He had survived two years in the extreme conditions of the Sahara desert, with scorching temperatures during the day and freezing at night. The risk of attacks or kidnappings was high in the desert at that time. I was terrified when he would tell me that he was calling me from 60 degrees and always had an armed soldier at his back for protection. And at night, if he stepped out of his hut to feel the desert chill, he would see the glassy eyes of armed gorillas. The joy of the reunion was great but short-lived. The heat of the desert had chilled his heart and led his mind astray.
Nicolae Popescu
Pric, look at those poor fellas on the sheets. I almost tripped over them when I went in the water. Vera lies back on her mat and adjusts the sound on her audiobook. Pricop keeps tossing and turning on the sunbed, unable to savor the breeze. A girl with long legs and a short apron appears with a tray with two glasses. I'll have what that girl brought those prudes, says Vera. Pricop sighs: I've taken out a loan for this sunbed you're sitting on, woman. I'm only allowed one loan a year, the bank said. Next year I'll get you a frappe macchiato.
Răzvan Dițescu
The blistering heat enveloped the landscape in a fiery embrace, casting a golden hue over the fractured earth. Waves of heat shimmered in the distance, distorting the horizon like a mirage. The air smelled of earth and vegetation freshly taken out of the oven. Cicadas stopped buzzing as if nature itself was holding its breath awaiting release. In this oppressive, stifling inferno, time seemed frozen, stretching on forever. He rose from the dust, dusted himself off, and went toward the well in the distance.
(Translated by Andreea Cristina Moise / 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.