photo credit Camelia Radulian

This is The Enchanted Castle of N. Romanescu Park in Craiova, Romania. It is not a real castle actually. In the summer time, there’s a nice terrace opened in front of it, where people can have a drink and enjoy the hot summer evenings. But it definitely looks charming and it belongs in a story, don’t you think?

Finding inspiration is not always easy. I tend to find something to be inspired of everywhere I go. That’s precisely why the smartphone is such a great device. I take pictures of interesting places and things and collect them in a special folder and when inspiration has left me, I take a look at that pictures and there’s always something there which deserves to be put in a story.

But people are by far the most inspiring. The other day, when I was picking up my little girl from school I saw one of the most dramatic, tragic scenes in my life. The weather was beautiful, just perfect for a walk and people came out of their home to enjoy that warm, nice weather. On a bench on the side of an alley I’ve noticed an old lady enjoying the warm sun just like everybody else. At first, she seemed a perfectly normal nice old lady. Elegance and grace were written all over her. In her middle seventies, with spring flowers in her hands and a peaceful smile on her face, she was watching the noisy children coming out of school. But than something caught my attention. It was the bright pink hat on her head. Only it wasn’t a hat. It was a new shinny pink… salad plastic bowl. And she seemed so proud of it. I couldn’t stare, I just looked at her once more from the corner of my eye. Yes, it was indeed a pink plastic salad bowl which fitted her head perfectly. Some of the naughty children passing by started to laugh at her. But she didn’t seem to notice. She just stood there peaceful and serene like she was wearing the most beautiful hat. I couldn’t bear watching her so I speed up home, dragging my little girl after me. But her image has haunted me all day long. What was her story? What demons tormented her mind? Wasn’t anyone to care for her, to watch over her? Or she just simply found her escape in a world of hers where pink salad bowls are the most fashionable hats.

There are a lot of great people whom I was lucky to have in my life. My family comes first. My father was one of the most intelligent, decent, generous people I’ve ever met. He’s gone now and after almost one and a half year after he passed away, it is still difficult for me to talk about that. But it is not difficult for me to talk about his ability to know hundreds of poems by heart. To read the classics and quote them at any time. Or about his love for nature and for his family. He also had strange beautiful stories of his childhood. He grew up in the country side and he once told us how, as a boy, he saw a huge train crossing in front of him, in plain field. Or the time when he saw a headless little man following a funeral. I can still remember how we were watching together the gorgeous summer sky, hunting for UFO’s. And the excitement me and my brothers felt when we actually saw one, the size of the stars, flying here and there on the clear sky. Or maybe we thought we did…

But I also found inspiration when least expected. In strangers on a train. Or in simple people, living in the country side, whispering eerie tales around camp fires. But that deserves a dedicated post on this blog which I’ll be happy to share.

It is late now and there’s another story waiting to be written. I hope you will all find inspiration in everything around you. You just have to real open your eyes…