You were born in a jungle where you must learn how to survive. Everything is written in books, for those who can understand it. The safest approach is to always be suspicious, always on guard. Do not be swayed even by innocent creatures in red hoods, no matter how tearful their little eyes may be, no matter how gentle the grandmother with white hair and tempting pies in the oven might appear, or by mothers with young goats and udders full of milk, for you will writhe and burn in the hellfire. All that matters is for you to stay alive, young wolf.
Mira Wolf
... is to be loved by your mother-in-law. That's why you must speak wisely. Don't forget to compliment her broccoli hairstyle, her sponge cake recipe, and her merchant jokes. In return, turn a deaf ear and keep silent when she gossips about you to everyone. Don't try to fight her because you can't escape Ottoman rule. Only through persistence, virtue, and sainthood will you find salvation. Truly. On top of that, you'll gain the unexpected privilege of marrying her beloved son and becoming a surrogate mother to a 35-year-old man.
Andra Toropoc
Everything passes, move on, her best friend encouraged her after she confessed that her husband had left her for another woman. The children were sad, and she had become a shadow haunting the space between pain and revenge. She followed him, saw him with his new lover while they were crossing the street, holding hands, being happy. She recognized her, it was her friend. Fury clouded her mind, but above all, she knew she had to move on-it had been good advice. In the whirlwind of her car's speed, she crossed paths with an ambulance rushing to the scene of the accident.
(Translated by Alexandra-Ecaterina Radu / 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.