Fireworks, Firecrackers, Poppers

Daniela G. Pătrașcu
When we were demolished from Tei neighborhood, we were assigned an apartment in a four-story building, while my godparents, who lived right next to us, were given an apartment across from the 23 August hospital in Pantelimon neighborhood, on the 8th floor. In the summer, my godfather would buy balloons, and I, being a naughty child, would let them go to fly away. My godfather would buy me another one. On New Year's Eve, we would go out on the balcony and wait until the fireworks had burned halfway, then we would throw them as far as we could. A river of fireworks flowed from each balcony. We would hug each other, I would sing them the Sorcova carol and we would exchange blessings without any firecrackers or bang snaps.

Toni Mirică
I believe fireworks are like people. Beautiful, yet unpredictable. If you don't give them space, they can become dangerous. When you control someone too much or try to be too close without giving them room to breathe, they become like a firecracker lit too close. They explode and hurt everything around them. Balance is necessary. Darkness for contrast, fire to awaken their brilliance. Choose carefully what you awaken. Sometimes, fire brings shadows you don't want nearby. You never know what lies beyond the silence.

Dorin Vasile
After an extended orbital mission due to technical failures, two cosmonauts from a neighboring and friendly country make an emergency landing in a mountainous area. They lost radio contact long ago - perhaps the air force has begun the search. Darkness falls, and the temperature drops far below freezing. A faint engine noise seems to echo in the distance. Clinging to hope, one of them fires their only signal flare. Dozens of multicolored lights respond, painting a beautiful message in the sky - a farewell to the old year. In the distance, the world celebrates.


(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)


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 February 2025, the group has 13,650 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.