On the Stadium

Florentina Enache
The lawn on the left was hers, the one on the right was his. The common obligations, the elite, and the high-ranking officials occupied the boxes, while the aspirants stayed in everyone's shadow. The turf was impeccable, the lights and sound system worked perfectly. When the newlyweds stepped into the square, the crowd of wedding guests cheered as one. When they started chasing that oversized ball, everyone breathed in unison. Few knew that inside was the joint gift from the owners of the two teams. There were feints, fouls, handballs, and many dodges. The referees are still analyzing whether the match was better than the party afterward.

Gabriel Rusu
I learned the most beautiful poem when i was around six years old. In a Jiul[1] against Sportul Studențesc[2] game. Our team won 4-1, and the people in the stands sang frenetically. God, please don't let anyone's life be like the one of a Jiul supporter. The miners contributed to the local team, a kind of socios, all under the leadership of Miron Cozma[3]. The last great victory was a 5-1 against CFR Cluj[4]. I was a teenager. I don't remember the exact match, but I vividly recall a wish made by a supporter to the referee. May God give you a brother who calls you father. A deep metaphor, like the Petrila coal mine.
Cristian Nedelcu
He had a bit of fun in the middle of the field, dribbling past player after player, but the play didn't seem dangerous for the rival team, which was quickly heading towards winning the championship. He passed the ball back, then sprinted towards the opponent's penalty area. The cross followed. For a few seconds, the ball seemed to hang motionless in the air. The stands fell silent; everyone watched breathlessly. He did nothing but jump, and God lightly touched the ball with His hand, sending it into the goal.

(Translated by Maria-Ilinca Darie / University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year II / 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 June 2024, the group has 13,100 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.