To the leeeft. He woke up sweating. The same nightmare for a whole month. Night after night, he dreams that he is crushed by a slot machine. The therapist told him that death in a dream signifies transformation and change; the fear of losing something or simply being dominated by feelings of powerlessness. But look, if you don't believe me, consider it a premonitory dream. Simply, when you hear this voice step left. Back on the street, he suddenly hears :To the left. He immediately stepped left. The other left. Too late.
Sanda Vaideș
The souls queue seemed endless. There was only one machine; you could pull the lever just once. It moved quickly, but the bodies in hospitals hurried toward the morgues, and the long line of spirits trembled with impatience. The machine had three images: Life, Death, Purgatory. If one of the two appeared three times, a funeral would follow, or a return from a coma. The most merciless was the third: the coma without end. Then you still had the right to pull the lever once more. Hoping for Death, Death, Death.
Florin Lesan
I can't find her. I try at the brothel. Nothing. I try a Chinese woman, a black woman, a German woman. At the pub. Nothing. I drink Finlandia, Alexandrion, and many others. At the restaurant. Nothing. I don't even remember what I've ordered or how much. At the market. Nothing. I buy onions, tomatoes, dill, horseradish, celery. Celery is good for carrots. I don't know where else to look. At the hair salon.Nothing. I get a little trim. At the gaming hall. Yes. I see her clinking a machine. I sneak up behind her. Are you waiting for three sevens or three scythes? She trembles when she sees me. PAȘOL NA TURBINCA, VIDMA[1].
[1] The phrase "PAȘOL NA TURBINCA, VIDMA" translates as "Get inside the turbinca, vidma". This comes from a short story by the famous Romanian writer Ion Creangă, in which the main character summons Death to get inside his sack, called a "turbinca". The term "turbinca" is derived from Russian and refers to a small sack or bag. In the context of the story, "vidma" means "death," "spirit," or "ghost". The character calls upon Death (personified as a spirit or ghost) to enter the sack, thus attempting to trap it.
Versiunea în română a acestui text se poate citi aici, în rubrica Ficțiuni Reale.