Poems and Tales from Romania

by Simona Sumanaru; Michael Hart

Moves no one had ever seen, or would ever see again, were made in a manner that showed months or years of heartfelt practice, and every such move was dedicated to a particular friend or loved-one in that audience that day.

Every friend and family member had a move named after them that day . . .a day every one of them remembered all their lives.

Every friend and family member, and even the vendors, were taken on the ice and presented with prizes and money, and told how much they were loved or appreciated by the Wonderlanders.

And finally, when all was said and done, the Wonderlanders went out on the ice and set their candles down, as they had done for years— in private—and let everyone see how they skated for themselves.

They skated the moves THEY liked best, in the ways THEY liked best.

And. . .as each Wonderlander finished his or her part of this show, they took off their skates, put on their shoes, and picked up their candles, and walked out back into the forest, stating they hoped to be back next weekend for their next performances, but they knew the hope was in vain, that no one would let them skate for themselves.

Because this was most likely their final public performance, effort was not spared, and many jumps and leaps and spins were carried out in ways never seen before or since.

Finally, there were only a few Wonderlanders left, and these gave a few performances that actually told stories; one of which suggested that the skater was running off into the woods to live as suggested by the use of a Pan flute as a prop and since the skater's name was Peter, it is possible, given the nature of these performances, with the faerie-like use of the candles, that this was the origin of the story of Peter Pan.

After Peter had flown off with his candle, there was a girl, Belle, who had a bell tied to her wrist, and tinkled as she skated, which, is certainly possible was the origin of Tinkerbell, as it was known she had affections for Peter, and was of a jealous nature.

When Belle had tinked off into the distance, there was no one left, except Dimbovitsa. . .who was a different kind of skater than most, leaving most of the leaps and jumps to the more athletic of ability and inclination. . .and followed her heart more in the direction of art and sculpture. . .concentrating on long graceful glides over an expanse of ice. . .and on exquisite positioning of arm and leg in a graceful combination further accentuated by her motion.