Listen to me, I had no remorse, neither when I sent the Krauts to the other world, nor when, through the fence planks, I put a bullet through our idiot major. Do you think I invented this war? Do you think I left starvation and dead men strewn on the roads and widows raped by soldiers in front of their children? I don't want to hear any priest stories. And if there is a heaven, maybe it's the place where the dead who remember nothing reside. We stay in hell until we can forget even one night. Come on, pour some more brandy.
Dorin Vasile
Sometimes, in the middle of the winter, I stop for a weary traveller. Where are you headed, my girl? And my hand slips down on her knee, for it's no use, you can't break worldly habits. And perhaps this gesture disturbs her, and she interrupts me with a touch of anxiety: Father, what does Psalm 128 say? Overcome with shame and ignorance, I pull myself closer to the window. I say no more until she gets off at the crossroads. Only in the quiet of my house, in front of the fire that's almost gone out, do I turn the pages with a shudder. Happiness is up higher, that's what it says.
Elena Fermuș
There were many souls flocking at heaven's gate. Great and small, contrite and proud. We all waited for the call beyond. I flew naively among them, believing I'd find out in the eleventh hour what I couldn't find out on Earth. Why do people fight each other? Why do people hate each other when they hate each other? Why do wars start when they do? Why do loves die when they die? Why curse instead of embrace? Why weapons instead of flowers? Silence. Then why are we standing here at heaven's gate?
(Translated by Oana-Elena Dragnea / 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.