The old Countess reminisces while gazing out the window: I loved him for his education, you know. He always knew how to comport himself. He would bow perfectly when kissing a lady's hand and would only speak about approved topics with gentlemen in high society. On horseback, he looked truly regal. Even in the casino, he maintained his elegance. He was a master of etiquette, but only in bed would he let go of his manners and melt the heart of anyone he pleased. That's why we all adored him, and I couldn't even be mad at the Count when he left me for him.
(Translated by Andreea Tobă / University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year II / 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 April 2023, the group has 11,000 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, and Vlad Mușat. (Drawing by Adrian T. Roman)
Versiunea în română a acestui text se poate citi aici, în rubrica Ficțiuni Reale. 
