The Donkeys' Scale

Gheorghiță Mircea
The slum he was born in was called The Donkey's Pit, and it was surrounded by ravines. From above, garbage was dumped, and a massive pipe discharged the city's waste. The only way to reach the top was a steep staircase, and he was responsible for it. He lived in the small hut at the top of the stairs. Every day, he would take a bucket and mop, clean, and wash the steps with soap until they shone in the sunlight. When he was done, he would sit at the top, on the last step, gazing at the neighbourhood. He waited. When someone tried to climb, they would slip and fall back down, and he would smile, satisfied with his work.

Elena Fermuș
He wasn't a bad man, but in business, he became a dog. Friendship ends where profit starts. The only thing that matters is the cheddar. You herd the sheep, milk them, curdle the milk. Then to the market. He would take his son along to learn the trade. The boy, although small, knew how to weigh and give the change. His father would sometimes leave him alone at the stall. He was alone, too, when an old lady asked for 100 grams of cheese. But the boy gave her a good chunk for the same money. It's fine, dad, we won't go broke from one kilo of cheese, but she feels rich now. That's how you climb God's ladder.

Ana Ludușan
It's summer, the air trembles with heat, the garden glows with abundance, the calves are lowing hungry in the pen. They sink into the sunflower field, picking tender leaves to feed the calves. Vasilică is making faces in the manger, the scared calves are stamping their feet, almost ready to hang themselves. Ica unties the animals, and the four siblings quickly organize a marathon with the calves through the vast garden, so big you can't see its fence. The calves don't stop until they reach the Bear's Cave. They stand one after the other in front of their father, humble donkeys, and the man bursts into laughter.

(Translated by Ioana Grințescu / University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year II / Corrected by Silvia Petrescu, coordinator of the translations)


Real Fiction is a collective project started in 2013 by Florin Piersic Jr. The concept of Real Fiction continued to exist as a Facebook group, after a volume of stories was published at Humanitas Publishing House. (In December 2024, the group has 13,540 members.) The authors write ultra-short stories, with the texts limited to 500 characters (in Romanian, so the length of the English translation might be a little different) - a flash-fiction exercise on a topic that changes every few days. The group's coordinators are Florin Piersic Jr., Gabriel Molnar, Răzvan Penescu, Luchian Abel, Monica Aldea, and Vlad Mușat. (Drawing by Adrian T. Roman)

Versiunea în română a acestui text se poate citi aici, în rubrica Ficțiuni Reale.