The moment he walked through the door, and I saw the look on his face, I knew that something had happened. I did not ask him, I waited for him to tell me. I am leaving, he said late at night. I neither asked him where, with whom, nor why. I told him it was fine. The look in his eyes when he entered the house was another man's. The next morning when I woke up, an unnoticed tear had dug a hole in my heart the size of a canyon. And yet the sun rose from the same place, the baker from the corner opened at the same time, and from the mirror the same soul was watching me. Good morning.
Vero Anttheia Teodoru
Parents are only allowed to come up to the metal barred door. From there on you have to carry your bags without any help. The suitcase moved with great difficulty on the stairs. I am alone in front of the door. I go in. I pick the most remote bed possible. My other roommates start to appear. There are ten of us from different corners of the world. I am acquainted with some of them. A tear is trying to work its way out of my lashes. Suddenly, during boarding school, at 14 years old, I grew up for the first time. The next day I cut my pigtails that my mother had braided.
Dorin Vasile
happened during a gorgeous early autumn day. I entered 9th grade and I started teaching the 2nd grade equation. The students were listening in complete silence, and I felt that I was in perfect teaching condition. Halfway through the lesson I encouraged them to ask questions. A pupil from the last row got up. Excuse me teacher, but you taught us this lesson in grade 9 as well. The equation seems quite wrong to me. In fact, we have biology now, our professor must be late. And you retired exactly three years ago.
(Translated by Andreea Cuprian / 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.