Romanian Runaway is a contemporary fiction, issue-driven piece designed to bring awareness. As the author, I want to challenge readers to think outside of their norm, and to be challenged by the norm of others. This story is a fictionalized version of an experience I had back in the early 2000’s.
The plight of the Romanian homeless living in the sewers came to my attention when my family and I traveled to Bucharest on a mission trip. Living in Germany at the time, we were eager to visit and learn more about the different cultures of Europe. Our church collected clothing to distribute and donations to help with the needs of the ministry in which we visited. Amongst other things, our group demolished an old building in order to pave the way for the construction of a new building that would provide living quarters for the homeless, young men accepted into a work-training program spearheaded by the mission.
Chapter 2: Meeting Alexander loosely recounts another experience while on the trip. Somewhere in North Carolina, a warped and tattered photograph long forgotten in a hot attic displays my dramatic meeting with a bedraggled homeless boy draping his arms across me and my husband’s shoulders. His words still ring in my ears. If I had a mom and dad, I would want them to be just like you.
As I’ve been told, that same adolescent was adopted into a loving home, but unable to cope within the walls of his new family’s lifestyle, he eventually ran away, returning to the comfort of life in the sewers and his pseudo-family. I was shocked and saddened to hear this news. I still can not comprehend his choice.
Romanian Runaway is my first attempt to document my experiences while living in Europe. I have several more novellas in the works to be compiled into an anthology of sorts. I hope you’ll take a chance and read this story. It may just open your eyes to life unlike anything you’ve ever heard and broaden your understanding of people in another part of our vast world.
Read Why I Wrote Romanian Runaway – Part 2
