The unexpected entered our lives along with her. Once he figured out how to get her started, Dad would take us on all sorts of adventures. She refused to listen to him, stumbling like a stubborn mule. Vroom-vroom went the tired engine, then it would give up the ghost. That day, we were driving down to our grandparents' house, playing around in the back, when the little sky-blue tin box suddenly surged forward, racing toward the abyss ahead. White as a sheet, Dad yanked the steering wheel, landing us in the ditch on the other side. The hood flew open abruptly, releasing a burst of sparkling stars into the sky.
Vlad Mușat
I protected him, telling him everything would be fine and that the enemy was running out of ammunition. He held a picture of his wife in his hand and prayed. Just ten more minutes, Grandpa. He looked at me with trust. We were hiding behind the armchairs, each holding a toy gun, waiting for the fireworks to pass so we could sit at the table. Grandpa had fought in Odessa, and every time he heard a loud noise, he went back to the front. In his moments of clarity, he would tell me about what he had been through. It's over now, Grandpa. It's our turn to attack.
Ana Ludușan
The whole family gathered around the New Year's Eve table. Impatient children, young people trembling with excitement, calm adults, elders with a faint smile at the corner of their lips. A Rembrandt painting. The noise grows - glasses clinking, the sound of cutlery, laughter, a carefully crafted carol, gently subdued by Dad's deep, warm voice. Tears well up in our eyes. Suddenly, firecrackers shatter our eardrums, the sky explodes into millions of colors, the blasts leave us dazed. A heartbreaking wolf's howl at the door. Our Labrador leaps into my husband's arms.
(Translated by Miruna-Camelia Baicu / 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.