something she could do to help the child. Early morning , next day, Lumi woke us and could feel a lovely fragrance, soft, sweet and refreshing coming from the field and filling the whole air. And for the first time in many years, Lumi’s eyes were filled with joy as she saw a huge lawn of purple flowers, spreading such a wonderful scent, and it was coming from her garden. She has never seen something more beautiful in her life: swarms of bees were playing in the fat purple bushes and butterflies were dancing in the air, and Lumi was happily running from one purple bush to the other, picking flowers and laughing. And she called it Lavander, Lumi’s Lavander.
Peasants passed by Lumi’s house on their way to their fields and they all stood still , overwhelmed by the marvellous scent coming from Lumi’s purple flowers. They carried on the news that somewhere, on top of the hill, as you go to the woods there is a field of purple flowers so precious and enchanting that you can barely resist from smelling. Their scent is so calming and lovely that invites you to daydream and relax. Lumi welcomed everyone who stopped by her house and allowed them to pick some flowers for home, to dry them for their tea. Such a soft , enchanting and pacifying perfume has to be healing for both body and soul, Lumi’s mother said one day. So they started to gather bouquets and baskets of purple flowers to dry them for winter. Peasants came to help them pick the purple flowers and in exchange for a basket full of lavander flowers they brought Lumi fresh vegetables, eggs, groceries. An old lady that lived just next to the forest gave Lumi a basketful of mushrooms. Another one milk and cheese. An old man brought her sweets. And this is how Lumi’s kitchen was filled with fresh food and sweets that she has never seen before. Her colleagues from school came to pay
Lumi a visit that summer and they very all so happy to play in the Lavander field with Lumi, they chased rabbits and caught butterflies that they happily released in the end. Finally, Lumi’s dream came true, she now had a beautiful garden full of flowers and friends to play with.
As time went by, the news of a purple field full of refreshening flowers came to everybody’s ears. One day, an old healer, very well known in the nearby villages, came to meet Lumi and hear Mum. He heard about the lavender flowers and knew very well the power they might have in healing people. Seeing the purple gold that was lying in Lumi’s garden he offered them two small bags of silver coins for half of their crop. He knew very well about the plant’s healing properties. They happily accepted the bargain: they finally had money to buy woods and other necessities for winter and Lumi could now afford to buy new clothes, shoes and books to go to the local school. She could finally meet her friends daily and learn new things. And as they used to harvest the flowers, other purple flowers grew on and on from early summer till late autumn, and as their crops grew their house turned more beautiful and full of joy, friends and abundance. Lumi’s flowers healed a lot of people from her village and from the nearby and everybody learned about the healing properties of lavender for both body and soul.
And even nowadays, if you have the chance to visit a lavender plantation, you might see the blue eyed blond Lumi smiling and hiding behind the bushes.
by Otilia Manescu