Do you want to save me? Go back to when I was 12 years old and my dad sold me for a couple grams of heroin. Do you know what they do with new girls? They fuck 'em, so spare me the Japanese philosophy on rebirth. They would sedate me and put me to work. In vans, in cellars, on slimy beds, and the only way to go on was to get high. So you won't feel anything. Jail is the best thing that ever happened to me, so take this twig and shove it. You get me out of here and I'll go back in. You cannot save me.
Laura Stanciu
It's all cleaned up, ma'am. What was behind the refrigerator, only I know. But is it clean? It's all cleaned up, didn't I tell you? It's sparklingly clean. Anyone who comes in for an inspection can lick it. I even cleaned the pans, they were all black. Look how they shines. Polished to perfection. I didn't have TIX, you cannot get the good stuff like in the old days. It must be the oil that left them this way, like dry tar. Mrs. Roza, said her employee, leaning on the table, you took off the teflon completely. Is it clean, right?
Ina Moldoveanu
Are you coming, Joițica? We can go hanami. Bring the two years old plum brandy. Last year's batch was weak. Do you have Japanese cherry trees? No, but I have an amazing orchard of plum trees that are in blossom. Don't you know that hanami means to sit like a crazy man looking at the blossoms? I have a stupid, phytoplasmatic connection with the plum tree. It only gets to my thoughts when I think of the magic potion. We also have transcendental meditation. 500 euros for three days. Charity. Not like those little whores in Runcu, where a thousand feels like a hundred.
(Translated by Andreea Cuprian / 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.