I ring. I ring again. Yes? She says, opening the door. You have called for a repair, I say. Yes, come in, there's water flowing from under the sink, while showing me the kitchen. I take out my tools, get on my back and get to work. Who the hell invented money? She asks, sitting on a chair, next to me. Bartering was better, you did a thing, the other one something else, in return. Now look, I have to pay you. What I earned at work today, I'm wasting it on the sink. Am I right? I look at her, beautiful, I imagine some stupidities, I smile and get back to work.
Monica Bologa
I found it on the ground, near a swing. When I got home, I gave it to my mom: this coin is enchanted, mommy, it will bring you nothing but luck. Mom took the coin and threw it in her bag. Then all kinds of wonders happened to her. She got a promotion, we went for holidays to the seaside, she won the lottery and we bought a house in the countryside. You see? Your coin, that I had carried everyday with me brought us luck. I didn't tell her that I had actually stole it from her bag after five days and gave it to grandpa before his surgery, being too afraid he would die.
Ina Moldoveanu
The immense cathedral had a wonderful energy. Filled with paintings and religious artifacts, over two thousand years old. I was surprised by its tranquility. One by one, the believers approached the saint's grave, put an object on top of it and prayed. Small bottles of olive oil, holy water, coins. Behind them, other people repeated the gestures, some of them not knowing why or whom they were praying to. The little girl with her blonde curls had stretched her hand to put a coin, to take it back to her sick sister. This way she will get better. She had given up her Christmas gift, and Santa listened to her.
(Translated by Andreea Sorana Oltean / 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.