His hand inertly hangs over the edge of the still steaming ciubăr. He notices his missing ring finger and the blood that's pouring from where the finger should've been. The crystal shards had a unique glow on the white marble. The sole of the shoe became sticky when he bent over the victim to see her face. Such a pity, it was such a good champagne, he told himself. It had just snowed and he hadn't noticed any footsteps near the cabin. The criminal's still inside. Hardly had he finished his thoughts when the deceased girl asked for a towel. Then she mumbled something about the chopping machine.
Cristian Nedelcu
We climbed again and again. The road winded through the woods and we were gasping for air like hippopotamus do during drought. We stopped at some point. I think we got lost, the guy wearing glasses said. You think so? said the guy wearing a top hat. What the hell? Who the hell climbs a mountain wearing a top hat? I asked myself. I didn't get the chance to answer, because I heard the guy not wearing a jacket screaming: WOOOLVES. That dude took a rabbit out of his top hat, the wolves hastened to grab it and we went back to the cabin. I'm buying a top hat as soon as I get to Bucharest.
Diana Cornea
It is said that the mountains represent the dragon Kao. Its nose trills puff and stars fall off from the sky. Sometimes a whistle can be heard. Sweet doinas fall over valleys and spring sighs numbly. Plump crocuses burst out from purple or lilac corsets. Blades of grass lift the snow like a hat and you hear a good morning chuckle. Creeks leap through the sones, and deer scratch their crowns on old tree trunks. The wind is warm and the leaves sing. The dragon falls asleep. It sneezes when mushrooms grow on its nose. It's snowing.
(Translated by Cristina-Andreea Dobre / 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.