Today is my best friend’s birthday. We haven’t spoken in years, but she is still my best friend. We grew up together in a small city in Romania, shared ideas, books, talked about our boyfriends and mostly, we loved each other. My friend’s birthday is just one week ahead of mine, and through the years, she had made sure to remind me that she was older than I was by six full days, and thus she was wiser. My friend and I are separated by miles of land and water, but in our hearts, we have never separated. We might have aged for just a little— she probably aged more than I because of those six days. Perhaps, there is some silver touching her hair right now—I cover mine with a fresh dye as soon as I see any daring ones. Our kids grew— mine is a teenager, hers is still a child—and many of our goals are still in full bloom. She loves history, and books, and travel just as much as I do. We used to spend countless hours in the library among old pages or walking the path in the park. I especially loved the park in the fall when the leaves covered the ground with gold. I remember us debating for hours about everything, but mostly I enjoyed the times when we walked quietly next to each other and explored the few stores our city used to have. There are much more stores now and a few more parks than back then.
Today is your birthday, another one when I am not able to hug you, or share a glass of champagne and a slice of chocolate cake with you. Although my body is on one continent, my heart and my thoughts are with you, celebrating your special day now as I did growing up (there was no champagne back then, but some type of soda with flavor). I hope life has treated you kindly, protected you from all the harm, and mostly, I hope it will keep you safe until, once again, we’ll be together, celebrating our golden days.
Happy birthday, Gabriela!
Translation in Romanian
Asta este ziua de nastere a celei mai bune prietene. Desi nu am vorbit de mult, a ramas cea mai buna prietena a mea. Am crescut intr-un oras micut din Romania, am impartit idei si carti, am vorbit despre prietenii nostrii si, mai ales, ne-am iubit una pe alta. Ziua de nastere a prietenei mele este cu o saptamana inaintea zilei mele de nastere, si, de-a lungul anilor, mi-a amintit ca este mai mare decat mine cu sase zile, si deci mai inteleapta decat mine. Astazi, suntem separate de mile de pamant si apa, dar in inimile noastre nu s-a schimbat nimic. Am mai imbatranit putin-ea mai mult decat mine din cauza celor sase zile. Probabil, ea are ceva argit in par- eu acoper firele de par care au indrazneala sa o faca cu o noua vopsea. Copiii nostrii au crecut—al meu e un adolescent, al ei este inca o copila,—si inca mai lucram la indeplinirea multora din aspiratiile noastre. Ei ii place istoria, cartile si calatoriile, la fel ca si mie. Obisnuiam sa petrecem nenumarate ore in biblioteca printre pagi vechi din carti sau plimbandu-ne in parc. Toamna am iubit parcul cel mai mult, atunci cand frunzele acopereau pamantul cu aur. Imi amintesc de noi cum vorbeam ore in sir despre orice, dar mai ales, imi amintesc acele timpuri cand mergem tacute, una langa alta, si exploram putinele magazine din oras. Astazi sunt mult mai multe magazine si parcuri decat atunci.
Astazi este ziua ta, inca o zi cand nu pot sa te imbratisez, sa beau un pahar de sampanie cu tine sau sa mananc o felie de tort cu ciocolata. Desi corpul imi este pe un alt continent, inima mea si gandurile mele sunt cu tine, celebrand acesta zi speciala asa cum am facut cand eram impreuna(nu aveam sampanie aunci, ci un fel the suc cu aroma). Sper ca viata te-a tratat cu blandete, te-a protejat de orice rau,si, mai ales, sper sa te tina in siguranta pana cand vom fi impreuna, sarbatorind anii nostrii de aur.
La multi ani, Gabriela!
Love,
Carmen Monica
Carmen Monica Oprea 