Walking along the dusty road beside the wall, the old man reached the rusty gate. On the other side, the guard, dressed in simple clothes, watched him with calm and empathy. What have you brought in your suitcase? Everything I've gathered in this life. Memories, plans, hopes, regrets, smiles, and pain - the burden of the past. Know that the gate does not open with what you bring, but with what you leave behind. With trembling hands, the old man put the suitcase down. The gate slowly opened, and the light from within embraced him warmly.
Laura Bercean
Heaven's gate was shut right in my face. I was stunned - how? But wait, am I not a priest? Don't I have a guaranteed front-row seat? Worse still, I see that scoundrel Matei, a good-for-nothing rascal, strolling in, whistling. I barely catch the sound of soft music before - bam - the door shuts again. What the hell, Lord? (Forgive me.) I gathered all the money for you. Well, for me too, since I am yours, after all. I charged for every baptism, every wedding, every funeral. Wherever possible, even twice. I never buried suicides. And now I'm stuck here at the gate? Blasphemy!
Florina Hegedüs
When night turned to day, they knew they were close. The thought of returning home filled them with emotion. Only the traces life had left on their faces, on their bodies, would surely be an unpleasant surprise when they are seen. But they hoped that a parental embrace would wipe away their worries. She hid her lipstick and makeup in a bush by the roadside. He smoked his last cigarette and smashed the gin bottle. The clothes that reeked of sin - they burned them. Naked, they walked on. The familiar tree was already in sight. Reaching the gate, Adam and Eve knocked - timidly.
(Translated by Alexandra-Ecaterina Sandu / 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.