"SHADOW OF A CLOUD" "What messages do the children's drawings convey?" "They're extremely interesting." "Our planet appears in every single one, the sun too, sometimes crying and sometimes shining..." "Americans say treaty opens the way for post-Assad era, while Damascus' allies, Russia and China..." "Faster, you fucking moron!" "Over the last 48 hours, dozens of people have been killed in Syria, the repression claiming 16,000 since March 2011." " Good afternoon!" " Hello, Cornel!" "I'm sorry we meet under such circumstances." "What can we do... it's life!" " I'm sorry, your call came kind of sudden." " We apologize!" "I'm in civilian clothes, too..." " How is the lady, still bad?" " Still bad." " Conscious?" " Not really." " Good afternoon!" " God bless!" " Coffee, water?" " No, thank you." " Sure?" " Yes." "Eugenia, he's here!" "Thank you so much for coming!" "It's my obligation!" "And a Christian duty!" "Don't take your shoes off!" "I had to change out of the street clothes." "Eugenia is my wife." " Yes..." "Where's the lady?" " In there." " Good afternoon, Father!" " God bless!" "The Father's here, just like you asked!" " This is Father Florescu!" " He's here to help you..." "Dear girl, how you've grown!" "There, there..." "Good afternoon, Mrs. Pietreanu, do you remember me?" "She can't hear us..." "We met years ago, in Sinaia." " Can I help you, Father?" " Take this." "What did the doctor say?" "To take her home, four days ago..." "She asked us that herself, while still conscious..." "I know, Cornel told me." "She wanted to come home..." "It's me, Elena." "I'm sorry..." "Let's turn the TV off!" "Let's all kneel down and say a prayer for her!" " You too!" " I won't be part of this, thank you." "I'll go to the kitchen." "I can't kneel down either." "My legs hurt from my diabetes." " But I'll sit here..." " Fine!" " You'd better stand up though!" " Yes." "Our Father?" "Those of you who don't, repeat after me!" "Our Father, Who art in Heaven, Hallowed be Thy Name," "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." "Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us." "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." "For Yours is the power and the glory, for ever and ever." "Amen!" "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost." "Amen." "You may stand up." "Holy Mother of God, have mercy on me at the hour of my death!" "The deep salt sea of this life, full of vanity and passions, the time has come for me to pass it, as the Lord commandeth." "O, woe is me, a sinner!" "My sins leave me with no shepherd towards a shore of peace." "That is why, Holy Mother of God, before the hour of my death, I humbly pray to Thee:" "with mercy lead my path and, as my life comes to an end, come to my aid, never abandon me at the frightful hour of my death," "Protect me from horrendous devils and their awful sight;" "Sweet Mary, the hope of my salvation!" "Holy Mother of God, have mercy on me at the hour of my death!" "Behold the hour of my passing drawing near!" "My corrupted soul seeks to depart from this rotten body and go in front of the Almighty Judge." "Before the hour of my death, I pray to Thee," "Most Holy Mary, Mother of God:" "With mercy lead my path and, as my life comes to an end, come to my aid and stay near me at the frightful hour of my death." "Protect me from horrendous devils and their awful sight;" "Mary..." "Let us clean you." "Please leave the room, we must change her dipers too." " Can I help you, Father?" " No..." "I think it's best to leave the Father alone with her..." "Right, Father?" "We'd just stand in your way..." "That would be best." "Holy Angel, guardian of my life, with all Heavenly powers," "Holy John the Baptist, with all the saints of our Lord, seeing my soul taken over by the powers of darkness, with your prayer stand in front of the Lord!" "Pray to Him for my salvation!" "And You, Holy Mary, Mother of God, with mercy lead my path and, as my life comes to an end, come to my aid and never abandon me at the frightful hour of my death." "Protect me from horrendous devils and their awful sight!" "Sweet Mary, hope of my salvation!" "My life has passed like a deep sleep, like the shadow of a cloud and my limbs have begun to weaken and tremble." "Don't be afraid, madam!" "God is with you!" "And my evil deeds surpass the countless grains of sand." "These deeds terrify me at the hour of my death." "Who will have mercy on me?" "O, woe is me, a sinner!" "Holy Mother of God, before the hour of my death, I pray to Thee with deepest humility:" "as my life comes to an end, come to my aid, stay near me at this frightful hour of my death,.." "Excuse me, Father." " What?" " What prayer is this?" "A special prayer urging the soul to leave the body." "I see..." "And unspoken fear and shivers,.." "Excuse me, I don't think this is the right prayer." " She wants to live, not to die..." " That's true!" "Cornel told me on the phone that the situation is..." "She's agonizing and can't take the pain anymore..." "I know the suffering illness brings." "Look here, lady!" "The scars of a cancer surgery!" "I believe you and I'm sorry to interfere but she wants to live, not to die!" "I thought you would just give her Communion..." "I can't!" "She's unconscious." " Yes, but she wouldn't accept this!" " She wouldn't!" "Don't you know anything for healing?" "Definitely not for dying." "Alright." "I'll read her something else." "Almighty and glorious Lord Jesus Christ..." "Almighty and glorious Lord Jesus Christ!" "Thou, Who camest into the world to heal human infirmities, to save the sinners, and died on the Cross for our salvation!" "I beg of Thee to receive my humble striving and this prayer for the one afflicted by disease!" "Have mercy on her, God, for Thou art good, for we are weak and cannot help her without Thy grace." "If it be Thy will, punish her for her sins, healing her with the bitter herbs of pain, like a doctor." "I beg of Thou to have mercy on her, quench her fever and lift her from her bed of pain." "Let this trial be for the betterment of her life and the forgiveness of her sins." "And if it be useful for her to carry the cross of illness," "God, Thy will be done!" "Cast away from her all despair so that she be not overwhelmed by pain and speak against Thou or fall in the sin of wrath." "Help her, Lord, as seeing Thy mercy she may fall at Thy feet in tears so she can hear Thy voice:" ""Thy sins are forgiven!"" "In the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost." "Amen." "Done?" "We've done all we could, the rest is up to God." "Thank you and..." "Give her some water." "Calm down!" "Give her some sugar and lemon." " Good day!" " Some water or coffee?" " No, thank you!" " Please, a cup of coffee at least!" "Coffee it is, then..." " Give her some sugar and lemon..." " Not lemon, water." "The doctor said it could be days, weeks..." "Stop croaking!" "She was such a wonderful woman..." "Athletic, healthy, didn't drink or smoke..." "Move over!" "Strange how everything changes and how deceiving life is..." "I read about a priest in Kiev who resurrected two dead people." "Cut it out with this obscurantist nonsense!" "We're making fools of ourselves here." "How do you know it's nonsense?" "There are priests and monks who perform miracles!" "Like Arsenie Boca." "Or Father Argatu." "Yes!" "Father Argatu!" "Mr. Florin, is it true?" "No, he died, God rest his soul!" "Miracles, I mean..." " Oh, sure!" " There!" "Have you actually seen any?" "I have, but that's a complex theological matter..." "And definitely no risings from the dead, madam!" "No, not yet." "But I have this personal matter that troubles me." "If God is so good, why does He want evil on earth?" "Why does He allow it?" "He doesn't want evil..." "But there's much to talk about..." "And this is neither the time nor the place." "You can come to my church and we'll talk." "I would, but I can't swallow this:" "that bad guys go to heaven and good guys go to hell..." "The other way around I mean..." "I can't accept it!" "So I can't believe in religion all the way, 100% I mean..." "I really have to go now!" "Take this." "No need for a receipt." "It's for the church!" "Please take your money back immediately!" "It's for church repairings." "Definitely not!" "And not without receipt!" "I also wanted to tell you, it's not alright how you behaved in there!" "I'm not a fiddler!" "I knew what I was doing, I'd spoken with Cornel!" "I apologize..." "It was a misunderstanding..." "I won't talk about it now, I just wanted to point it out!" "I deeply apologize..." "Good day, Father!" "Father..." "I wanted to let you know I'm busy." "Yes, I'm going to Mega Image." "I'm not going anymore." "Go with Luca!" "I'm going to stay in and rest!" "What to tell them?" "!" "That the workers are coming to fix the church roof, anything..." "Ok, bye, I'll see you at home." " God bless, Father!" " God bless, Father!" " Come in, Father!" " Good afternoon, Mrs. Raceala." "So..." "I can't enter "offering" in the bookkeeping anymore." " What then?" " Donation." "The Christian term is "offering"." "I've been doing this job for over 25 years and no complaints so far!" "If I accept it now, we'll both have problems with the tax office!" "So what am I supposed to do?" "I'll cancel this invoice and you have the lady write "donation" instead of "offering"." "Come with it on Monday morning and that's that." "Fine then..." "It's sure hot in here." "The air conditioning's broken." "Here are the documents." " Father, I have a problem..." " One second." "Oh, dear!" "May God forgive her and rest her soul!" "Yes, of course!" "Yes, I will..." "Alright, good bye!" "What's wrong?" "Nothing..." "I went to give Communion to a very ill woman and..." "The woman's just died..." " May God forgive her!" " May God forgive her!" " Young?" " Not even 50." " What was wrong with her?" " Everything." "Metastasis, hepatic cirrhosis, she had them all..." " She drank..." " On the contrary..." "Poor her, it's better she died." "No more suffering..." " Did she have children?" " Excuse me?" "The woman, did she have any children?" "A daughter and a son, I think..." "God bless!" "Everything is grace!" "Have a good weekend, Father!" "...these are modern times, we can't have a capital with suburbs similar to those in Siberia" "with people forgotten by God." "May God forgive her and rest her soul!" "Yes, Father, she was an angel!" "May God forgive her." "May God forgive her and rest her soul!" "Poor woman..." "Maybe it's better this way." "I could have recommended you a good undertaker!" "Serious people..." "Afterwards I should read her from the Gospels." "Of course!" "We would need a lot of cotton wool..." "Cotton wool?" "For her nose and mouth..." "we forgot it." "Yes..." " Where are you from?" " What?" " What company?" " Stairway to Heaven." " I see, you work for Pelicanu." " Yes." " Give him my regards!" " I will..." "When he's back from Greece, he's on holiday..." "Move it to the side!" "Right, on holiday..." "Easy, don't drop it..." "Father, would you mind going to the kitchen for a minute..." "We have something to..." "Please!" "Of course!" "Thanks a lot!" " Good afternoon, Father!" " God bless!" "Please take a seat, Father!" "No, thank you." "I've sat in the car enough..." "Hey doggy..." "Drink some water!" "I don't care, you deal with him..." " But we can't do this!" " Yes, we can!" "Okay, I'll go and trample all over him!" "I'll throw him out and his stupid prayers, too!" "The idiot invoked death!" "Wait until I tell him!" "Let me go to him!" "Cut it out!" "I'll go talk to him!" "I want this imbecile out now!" " You moron!" "I said now!" " Please calm down!" " Fucking incompetent!" " Please!" "Eugenia is having a difficult time..." "I see..." "She says you shouldn't handle this 'cause you said the wrong prayer..." "Nonsense..." "I see..." "Don't hold it against her, you know how women are..." "I know... it's a difficult time..." "I'll calm her down and you can come in the morning." "I don't think that's necessary anymore..." "I'll talk to the curate here, this is not my parish anyway!" "All that was said..." "was very ugly and offensive!" "I deeply apologize..." "but I get the same..." "Don't worry about it." "If you need my help..." "No... thank you and my sincerest apologies!" "My humble gratitude and all the best!" "Give my regards to your father and may God forgive her!" "Definitely." "My deepest apologies!"