Stories to Be Read at the Train Station

Paul Dârvariu
I like the stories I can read on people's faces. My train is delayed. I have plenty of time for some stories. Should I begin with the old man in a wheelchair? No, not today, I'm not in the mood for sad stuff. I want something romantic. The young blond man is just perfect for that. His train has been at the station for minutes and he is scanning the empty platform, increasingly concerned. He pulls up the hood of his sweatshirt and throws the rose in the bin. Just a few steps away, a slender brunette wipes away her tears. They would look so good together. Oh, God, by a miracle, make their sorrows meet and bind their fates together.

Camil Popescu
I will never forget him. He was drunk as a lord, shirt out of pants, railway man's cap askew, and bottle of Tanita[1] sticking out of his pocket: Your tickets, please. We had all chipped in with five lei, and, when we handed him the money, he threw it at our feet, saying: What am I gonna do with it, fellas? He noticed we got scared and burst into laughter: You see, fellas, two weeks ago I won the lottery, I deposited the money in the NIF[2] and quit my job. Today is my last day. Keep your money. A few days later, the NIF crashed.
Marian Bircea
Expired biscuits as hard as a rock, the last packet on the shelf. Ice-cold water from the frozen drinking fountain. My teeth are sore, but at least I'm full. The train has a one-hour delay, it is cold outside, and there is a terrible smell at the station. I pass by a closed newsstand. I start to read. The speech. The exhortation addressed to the working people. New valuable guidelines from the most beloved son. Here comes the train. People start to get off, terrified. A bald man rushes towards the newsstand and kisses the Comrade's picture. He has granted them amnesty. The compartment is full of convicts chanting Ceaușescu and the people.

(Translated by Mara Scoroșanu / University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year I / 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 November 2024, the group has 13,480 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.