Happy Easter Indeed!
Fever, dizziness, muscle aches, headache, toothache, nausea, vomiting, nonsense, weird dreams, constantly sleeping ... flu... The Flu! 8 days of flu were devastating my body. There were moments I couldn’t make the difference between what is reality and what it was just a dream born from the shivers of the long, sick sleep. Agony of the chills.
Yesterday night was the Easter Night... the first one. Because I was sleeping my sick sleep till the last moment, I lost the travel with my friends outside Bucharest, at the monastery. And maybe it was a good decision to stay away from them with my virus. So, alone, I decided to leave my bed and go to the closest church, among the people, to celebrate this Holy Night. I've took a bath, I swallowed a lot of flu pills, took my camera and went out.
Because of the virus I still have with / in me, I decided to make pictures and, in this way, to be there but, in the same time, to stay away from the people. Just like a silent witness.
First steps outside were the hardest because of my weak muscles. I sweated at once and I felt dizziness. I wanted to go back to bed but I didn’t listen to this fear. And the nature outside helped me to go on: after the rain, it was such a wet perfumed air... and all those blossoming trees... I’ve just let myself fly with the wind to the closest church from my home.
(On the way to church) This is how it started:
Closer...
"Reading" on people's faces: joy, tiredness, calm or simply the quiet joy of being finally free to think about themselves... what they have done wrong and what they have to put in order with themselves... Or maybe I'm wrong and that was I have seen on their faces...
Waiting for the Light... from the heavy, thick clouds...
There were young people, together with elder people and children; but most of the elder people were already inside of the church being, maybe, the first persons who came here...
I was good surprised not to see people talking on the cell phones... like in many other times. Maybe just one or two. But most of them were really concentrated on the priest's words... or changing words one to another... from time to time.
... and then came the Light...
... and again the blessed rain...
Sharing the Light one from another... deeply silence
Window of the church... an old hand just closed the window...
Everyone murmuring a soul-pray...
... the atmosphere was unreal... maybe because of the fever but I felt like living in another times...
... and the Light is coming thru us
... quiet of all souls together
Till now no one noticed I'm taking pictures... But when I turn with the camera to this direction and I saw this man in the window, for the moment I had the impression that again I have illusions and he is, in fact, just in my imagination ... my flu imagination. But he is here, for real, in this photo...
who is him..?!
line-light or lights in line...
purity...
blessed they are...
captured...
I love this couple... no reason needed
Saint Dumitru...
the rain rests... big drops of joy... ma joy
the children and their innocent thoughts...
Red - from blood; red - from wine; red - from fever; red - from love; red - from tears...
This is the place where people are burning candles and praying for their beloved that are gone... and here I saw many shadows on the walls... "Adormiti" among us, be blessed!
Sometimes, like this moment also, I would like so much to have the power of guessing people's inner thoughts... what's in her heart now..?
3 generations together as one...
... never forget that...
feet... on feet... young man... I surprised myself long watching his foot fingers... a kind of resting my eyes for a while... having no thought...
... is this the end or the Beginning? ... bells ringing...
... it was... one last look over my shoulder...
on the way home... I buried my face into this wet lilac and... it really works... I went to bed almost healthy... the fever is now violet
These are some of the photos from last night but I have to mention here something about the Missing Photo: between the people I saw a woman, she was smiling looking down, to someone. I don't remember last time when I saw such happy eyes and lips... She was floating of happiness while looking at her small daughter... but such happiness made me mute and I've totally forgot about my camera hanging on my neck... I was just absorbed by her happiness... and, somehow, I've felt her indescribably joy...
text & photo: Lacramioara Opris
April 15th 2012
Bucharest
