Magdalena Daminescu
I've just opened my eyes and I'm hungry. I found the breast but I lost my grip; I cry and I get it back in an instant. She is a mommy, she is beautiful and she smells like warmth and love. But where is the daddy? asks a nurse. What follows is a questioning silence. I will figure it out soon; for now it's better to sleep so I can grow big. I'll search for him, maybe he's hiding somewhere. Someone should've lift me onto their shoulders, thrown the ball at me, taken me fishing, explained to me how to behave towards girls and how to make a mommy smile.
Cecilia Fofiu
I had just crossed the 45 year mark when, out of desperation, I accepted Gelu's invitation, an old colleague, to the restaurant. Given the fact that I am not the fairy of dawn anymore, I overlooked the fact that he is one palm shorter than me or that he looks like the character Trickster. I repeat to myself that the soul is what matters the most. Elegantly, he brought a carnation and then we asked for the menu. The conversation is nice, but from time to time he galnces at a strange couple seated nearby. At the end he tells me: We won't meet again. Mummy and papa don't like you, as he points towards the two decrepit, sour-faced individuals.
Cristian Nedelcu
I enjoy it most being at my father's place. He is always too busy to nag me, so I do whatever I want. That is when he doesn't go and leave me with old hag Ioana, a deaf neighbor, who falls asleep as soon as she plops down in the armchair. And then I do whatever I want. After that, the fun is over, and I go to my mom's. I enjoy it when it's just the two of us, but usually a fat guy comes, gives me a weird look and goes into the bedroom with her: Come on, get to it, I'm not paying you for nothing!
(Translated by Laura-Monica Doroiman / 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.