Gheorghiță Mircea
They all knew it as the place no brave man ever returned from. At its edge, built on some pillars, there was Marița's rusty old place By the Ogre, where, lost and worn out, I stopped for the night, I was a foreigner on the run after all. What do you want? asked the woman with a rough but pleasant face. To drink. She stared at me in a peculiar way. She filled my glass. It was my last. I woke up tied to the bottom of a rowboat. Marița let the paddles down in the water. Her name is Ileana and you'll have to do all she says. Do exactly as she says and never take her mask off. Do you understand? Never.
Magdalena Daminescu
The trip was long and difficult. It was around evening when, upon reaching an open place, she sat down to catch her breath and enjoy the sunset. She was certain she was headed the right way so she stepped confidently forward, but her foot sank into the sinking sand and muddy foul-smelling water came to the surface. An ogre showed up from the depths and encouraged her to follow him. Faces contorted by hatred and lack of trust were grappling with each other. The swamp won't swallow her, her children and grandchildren won't go through what she went through.
Anca Postescu Stancov
Red skirt, butterfly print tights, five years of age, curls and a white collar. Grandpa, I'm sca-ed of the peea-pea-cooock, she declares dragging out the vowels. Grandpa counted the bus stations, the old lady on the neighbouring seat puffs to herself, she has both a lisp and a stutter. She fidgets, she turns the page of the book with images. Grandpa, after having his sleeve pulled, fights the fear. Noo, it is beautiful, it won't do you any harm, it has got a colourful tail, I'll show you one. In the girl's eyes, there's a glimmer of fear and of an error 404 page not found. Grandpa and the old lady stare at the page, on which there was a hairy ogre, missing a few teeth, drenched in mud, tearing a sheep to shreds.
(Translated by Diana Gabriela Radu / 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.