Ionel the penguin had crazy success with women. He wasn't fighting for this; the conquests came to him on a silver plate. But it wasn't what he wanted. He imagined himself being only with his tribe in a quiet, bright house. Istrate the penguin was a family man. He had gotten married young and had many babies. He would have left on any new ice floe anywhere in the world. He was dreaming of a life full of never-ending parties and fleeting loves. When one of them was standing up decisively, the other was sitting down tiredly. And they were scowling at each other for as long as the bipolar day was lasting.
Ionuț Morariu
Do you care for a rectal prolapse? Go running to the dictionary. For in It is the salvation that does not lead to the hospital. And I also tell you, like a doctor Mirabilis, a mender of overpopular spells. Do not be afraid. It is only serious when the lapse and prolapse coincide. Do you think you understand? I mourn you. This is the torment and envy that consume me with a fire I cannot extinguish with all the waters of the sea.With the madman do not engage, for it is worse. Pater noster dixit[1]. And that from suprarenals to surrealism is only a double fetal leap. Which for you it is always fatal as well.
[1]This is a well-known Latinate expression, used in prayers or orations. In English, it would be translated into "Our Father said." I used the original form in the translation to better keep the register of the text.
Carmen Mihu
He collects. He can't stop anymore. But he doesn't even want to. He tried. At first for her; then for them. Now that they were gone, there was no point to it. He collects. Big objects in small rooms, small objects in rooms that were once big. In cupboards, on top of them. Near them. In the bedroom, in the kitchen. Everywhere. They take the place of a mother, father, wife and kids for him. He collects driven by a desire that overwhelms him. How can anyone understand that they are all parts of him now. That he is actually trying to get his act together. He is getting his act together.
(Translated by Ioana Bobeanu / University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year I / Corrected by Silvia Petrescu, coordinator of the translations)
Versiunea în română a acestui text se poate citi aici, în rubrica Ficțiuni Reale.