“From Ineu, the country road winds through forests and over

hills, leaving villages on either side tucked away in the valleys.

For an house and a half, the road is good; then comes a steep
hill, which you climb, and after descending back into the valley,
you must stop to rest, water your horse or oxen, and let them
catch their breach because the road has been rough and the
terrain ahead is even worse.
Here in the valley is the Mill with the good fortune.
No matter from within the direction the traveler comes, he is
glad to catch sight of it from the bald hilltop, for if he is coming
from difficult places, it tells him he has been lucky, and if he is
going towards them, he can find other travelers to wait for or
travel with at the mill. so as not to venture alone.
And because all travelers stop here, over time an inn was
established in front of the mill, and somehow without anyone
travelers, especially those caught on the road at night.
Eventually, the tavern keeper built a more suitable tavern some
hundred paces away from the little stream, and the mill was left
deserted, with its paddles broken and its roof weathered by the
passage of time.
Five crosses stand in front of the mill, two made of stone
and three of oak, adorned with charms and painted with holy
icons; all of these are signs that tell the traveler that the place is
blessed, for wherever you see one of these crosses, someone
has either found joy or escaped danger.
But the place was especially blessed since the arrival of
the new innkeeper with his young wife and elderly mother-in-
law, for they did not treat travelers as strangers but as long-
awaited friends. If had only been a few months sinse St.
George’s Day, and the seasoned travelers no longer said they
would stop at the Mill with the good fortune but at Ghita’s, and
everyone knew who Ghita was and where he was, and there, in
the valley, between the steep hill and the difficult terrain, the
Mill with the good fortune was no more, but Ghita’s tavern.
And for Ghita, the tavern was lucky. Four days a week,
from Tuesday evening until Saturday morning, it was always
full, and everyone stopped at Ghita’s tavern, and everyone had
something to eat and drink, and everyone paid honestly.
On Saturday evening, the place emptied out, and Ghita,
finally able to catch his breath, counted the money with Ana
and the elderly mother-in-law, and then he looked at Ana. Ana
looked at him, both looked at the two children, from there were
now two, and the elderly mother-in-law looked at all four and
felt taken care of, for she had a hardworking son-in-law, a lucky
daughter, two lovely grandchildren, and the blessing was from
God, from a well-earned profit.”