Fănel had been knocked out cold for about three hours, but Lavender was full of energy from a couple of coffees and the dark found her in front of the TV. She kept flicking from one channel to the next, she stumbled upon the same potato chip commercial a few times. She glanced cautiously at Fănel and gently got out of bed, though as the springs were free of 106 kilograms, there was a creak. She had no chips in the kitchen, but she cut two thick slices of bread and spread zacuscă[1] on them. But after the first bite she heard him: Are you stuffing yourself with the nightly bread again?
[1]Zacuscă - baked vegetable spread
Nicolae Popescu
I'm standing in a queue that doesn't get any smaller. I step sideways to see what's going on. An elderly woman has bought a loaf of bread, a tin of bean stew and is now counting the coins in her grey cloth purse. Her money isn't enough, and her eyelash-less eyelids can't hide the humiliation in her eyes. Someone else, not me, offers her ten lei. The woman takes it with skinny hands and thanks with a speechless smile. The woman turns and walks away slowly, with shuffling steps. The long handles of her bag sweep the ground. Today she has something to eat. What about tomorrow?
Alex Caragian
I was home alone and I heard knocking on the front door. What made me flinch was not the noise, but the fact that before you could knock on the door you had to go through the gate and it was locked. The door wasn't. And the Wicked One entered. He usually visits new houses without notice, but this time he made an exception. Or a mistake. I was with my demons, playing cards on the commandments. Ten, max. Literature books. I told Satan the table was full. Dying comes later. The demons laughed, they ate and laughed.
(Translated by Corina-Alexandra Belu / 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.