Looking down from the darkness, the city was breathing heavily under the burden of the exhausting heat. Not a breeze bothered to blow. On the sidewalk, two meters from the bar, a taxi driver was moaning from engulfing a burrito. I walked into the smelly pub and sat at the bar. All I wanted was a cold beer. I was on my third when I saw her. Red hair like yours and full lips. I'm not gonna lie, she got me so hot that I forgot who I was. She sounded like she was arguing with someone on the phone and it wasn't me, unlike in our story.
Radu Gramatovici
Spring had come and I was cleaning up the garden when I saw this tree trunk, probably brought by the snowmelt runoff. What a piece you are, I thought to myself, as I thanked it for finding me. I put everything aside and began to carve it to my liking. It went smoothly, until I came across a knot that ruined the whole look. I stuck the chisel in and it started to crack. The more I tried to shape it, the harder the splinters jumped. In the end it was just a pile of sawdust. Fuck you, Vasile, I said to it.
George-Cosmin Borș
I began to see the world through different eyes. Eyes full of fear and surprise. You clenched your fangs around my leg, not even having the courtesy to let your owner finish her speech. Don't worry, he's not biting, he's just playing. Come on, Costel, stop bothering the gentleman, she said, as she got up from the bench. You were growling thickly, I could feel your canines digging into the soft flesh of my calf, and I thought, if this is what play looks like, then I wouldn't want to start a serious relationship.
(Translated by Adela Neacșu / 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.