I have to take them off, I can't stand them anymore, the woman sighed throwing the wet sheets off her body. It was august and 37 weeks have passed. There was no sign of the little girl. The fear and exhaustion were whirling in her chest. Come on, baby girl, the man said. You have been hiding in the depths long enough. It's time for the last journey around your small world. From here, he said placing his finger on her breastbone, to here, and he followed the line that crossed her bellybutton and flowed down a dark stripe towards the south. Then, all sails up. We set off together to explore the big world.
George Dometi
Yagata Thrizta is bending over the mahogany chest of drawers. The stiff wood is pressing against her soft belly. She finds a thick layer of dust in each drawer she opens. Where did I put that map? she wonders. But because she is as voluminous as a pregnant whale, at first the wood starts to creak and then to bellow under the weight of the fat behemoth, and eventually it cracks. Yagata collapses, stuck on her back. The rescuers use sheets to transport her. With great difficulty they put the rags under her and pull. On 3, 2, 1, go!
Ionuț Tuhoarcă
The wind lifts the curtain as if it were a playful dress. The cat is wandering in the dark, with great caution for potential dangers. I can hear a truck. It passes. It's taking me far away. The driver is talking to me. He smokes. He chokes from time to time. It's not good for him. He's married, has two kids, one of them is on the road. What is he going to do from now on? What he has been doing so far. Until his children will be grown-ups and have their own houses. And after that? He will buy a house close to the ocean. And a good boat. He will go fishing. He will quit smoking. Maybe.
(Translated by Cristina-Paula Grosu / 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.