She thought she was having a panic attack, but she'd only had an orgasm in her dream. She She was with the other one. She woke up gasping for air when she remembered he had left yesterday. I'm going out into the world, are you coming? he had told her. For sure she would have gone. Close to his back, with the sun in her locks, with her summer dress high enough to sit astride the saddle, but carefully tucked under her thighs so the wind wouldn't blow her skirts. Or without the dress, if she had done what she had liked so much in her dream. Two happy anonymous persons on a scooter. How long does love last? In an year or two, they'd they'd kill each other.
Yuka Brevi
Scooter? No way in this lifetime. Once you've ridden the Viper V-10 of 500 HP, there's no way you'll ride a 4,4 Vespa, even in perfect running condition. How can you feel the same adrenaline rush when you see a specimen on a chopper, wearing a leather jacket, tight trousers as when you see one riding a Xiaomi 4 Ultra, casual and with a bike helmet? I'd rather be cramped in the Bombardier Movia 346 subway, clinging to the hand-strap or in a Bolt car, hosed down at 80-150 bar at self-service. La vita è bella.
Monica Aldea
He memorized the location of delivery like she did every day and she entered the busy traffic. The scooter sneaked through the column of cars which was crawling like a lazy dragon towards the boulevard. Estimated time of delivery, 30 minutes. Why do people rush through life? He caught the last stop light, stopped in front of the gate. He rang the bell and dropped off the package. He didn't set the next destination. It was useless. He set off determined, up the steep slope. He reached the bridge under construction. He overturned the FORBIDDEN sign at speed and left everything behind.
(Translated by Irina Vild / University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year II / Corrected by Silvia Petrescu, coordinator of the translations)
Versiunea în română a acestui text se poate citi aici, în rubrica Ficțiuni Reale.