Debtors' Prison

Răzvan Drăgoi
Nelu had been caught on the hop with his groin near the child bearing parts of young lassies. That royal decree was common knowledge, by which the prince ordered that the despicable manhood be cut off, and Nelu began to beg for mercy, to be spared from the terrible disaster that was befalling him. Accompanying his begging with a few coin purses, he was cleared of his debt. But he could sire no more offspring, for they had gelded him to carry out the decree. When Nelu, after many a year, became a prince himself, he denied this, by the synergy of his deeds, my dear.

Carmen-Ecaterina Ciobâcă
What do you want, you wretched bastard? You're whining like a pussy. Look how the snot's running into your mouth. Did your ma send you to get me, huh? I stopped here with Grigore. This is the only joy I have in my life. As for the rest, I work like a plow horse. Go on, get out of here. You're like crab apples and I've had my fill of you. No way she's going to stop my allowance next time, you hear me? Just let her dare, that's all I'm saying. For fuck's sake. C'mon home. Now what are you crying about? School starts and you don't have shoes? I'll look for some at Anghel's. What do you mean with what? He's gonna put them on the slate.
 
 Aurelian Țolescu
I swore in my youth to do my duty to my country, at my own peril. I'm not sorry and I'm proud of everything I've been able to do for my country. Years later, towards the end, I realised that everything was happening in a closed circle and I couldn't see much over the fence. With all the sacrifices I made, I understood that society, controlled through the press, was only unfairly blaming people who had sacrificed everything in their lives and that now the deserved pensions were too high. And was it worth going to prison all my life?

(Translated by Ana-Maria Batog / University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year II / Corrected by prof. dr. Nadina Vișan, Edited by Silvia Petrescu, coordinator of the translations)