One Saturday, dad promised me something special and won my attention, at which point I put on my bulletproof cowboy vest and my matching metal-toed boots. Then it was evening, I was waiting, and dad wasn't coming. Later that night, refusing sleeping, I saw a lot of men coming into the yard, wearing dead rabbits tied on a string around their waists, with their eyes empty. They had warmed the fire in the fall, and my mother called me to eat venison. I ran to the cellar and gulped down two apples, crying.
Caterina Tudorache
Un, dos, tres caramba. Red Riding Hood fixed her hairstyle and made a quick story. Here's a little mushroom, here's a little butterfly. After 96 more selfies she realized she didn't know where she was. Oops, here comes the evening. Grandma's waiting for me. Maybe the wolf will show up. From behind the bush, two twinkling eyes blinked. You called me, kitty? Red Riding Hood spits in her breast. You scared me. Wolf, today's Thursday. Where's the money? You said if I stopped bullying, you would bring me something good. The wolf blushed. But kitty, there's a berry ban. I only brought apples and pears.
Gabriela Rus
It's just me and grandma at home. I miss them sometimes, but when they call me, their voices sound more and more unfamiliar. I'm the happiest when summer passes and I can go back to school. It's far away, there are only five of us who make the one-hour long trip over the hill every day. I always bring the lady an apple and a pear from the pantry. She pats me on the head and tells me that if I'm always good and keep learning, one day I'll go to the city to go to college. And I won't have to leave my child like they did.
(Translated by Florina Șamata / 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.