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When we visit Transylvania, we stay in the village of Szentgerice (population about 900), about ten kilometers south of the city of Marosvaserhely. However, Julia (whom we met when she was about ten years old) was recently married to Ferenc, a young minister in the Reformed Church. Ferenc is presently assigned to the village of Bede, so we now also spend a day or two in Bede.

The Reformed Church in Bede, perched on the hillside above the main intersection, is the only church in town and dominates the village landscape. Its tranquil white walls, visible from almost every vantage point, promise peace and security. The material though is not as strong as the pledge. Inside there is visible dampness in the walls and in the floorboards which move as one walks over them. In winter, the parishioners meet in the parish house, because heating the church is beyond their economic means as are most repairs to it. The church and many of the homes are beautiful relics from a profitable past built upon agriculture.

In present days, the apples in Bede are more bountiful than profitable. Bede is smaller than Szentgerice, and is about three kilometers from Szentgerice as the bird flies. However, the road avoids hills, and is about a ten kilometer ride. The short distance from the paved road belies the village's remoteness. To reach Bede one turns onto an unmarked road crossing a field that appears to be no more than a rutted wagon trail for bringing home the crops. Sometimes the road is impassible by car during winter snows and spring rains. Under the best conditions, at speeds that will not scatter car parts over the barely existing road, the trip between Szentgerice and Bede takes about one hour. Without a market for the apples or transportation to one, the villagers toil in a beautiful, traditional but fragile time warp.

Some of the excess apples are converted to brandy. At the entrance to the town, appropriately hidden from view, is the small village still. Its furnace runs around the clock, shortening the lives of the three men who sleep beside it daily and tend the fire in the dense, fetid interior.