if you give it to me, I still won't do your will, Simon. I'd let you, but my grandmother won't let me. She said, Sofronica, don't ever let a lad poke around under your shirt. If he pokes at your tits, that's fine, but if he pokes below your belly button, he's in big trouble. She made me swear I wouldn't let it happen, but you come to the hayloft tomorrow and you won't be sorry. And what about the oath, Sofronica? You won't be able to peek under my shirt, because I'll be waiting for you naked.
Ana-Maria Butuza
I don't know if I'm in love or just charmed by everything around her. I've never met anyone like her. Often, we sit for minutes without saying anything to each other. We listen to music, her eyes closed, tracing the hem of her short skirt with slender fingers and me watching her smile, dreaming to Sinatra's Fly Me to the Moon. I wish I knew what she was thinking, but I dare not break the spell she's floating under. Almost if I allow myself to breathe, I'm almost afraid that time is running too fast next to her.
Cristian Nedelcu
Selena had been kidnapped by a love-struck cyclops and imprisoned in a tower. By day, the cyclops prowled, killing anyone who came to the girl's aid. By night, he became a handsome man, climbing the tower to seduce his victim. She began to show him kindness, even began to sing to him. One night, bewitched by Selena's voice, he fell asleep. The girl took his stick, cut off his head and threw it out of the window. As if by a miracle, he rose into the sky. From then on, the Cyclops' eye flashes every night, searching for his beloved.
(Translated by Andreea Cristina Moise / 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.