On a warm sunny day, September 7, 2011, cousin Ana drove us to the village of Popesti where my father was buried 22 years ago. I waited for this moment with bated breath to say hello and good-bye to my dad and place a wreath on his tomb.
We drove on the newly asphalted road up the beautiful hills covered with grape vines, the black grapes ripening in the fall sun. I recognized the river where we used to bathe as children, impervious to the dangers of the swift waters. None of us knew how to swim.