The Moon in the Sky

Ramona Ungureanu
When I see her like this, with her ass facing the hill, she splashes me, and I get so angry too, and I don't get mad, because if I did, I wouldn't be sorry. What's the matter, Șofronica, what's wrong? I've made a proud name for myself in the whole village and it's not obvious? Nothing, nothing, leave me alone. Nothing, really? You're making me feel sick, you woman, are you alright? Well, it's not good, it's big and it makes me fat. And it's not pink. Man, why do you want to wear a ie[1], don't you have enough clothes? I haven't got a moon. I'll take it back, the bloody moon.
Elena Fermuș
She often satisfied his hunger with scraps from the dumpsters, but she didn't do that when the sun was shining. All kinds of people swarmed under its rays. Many would have laughed. She shared her bitter humiliation only with the moon in the sky. She'd carry her over her head and walk through the rich neighbourhood's. She knew they threw away all the fads in the fridge to make room for others. From there she'd fill her sarsanale[1] at will, and no, not just for herself. In a cold hovel, three warm souls waited, all too hungry. Did the moon know how to cry?
Nicolae Popescu
In the park, he holds her hand. He tells her: look, we look at the stars, you close your eyes, I kiss you, I get daring, you don't object, we have a big wedding and two kids. Then. He stops. She urges him: it's very romantic so far, what happens next? Arguments over money, routine, misunderstandings, parents' illnesses, children's illnesses, tears, disappointment, separation. Terrible, she says, I don't want that, I'm leaving. Me too. They go in opposite directions, they take three steps. She turns: before we part, let's look at the stars and get daring.

(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)


Real Fiction is a collective project started in 2013 by Florin Piersic Jr. The concept of Real Fiction continued to exist as a Facebook group, after a volume of stories was published at Humanitas Publishing House. (In April 2024, the group has 12,860 members.) The authors write ultra-short stories, with the texts limited to 500 characters (in Romanian, so the length of the English translation might be a little different) - a flash-fiction exercise on a topic that changes every few days. The group's coordinators are Florin Piersic Jr., Gabriel Molnar, Răzvan Penescu, Luchian Abel, and Vlad Mușat. (Drawing by Adrian T. Roman)

Versiunea în română a acestui text se poate citi aici, în rubrica Ficțiuni Reale.