I could tell we were getting closer, I was driving more and more relaxed, smiling all the time. We were passing cars familiar to me, cheers Sir Mayor, look, the pheasant's family, we stop and let them cross the road, first him, then her, then the three chicks, stomping. Look, here in this bend of the river I saw two deer meet and greet each other last year, there, in the middle of the water. Hello, I raise my hand, I don't know, this old bicyclist always greets me, smiling, I have no idea who he is. He could be God.
Elena Fermuș
The talk with the doctor took a while. Nothing surprised me. When I got out, my heart pumped me some signals that I'm having a girl. I forgot everything else. I ran to buy her a dress, like my mother, after she was also walking out of the doctor's office after being told to choose between her life and the life of the baby inside of her. She chose to buy me some silver earrings and an angel-like laced dress. It smelled like lavender, that's how grandma kept it. Until I got to wear it for the first time, at the Freshman's Prom, it was out of date, and I was not the prom's miss. I was an angel's miss.
Oana Brumă
12:30, traffic jam near the school. I have to be productive. The phone bill, paid. The textbooks order, checked. Sneakers 25, returned. Football fee, paid. Doctor's appointment, cancelled. This woman's trying to kill me giving me so many tasks. I also checked the theatre tickets. My foot is going numb on that pedal. My boss is calling me because I didn't enter the call. God damn it, where are the headphones. I am floating in a pink bottle with unicorns. Angrily, I hit the gas and I drive off. The whole drive home I can't escape the weird feeling that I have forgotten something. Oh God, the kids.
(Translated by Cristina-Paula Grosu / 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.