Don't take her, not her, the young Palestinian yelled before the butt of the gun struck him. He woke up next to the stage of the peace concert. He had worked for three months for a ticket. And when she had smiled at him - happy and free stranger - everything had been worth it. He had forgotten about harassment, religion, deprivation. Her eyes, green lake in the desert. The first time a girl held his hand, when he didn't care that he was poor, when all that mattered was the music. Brother, are you Palestinian? asked the first soldiers. Brother, are you Israeli? the others asked later. He just kept quiet. He kept quiet.
Alex Caragian
As a teenager, I convened an extraordinary congress of all superheroes, trainee heroes, or other wannabes to embrace a mostly latex wardrobe. Go to the caves or galaxies far, far away from whence you came, because from today I'm the only one who will wave my cape and say that this is my job. I was accepted as a friend by a girl, and I'm going to be a lamp for every bed she lays her temples on, implicitly to the world around her. I don't have a Robin.
Anastasia Dbtsa
I didn't know how to love because you didn't teach me how to. You didn't know how to teach me because you didn't get this lesson either. You looked at me for a long time and I could see in your eyes the cruel look full of criticism. The wave of cold words followed, digging into my soul, planting mistrust. It was painful then, now it becomes liberating. I've waited a lifetime for you to love me, having no idea what I'm supposed to feel. It's late already, but I'm still searching for the words to tell you I'm sorry and I love you, Dad.
(Translated by Ioana Andreea Radu / 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.