Romanianfolklore Stories

Relia never knew the weight she carried until her mother died. Born in Romania as the seventh daughter, her birth was shrouded in low-voiced superstitions and unfocused warnings. When she and her mother fled to Brooklyn, they cut ties with the past. Her mother never explained the reasons-only insisted on a new life. After her mother's sudden death, Relia inherits a diary filled with half-memories and omissions. Driven by grief and curiosity, she returns to Romania to enroll in university and finally trace the family her mother refused to name. Winter in Transylvania is quiet and isolating. On a cold, snowy afternoon, Relia slips on a forest road, and a stranger- Adrian, a calm and quiet young man-offers help without effort. Their meeting is brief but odd: he vanishes into falling snow, leaving only a trace of kindness in his eyes. As Relia settles into university life, she senses more than sees: villagers murmur about whispered omens tied to unfortunate births; local elders tell stories of extraordinary births tied to seventh children, vague enough to unsettle anyone. She learns about old traditions-graves reopened after seven years, salt-washed thresholds, protective garlic-and about births marked by cauls, tails, or curses. They are framed as neighborhood fears, not destiny-and Relia does not dwell on them. Relia's nights grow restless. Dreams slip into visions: footsteps in snow that aren't hers, a mirrored heartbeat that echoes apart, a frozen landscape fading into warmth without explanation. She fears her mother's secrets, but fears losing them more. As she reads the diary, she pieces together hints of a family who treated her mother's birth as unusual, perhaps dangerous, protected.

Alina Dimitru is a sixteen year old high school senior. Originally from Romania, but living in Boston, MA. Sadly, she has had a very sheltered and secluded life most of the time. Her parents have always provided a rather comfortable upbringing, but have been overbearing and strict with her for seemingly no apparent reasons. The only normalcy in her day to day, has been her best friend Bianca, or "B" as she affectionately calls her and whom she considers more like a sister than just a friend. However, on the eve of her 17th birthday she begins to have vivid dreams about a handsome guy and a sequence of events that somehow she thinks and feels she already knows. Additionally, on the day of her birthday, a huge and life-changing family secret is revealed to her and nothing can ever be the same for her again.