I'm stretched out over the seashell dust. I'm watching the sea, then the people who forgot all sorts of things on its shore. A child cries as he searches for his toy underneath the sunbeds. Poor thing doesn't know that once you lose something on this beach it remains forever buried in the sand. An old man once lost his wedding ring. A woman, her faith. A hurried boy, his patience. An elderly lady intentionally lost her fear on this shore. I bury my hands in the hot sand, close my eyes and smile. Last night, I lost my virginity.
Ana Maria Dobre-Nir
It was there that I met them for the first time. They arrived when the party was almost over and the music was playing softly. They were old, maybe older than we could have ever imagined. And yet so elegant. She danced, and he held her hand. Once he even brought her a glass of champagne. He kissed her hair. For them, the surrounding world didn't exist. We encountered each other at dawn, at the beach, and I asked them where all that love and zest for life came from. They smiled and hugged each other tighter.
Dan Banu
She felt his warm breath in her ear. She winced and stood up suddenly. My God, is it you? The man smiled and gently slid his finger over her lips. Those who told you that I died were mistaken. I'm alive, I made it. Why did you vanish? I didn't vanish, people just didn't know how to look at me. That's why I'm here. Close your eyes, I have something for you. He kissed her hard. I won't leave you again from now on. When she opened her eyes, she saw on her finger the ring made from a blade of grass and a seashell. But the man was no longer there. Only the sand, and the sea.
(Translated by Bogdan Macarie / 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.