She had no clue when she'd lost her soul, she woke up one morning with no more pain, nothing. It might as well have been the day her mother sold her like a basket of fish at the market. Or when she got a beating for biting her nails and a maiko who bites her nails will never become a geisha, she'll be polishing sandals forever. But one day, Aiko realized it's all for the better. She was like a cherry blossom shaken by the wind, floating on the stinking waters of the canal that split Kyoto in half.
Marius Stan
In 1912, Japan gave the United States three thousand Yoshino cherry trees as a symbol of friendship between the two countries. They were planted on the north bank of the Potomac River in Washington. The cherry blossoms bloom in April, and the blossoms shed within a week. The short life span of cherry blossoms brings immense joy but also great sadness. People gather on the grass and eat and drink and chase after children and hold hands and kiss and gaze at the sun through the branches of the trees.
Sonia Ungureanu
Momoko plucked some flowers from the clear glass jar with chopsticks, then dipped them into a bowl the size of half an orange. Jason watched fascinated as she sauntered across the room. The flowers revealed their pinkness in the cool water, petal by petal, then surrendered themselves to the hot water slowly poured from the teapot that had been previously brewed. Every movement seemed like a ritual. They waited. The delicate aroma pampered their nostrils. First magnolia blossom, now Sakura in plum vinegar. Momoko spoke with almond eyes.
(Translated by Andreea Georgiana Bogdan / 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.