I couldn't go but it would have been a shame to spoil their vacation too. So I saw off my children, husband and dog at the train station and, voice choked with emotion, I wished them a happy holiday. Tears filled my eyes on my way back to our empty house and they poured down my cheeks when I threw myself on the sofa. I started seriously crying when I poured myself a glass of red wine and when I felt the remote under a pillow. Sappy movies it is, I said to myself, a little ashamed by the comfort of this unexpected solitude.
David Brescan
After getting out of the tub of warm water and bath salts, it's time to apply cream to every perfectly shaved part of the body and oil to the hair. A quick glance in the mirror checks the eyebrows and teeth. A bit of make-up is applied - foundation and lipstick on lips puckered into a kiss. The toenails are painted blue, the fingernails red. A giggle floats into the air as a pair of tiny yellow lace panties is picked - after all, everyone's rooting for the national team these days. The pink ambient lights come on. Sit down in front of the laptop and turn on the camera. Solo-Man the Magnificent is live.
Gheorghiță Mircea
I'm alone at the table. I eat alone, I don't want anyone to see me. I eat in an unsightly way, it's the time of the day when I don't want to be seen. I'm not a glutton, it's a refuge, few know how long I've endured. I eat compulsively, obsessively, anxiously, I'm afraid of people finding out this is what I've become. I eat my past thoughts with the truffle soup, my lost principles and ideals with foie gras, the roast veal with the thought that I turned out to be scum, the dessert, an iceberg of ice cream, reminds me of a child looking out the window at a candy shop at the edge of the world.
(Translated by Bogdan Nicola / University 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.