I missed the train. I sit on the bench and watch as another train that's not mine leaves. There goes the chance I've dreamt about my whole life. I did everything right, I left the house on time, I caught the 1PM bus, and then I saw a crying little girl on the sidewalk, she had lost her ball. I bought her another one, from a nearby shop. If only I hadn't stopped, if only I got on an earlier bus, if only, if only. The most beautiful man on this planet sat next to me on the bench. I missed the train, he told me I looked for a little girl's ball.
Tina Dublea
No way, bro. Did we set the coordinates wrong? Did anyone fuck with us? You don't think the HAARP caught up to us and messed with our telepathy, our race be damned. Maybe it's because of that Dacian wine from last time, there was some left on the bottom. My extra-terrestrial brother, how could we be so short-circuited that we ended up back here, didn't we say we're done here, these ones are retarded, we're leaving with our flying saucers and our galactic swarm, and surprise surprise, we are still in Bucegi. Bro, do you think it was the cabbage?
Dan Banu
I admit, we both made mistakes. However, you never do, but I don't want us to argue right now, it's not the time. I didn't choose the right way either, but you suffocated me with your clinginess. When I saw you had fallen on hard times I had given you a finger and you took my whole arm, without considering my feelings. That hurt. Even though I feel there could be something between us, it's out of the question as things stand. I don't know what the bear understood, but it lifted its paw off of my throat when I was done and went back into the forest.
(Translated by Adriana-Maria Botea / Univesity of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year II / Corrected by Silvia Petrescu, coordinator of the translations)
Versiunea în română a acestui text se poate citi aici, în rubrica Ficțiuni Reale.