A Crumb of Salt is a fascinating novel, with its main theme being the search for self and connection with the divine in the midst of chaos and violence. Natural and supernatural elements intertwine, creating an atmosphere full of mystery, and the journey through the world of the main character, drawn in depth, reveals his inner feelings and ability to perceive the reality around him in a different way than others. The text keeps the reader in suspense and intrigue, captivating and arousing his curiosity and prompting him to reflect on the hidden meanings beyond the words.
Iuliu had fallen asleep in the bed in his room. In the forest, the deer had come back to life, had come out of his body, and he had become human again for a single moment. At that moment he opened his eyes and looked at Iulia. She looked as she knew her again, with her golden tresses spread over her white vaporous robe, and with that blue of her eyes which she had tried so hard to paint in her paintings. Then the stag rose from his side and galloped back to the world from which it had come. The red ring around the heart faded.
His shirt was covered in blood and he was terribly cold, even though it was the height of summer. Then he saw Vasile laughing and suddenly he was home, a child again, and they were all sitting on the porch in a moment of respite. He was carving a piece of linden wood with his knife.
He had passed air customs.
The sounds of fighting had faded. Perhaps his companions would find him when they came to raise the dead, and if not, the forest would soon swallow him up, for what was he but a clod of earth and a crumb of salt, a drop of water and a breath of air. Iuliu wasn't even there anymore, in the body lying in the grass. It was already in the thousands of winds that shook the mountains, in all the rains that would fall upon them, and in the fluff of the dandelions that floated in the warm air above the flowering meadows.