Three Days of Fasting

Carmen-Ecaterina Ciobâcă
How can you live like this, Ioan, dear man? You're living unwed, with your children unbaptised, you're never coming to church, as for fasting, you can't do it even for three days. Can you be called a Christian if you're living your life like the pagans? He's looking at me from beyond the fence. I put the hoe aside. Father, all that's material exists. That's what they tell us at party meetings. So, spare me all these absurdities. So be it, Ioan, dear man, but a time will come when you will look for me. Sooner or later, everyone comes to me, one way or another. Maybe they'll stick me in chloroform, I say, laughing, just like the guy in Moscow, where people of all ilks come to venerate him. He leaves, grumbling.

Cecilia Fofiu
Hiring a caretaker for the elderly. I ring the doorbell at the indicated address, and a lady - the daughter - welcomes me. She carefully studies me, then informs me of the wage, work program, and tasks. A piece of cake, I tell myself, looking at the sweet little man who peeks back at me from his wheelchair. Helping to the bathroom, feeding, walking around the park, and putting to bed. I get on well with this charismatic old chap from the get-go. On the third day, I suddenly discover I'm being laid off, as my employer is waiting for me at the doorstep, along with the notary summoned by the old chap to include me in the will.  

Iulia Stavre
The priest is nearing his retirement age. Since his faraway village does not attract young priests, the moment he can step down appears distant. Ever since his wife died, women from the village congregate and bring him food appropriate for fasting days. He does not have the time to eat such a variety of food, from salads to pureed soups or bean stews. His fridge is packed, and his dog does not much like vegetables. What can he do if he prefers the meatball soup and stuffed cabbage rolls prepared by Maria, the widow from across the street?


(Translated by Francisc Csiki / University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year I / 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 January 2025, the group has 13,600 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.