Nicolae stood up straight , turning his head to look at her over his shoulder. “ Your eyes. They must be closed. ” Conf used, Sahara stared at him . “ The eyes! ” At his insistence, she shut her eyes, un sure of her options. A moment later, she felt him place something around her neck. It was heavy and weighed her neck down. “ Open now, yes. ” He watche d Sahara open her eyes and look down at her chest. “ You like? ”
The gold chain shone against the blackness of her dress. It was twice as thick as the gold cha in her father had gambled for. But it was the large clear gem stone tha t caught her attention. Sahara lifted the bottom of the chain awa y from her body as she eyed the stone . It was the size of the tip of her little finger and the color of the night sky , encased in gold. Gently, she dro pped it from her hands as she raised her eyes to meet Nicolae 's. “ It’s beautiful, Nicolae, ” she said. “ But why would you give me something so precious? ”
“ The Rom Baro 's romni gave it to me when I was a shev. ”
She didn’t know what he was saying but she was certain of one thing: clearly this was stolen. A ll gypsies steal, she thought. Everyone knew that. “ What does that mean? ”
Nicolae stared at her, his flashi ng brown eyes questioning her. “ What does what mean? ”
“ Rom Baro rom ashev... ” Her voice trailed away as she jumbled up the words Nicolae had spoken to her.
He laughed at her confusion. “ The Rom Baro 's romni... ”
“ His wife? Your mother? ” she correctly gue ssed.
“ My mother, yes. She ga v e that to me when I was... ” He motioned with his hand toward the floor.
“ A boy? ”
Happy that she understood, he nodded again. “ A boy, yes. Before she died, she gave that to me. ”
Sahara ran her fingers through her hair as she stood up. She didn't understand why he wo uld give her, a total stranger, something so beautiful and expens ive. It glimmered in the light that shone through the doorwa y. Facing Nicolae , she asked once again , “ Why would you part with something as dear as this? ”
“ You are a gadjo and we are n ot. But you belong to us now. You must become one of us. ” He hesitated. “ Family, yes? ”
Sahara stared down at the n ecklace. “ I must become one of you? ”
“ If you wear the necklace, S’hara, you will become one of us, yes. You will wear the necklace then, S’hara? ” He hesitated, “ You like the necklace, yes? ”
Sahara wasn’t certain how to react. He was giving her his mother’s necklace , telling her that, by wearing it, she would become one of the gypsies. Given the situation, she had no where else to go. With no money and no family, she was now just as nomadic as this man standing before her. She knew what prospects laid ahead of her if she tried to leave and make her own way in the world. Therefore, she knew she had no choice but to lower her eyes and whisper , “ I like the necklace fine, Nicolae . ”
His excitement faded as he heard her announcement. In its place was a somber look . For a moment, he appeared to be deep in thought, reflecting on her words. Sahara watched him, curious about the change to such seriousness. But she didn’t say anything. Instead, she waited for him. Finally, he looked at her and nodded. “ The n it is settled. T he re will be a sla va tonight! You will wear it and we will dance, yes? ”
“ Slava? ”
His eyes glowed as he stared down at her. He reached out and gently tugged at her hair. “ A feast, my bori. A feast to celebrate, yes? Tonight, you will celebrate with your new family and hid no more in the tent. ”
She wondered if it was really that easy. It was as though she was shutting a door on everything that she knew about her past. She felt like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. If she became part of this family, she would