Cats Come from Mars

Titela Durnea
? I don't know, sweetie. Mommy, if it came from Mars, would it teach me Martian? Maybe. Just be a little patient so I can finish here. The little girl fidgeted a bit, straightened her skirt, picked up Isa in her arms, and rocked her. But, Mommy, you promised it would be this year. Simina, I asked you to be patient and let me finish. But you never finish, Mommy. Daddy's the same. I just want to know when I'll get the cat you promised me. I understand it's coming from far away and it's taking a while. I just want someone to tell stories to. She placed the doll in the little bed. From the sky, a meow was heard.

Cecilia Fofiu
Exhausted, he sits down in the soft grass, grabs the whetstone, and begins to sharpen the scythe blade in a long, rhythmic motion. He's halfway through the hayfield, but he waits for Uța to come back and stretches out a bit, squinting his eyes into the distance. He sees her climbing up quickly, and his heart pounds with love for her. She's beautiful, his woman. She brings him food and water and gently sets them down on the cloth. Looking deep into her soul, he pulls her into a strong embrace. Bashfully, the sun hides behind a cloud, from which, on a crimson ray, thousands of golden kittens roll, spinning threads of feelings.

Arthur Ianoși
Two they are, strikingly beautiful. The little one, Ștefi, the house mouse, is a huge animal lover. She'd trade us without regret for a dog and a seal. She has this affectionate way about her. When she holds Ash, the family's British Shorthair, his eyes nearly pop out as if someone's forcing him to hold his breath. The older one, Catinca, would sell us at the first corner. For a motorcycle. Poor cat, when he sees them, he hides behind me, begging me to save him. I could swear I heard him talking yesterday. 'I want to go far away, I want to go to Mars.

(Translated by Cristina Ioana Bontea / University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year II / Corrected 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 October 2024, the group has 13,400 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.