I Live on the Moon

Ana Maria Dobre-Nir
Since she had been a child, Luna had believed she was the Moon. Every night, when the sky turned dark, her skin glowed with a silvery light, as if reflecting the rays of a celestial body. The people in the village looked at her with fear, but for her, it was a revelation. She felt drawn to the sky, and her dreams carried her among the stars. In the heart of the night, the wind would whisper the secrets of the Universe, and convinced that she was the Moon incarnate, she would secretly watch over the world, trying to guide those lost in the darkness. That's how she ended up in the asylum.

Răzvan Dițescu
When she left me, the Earth became too small of a place for both of us. I emigrated to the Moon, got a job, and now I have my own space. The Sea of Serenity is my new home. Paycheck isn't great, but I manage. People are more laid-back here. The burdens are six times lighter, I have time for myself, and the Sea of Tranquility is just two stops away. I'm good, I hope you are too. You should know I've made a habit. Every now and then, I go out on the front porch in the evening, and I admire the Earthrise. I miss you six times less.

Paul Dârvariu
That's what the old lady with glasses decided: one Month with Dad and another with Mom. I like that Daddy takes me to soccer games and fishing, but I don't like that Aunt Laura scolds me when I walk into the living room with my shoes on. I also don't like when she secretly gives chocolate to her son. Luckily, Sorinel is a good kid and shares it with me. I like that Mommy takes me to the mall and buys me whatever I want, but I don't like it when Uncle Răzvan comes over and they lock themselves in the bedroom. I think he's really hurting my mom, because I hear her moaning and saying, Oh, God.

(Translated by Constantin Grigorescu / University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year II / Corrected by prof. dr. Nadina Vișan / Edited by Silvia Petrescu, coordinator of the translations)


Real Fiction is a collective project started in 2013 by Florin Piersic Jr. The concept of Real Fiction continued to exist as a Facebook group, after a volume of stories was published at Humanitas Publishing House. (In September 2024, the group has 13,320 members.) The authors write ultra-short stories, with the texts limited to 500 characters (in Romanian, so the length of the English translation might be a little different) - a flash-fiction exercise on a topic that changes every few days. The group's coordinators are Florin Piersic Jr., Gabriel Molnar, Răzvan Penescu, Luchian Abel, Monica Aldea, and Vlad Mușat. (Drawing by Adrian T. Roman)

Versiunea în română a acestui text se poate citi aici, în rubrica Ficțiuni Reale.