Shadows and Lights

Ana-Maria Butuza
Under the painter's watchful eye, the girl's pencil was gliding across the paper, learning the game of shading. He sat behind her, guiding her hand, erasing contours, deepening shadows. The line began to fade in subtle kisses, starting from the back of her hot neck and down towards the shoulders, collarbones and breasts. The shading turned into narrow lines, shimmering the light of the silent desires. The charcoal went lower, towards a dark place, a humid and mysterious interior, still untouched by the warm of the first love, but vibrating to the promise of a beginning.

Carmen-Ecaterina Ciobâcă
Water caught him in whirlpools, his arms went numb, the moon in the sky grinned mockingly. He knew he couldn't stop and continued swimming. Behind him, on the shore, shadows were swirling. Shadows of people and of dogs. Beams of light were moving across the shimmering water in some kind of strange dance, to and fro. When he heard the bullets, he began to cut through the water with an unknown speed. Once he reached the Serbian land, he kissed the earth and cried. A man of flesh remained in the country of shadows which he has left behind. His eight months pregnant wife.
 
 Gladiola Chete
Snow White was slowly getting up. She was alive, no doubts about that. She had passed the test of poisoning, but now she was wondering if it had been better not to have passed. Her eyes, famous for their brightness and joy, were dull, emptied of tears. Her cheeks bore the mark of misfortune as well, towards the jaw on the left and towards the eye on the right. Her foundation didn't seem to be linked neither to the snow in her name, nor to the tan from the ads. A little bit more and I'll wear a long dress with sleeves, so the bruises won't show. Today, my name is Snow Bruised White.

(Translated by Cristina-Andreea Dobre / University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year II / Corrected by Silvia Petrescu, coordinator of the translations)