Andra Toropoc
They always took me with them to the old woman's house, even though I didn't like it. It smelled of cats there. She sat in the dark and would ask me to come closer so she could pinch my cheek. You're becoming as beautiful as your grandmother, she'd say, as if my parents didn't matter. I would rub my face afterward, trying to get rid of the stale smell of her palm. Today we're going again, and Dad sighs: Oh, help us God. We go in, and I see her in the middle of the room, with a serene expression as if she's smiling. I can smell the scent of washed laundry from the box she's in, and I hear my mother say: Let's keep our fingers crossed, the will is going to be read.
Cristina Daniela Dumitru-Pascal
I'm ashamed of you. It stinks around you, said the boy who was in high school. The father, a garbage man, lowered his head. The mother, a toilet cleaner at the train station, started crying. The conversation was never repeated over the years. They kept him in college. He would text them with what he needed. He never came home. They didn't go to him. Not even to the wedding. They sent the envelope with money for the car by mail. The same with the gift for the grandson. They were found in bed, hand in hand. What smells so good? people asked. Love, replied the gravedigger.
Ana Maria Dobre-Nir
The old man sat down wearily on the soft grass, beneath the crowns of the trees, shaded by the afternoon light. The fresh air filled his lungs, and for the first time in a long while, he felt a complete sense of peace. He closed his eyes, letting himself be carried by the gentle breeze that swayed the leaves. Suddenly, a sharp pain struck his chest, and his breath was cut off. For a moment, he wanted to scream, but he quickly realized there was no reason to. His life had been long and full, and now, all that remained was to accept his end.
(Translated by Claudia Garofina Greculeac / 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.