Decades of Fear — Andrew Weiner

Bojan  (pronounced  Boyan)  was  born  in  the  years  preceding  the  civil  war  that  tore  apart  his  homeland  of  Yugoslavia.  His  namesake  came  from  the  local  Olympic  hero  of  the  1976  Olympics;  Bojan  Križaj.  Many  unsolved  issues  caused  the  breakup  of  his  family's  homeland  and  started  the  Yugoslav  wars  affecting  Bosnia  and  Croatia.    By  the  age  of  five,  he  saw  more  horrors  than  many  of  us  would  see  in  more  than  a  lifetime.  He  will  have  to  live  with  the  scars  of  those  horrors  for  a  lifetime.    His  parents,  longing  for  peace  and  solace,  now  being  refugees  were  ready  to  leave  the  country  where  their  ancestors  survived  the  horrors  of  World  War  Two  and  managed  to  raise  a  family  based  on  love,  loyalty  and  religious  values.  They  decided  to  go  to  neighboring  Romania.  They  wanted  all  the  conveniences  and  standards  of  a  modern  large  city,  but  without  the  large  city  atmosphere.  They  decided  to  settle  in  Cluj-Napoca,  also  known  as  Cluj.  It  is  the  second  largest  city  in  Romania,  dwarfed  only  by  the  Capital  of  Bucharest.    They  settled  in  Cluj.  Their  standard  of  living  was  modest  at  best.  They  were  happy.  They  had  each  other,  Bojans'  father  found  employment  as  a  doctor  for  his  local  community.  Bojans'  mother  lived  the  life  of  a  happily  married  woman  with  a  handsome  son  and  stately  husband.  Their  family  was  respected  and  adored  by  all  the  townsfolk.    Bojan,  now  six,  started  first  grade  in  his  new  home  town.  He  had  many  new  friends  and  was  growing  mentally  and  emotionally.  He  was  happy.  He  constantly  expressed  his  joy  that  he  was  able  to  leave  the  sites  of  horrors  back  in  his  true  homeland.  Or  did  he  ?  One  day  while  exploring  his  new  home  of  Cluj,  he  and  a  group  of  friends  found  this  lush  green  forest.  It  smelled  of  evergreens  and  blooming  flowers.  The  birds  were  chirping  and  other  creatures  of  the  woodlands  roamed  about.  The  animal  activities  were  restricted  to  the  entrance  of  the  forest  and  no  further.  Why?  What  lurks  within  the  Hoia-‐Baciu  Forest  and  why  do  the  locals  avoid  it  like  the  seven  plagues  of  biblical  times ?

Only time will tell !