Agnosia

George Dometi
Two good friends sat watching their children play in the park. One asked: If a guy came up to you and said he wanted to sleep with you, what would you say? Well, no, the other replied, slightly bewildered. Good, then I won't ask. Pause. Uh-huh. Who's the guy who asked you that?Another pause, an emotional recalibration triggered by the realization that his friend was maybe a little... off. Uh, no, I actually wanted to ask someone, but the thought kind of melted away."Why? Is he blonde? No, he looks exactly like you.
 
 Ligia Dumitrescu
I stood before them. Blind, mute, and naked. Only voices reached me. Strange. Devoid of meaning. I understood that the world I had woken up in was a new one. One I did not want to be in. I defended myself by taking away my sight. I killed words. I exposed my nakedness as a reflection of the emptiness inside me. He's sick, some said. He's insane, others were convinced. They drove away my hearing with stones. Sometimes, memories appear-images I try to recognize. Sometimes, fragments of melodies take shape in my mind. Sometimes.
 
 Florina Hegedüs
I take out his favorite dessert and slam the oven door shut in anger. My hands tremble, my head feels heavy. I try to dissolve into ritual and routine. I walk into the living room, smiling, carrying a tray of tempting treats. He looks through me. Sees me, but doesn't see me. And once again, I wrestle with the void. There is plenty of space in the emptiness where he has placed me. I won't give up. I twirl, my dress swirling, revealing my thighs, and I sing. When he stands up, I see a dog-or maybe a monkey-walking out the door on two legs. I tried, even though I've known for a long time: we have been the living dead for ages.

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