Ana Maria Dobre-Nir
When they contacted her, Lola had just escaped the drone attack. It took her some time to sober up. She didn't know what to expect when they told her it was just an experiment. A nurse picked her up at the entrance and led her to the lab. As soon as she laid down on the table, a totally unfamiliar entity appeared, which mechanically spread her legs apart. She was afraid. That's all she could remember. When she woke up, a message was running on the screen in the room. I am a jealous God. You must love solely me.
Liviu Rusnaciuc Petru
On Saturday afternoons my grandmother would put hot coals in the hot iron, hang out her new handkerchief and her suit to go to her favourite concert, then carefully bathe her lacquer shoes in a black diesel-smelling shoe polish. Later in the evening I would steal her handkerchief, wrap it like a headband around my head, match it with my grandfather's pair of blue tights, put on my black lacquered shoes and run off to the disco. I was Tupac. On Sunday morning, grandma would be waiting for me at the gate of heaven with a wooden stick to sign an autograph.
Gabriel Rusu
Daddy what are we? Big boys. And what do big boys do? They listen to their mothers. They let their hearts lead them to live what others dream of. Modesty is the most precious garment they put on from the moment they get out of bed in the morning until late at night. They show due respect regardless of the colour of their skin. Sometimes they look up to the sky and give thanks for the blessings they have received. They know that God is a homeboy and they don't hold it against Him when He tests them. Daddy, big boys like in Sisyphus' play? That's right, son.
(Translated by Andreea Georgiana Bogdan / 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.