There are big and complicated novels that want to embrace the universe but fall into oblivion.

There are simple stories that go straight to the heart and stay there.

So are the stories from the book called “Între râuri” (Between rivers) - written by my professor Constantin Drăgulescu. Why this name? He said - “Most places on earth are located between rivers” — and this book is mainly about places and life experiences…

What made this book so special for me was the fact that it lives. It has feelings and a life of its own.

Same feelings as mine. Different life experiences.

I felt this book so close to my heart that I sometimes wonder: “Wasn’t this written by me?”

If you feel awe for the Creation,

If birds and trees are your dear friends,

If you enjoy the company of mountain flowers,

If you get your energy from the Sun and the Earth,

If you sometimes get lost in thoughts while looking at the sky,

Then you know what I’m talking about.

The book was published in just 100 copies. Very few for its value… One can see there the life of a man who began his life in hardships and surpassed them little by little to see his dreams come true…

It’s so close to me but not only to me… there are some people I know and many people I don’t know who would find themselves well described in that book. You don’t have to be a botanist, you don’t even have to be a researcher or an engineer… Just to feel close to Nature. Peasants used to be. Shepherds used to be…

I say “used to” because… rural dwellers — peasants and shepherds — aren’t as close to Nature as their parents and grandparents used to be. Some aren’t at all. The bold sense of right and wrong that came with being close to Nature, God’s Creation, began to vanish… and so the once-beautiful surroundings began to get littered, clearcut or devastated…

I wish all the people who live close to Nature to take by the hand those who didn’t have the chance… and cure them of drugs, anxiety and illnesses… in the heart of a forest.

I wish I was back there in the mountains, after a good day of work, sharing stories near the fire and drinking wine with my friends…

I wish the next generations will enjoy that wine as much as I did .