This time their lives weren't claimed swift lie by drenching floods. The gentle rain actually made them happy because it freshened the air. The plants seemed happy too. But with each passing day, the moisture seeped like a smooth cloth into every crevice. The walls of the houses turned green with mould. Rust corroded the cars. Water silk infected the streets. The metamorphosis occurred so gradually that even those who noticed a greenish tint on their skin were ignored.
Silvia Ștefan
I worked the field side by side with my man, and I never complained. I kept up with him because I'm a helpful woman. He seemed to me like the greatest man on earth with all his sweat, rolled up sleeves, and the way he sighed in the middle of the furrow. My muddy man was covered in dust. I stopped, dropped the hoe and brought pie and water. Let's take a bite, it'll give us strength. We both sat on a green mound. Rain is coming, he told me, smiling. We came back wet, holding hands, with the hoes on our backs.
Magdalena Daminescu
He would go out every night to make sure the gates were tightly closed, and to inspect the fence for any holes. During the drizzle last night, he went out onto the porch. A thought crossed his mind, but he brushed it aside. In the morning, people said that John the Shepperd was ripped apart by a bear, that he kept watch all night, but the rain made him sleepy at dawn and not even the dogs could smell him. Where could that dog be? He hasn't heard a bark since last night. Fear set him off. He found it on the hill, covered in blood, with the fallen fence over him.
(Translated by Alin Sescu / University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year II / Corrected by Silvia Petrescu, coordinator of the translations)
Versiunea în română a acestui text se poate citi aici, în rubrica Ficțiuni Reale.