Bogdan Mihai Bati
We had been standing in the rain for the past half an hour. The Weather has grown worse. The sky has turned dark. The soul has cried. Now we just sat and waited. For the past half an hour. At first we waited heartbroken and bereaved. Now we were waiting wearisomely. The grave had been dug. The burial workers were ready to lay down the coffin. For the past half an hour. The priest wished the service would be over with. We wished to be heartbroken and bereaved. The burial workers wished for the rain to stop. The clouds wanted to scatter. The sun wished to rise. For the past half hour we've been waiting for the deadman to come.
Sorin Rizeanu
My first man ever, how naive could I have been. The second one, James, the tough love, that's when I learned the way I wanted and needed to be loved. All was nothing but lies, heartbreak and manipulation. The third one, Dan, I chose him to stay. He was reliable, nice and always caring. But Eric took me completely by surprise. It was the summer air, the pool, the body of a Greek god, three Mojitos and me, a coward. It was also the nice sheets in the hotel, and him knocking discreetly on my door with a bottle of wine in hand. But I was too conscientious to cheat, so I didn't answer the door and I shakingly called Dan. I miss you, loser.
Alexandra Buhudini
His skin was as fair as the sand on Cala Mariolu beach and his eyes were green, like the wavy seaweed. The sun rose and set on my earthy skin, as I was picking tabacco and carrying water, a Malawi orphan, the lord of nothingness. He took me in his arms and made me promises higher than Nganda Hill. A few airports later, his gaze set upon my skin sizzled like a drop of rain on the dry skin of an elephant. You see that, heart? It was not the sunrise that I needed, it was the heat of his heart. My name is Abaan and I was 7 years old when I was born in Sardinia.
(Translated by Diana Gabriela Radu / 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.