Savette!, jiggle a bit that pita pan and see if it grew or not. Flòre!, did you put egg wash on the sweet bread? Put the pitas on those cabbage leaves so that it smells of dinner. I was a little girl and there was a big rush in the kitchen, the skirts were dancing and all the bare feet knew it was Saturday, the baking day. The previous evening I had just asked for bread from that bearded man in the sky, and lo and behold, today the loaves were flying from hand to hand and smelled of milk and corn. Tonight I'll even dare to ask for candy, because I can see that he's buying it.
Denisse Oana Rădoi
If you say the Lord's Prayer unceasingly for one night, a wish will be granted, my grandmother told me when I was young. One night, she fell off her feet. I screamed at the top of my lungs, gutted with pain and fear. Grandpa splashed her with water, shook her and called her name until she opened her eyes again. That night, tucked in bed beside her, I repeated the prayer a thousand times and guarded her every breath until dawn. Granny woke up full of vigour and I knew we would never be apart again.
Sanda Burță
From time to time, God's teeth would grind from so much serenity and harp singing. Then he'd take on the form of a man and descend to earth. He mingled with children and stole cherries, he fell in love, he dreamed, he'd be strong and old. He even died a few times to see what it was like. He laughed at the joy and cried when it hurt. Then, he missed it and went to Dumitru, the baker. He watched him knead the dough, yes, that passion was the one he missed. He rolled up his sleeves and made himself round again.
(Translated by Corina-Alexandra Belu / University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year I / Corrected by Silvia Petrescu, coordinator of the translations)
Versiunea în română a acestui text se poate citi aici, în rubrica Ficțiuni Reale.