Dan Banu
as never before, the central square was packed. No one had summoned them; they came on their own. The first ones took their places along the edges, backs against the wall. Then came the others, settling side by side like a bundle of balloons drifting just above the ground. Drifting, because they were the ones with two hearts. Then through the city gates crept the cloaked, the greedy, the snarling, the treacherous, the cruel, the merciless - the heartless. The healers toiled until morning to perform the exchange. By dawn, the square was empty.
Nicolae Popescu
Dopey advises the six boys: Study hard, boys, that's what I did and look how far I've come. Little Dopey, the youngest, snorts: Yeah, right. You swung a pickaxe your whole life and now you can only afford to get us pizza once a month. Dopey continues, unfazed: If you read, you'll be sharp, and women will swarm around you. Yeah, sure, reading's not how you won Mom over. Dopey shouts: Wife, come here! A pregnant woman with a tiara walks in from the kitchen. Snow, are you sure Little Dopey isn't Grumpy's kid?
Monica Aldea
At the Yesterday's Memories Shop, the shopkeeper had lost her touch. On the shelves, Hope, Love, and Dignity were out of style, selling for far too little. Even Kindness had sold out. Meanwhile, Honesty was overpriced, and Faith was the most overpriced. Completely out of reach. Across the street, at the Shop of Illusions, Quarrel, Hatred, and Lies were bestsellers. A Big Dream barely cost a thing these days. She carefully packed up her wares, pulled down the shutter, and scrawled across the heavy wooden door: Out of stock. Then she left for the City of Late Hopes.
(Translated by Adela Neacșu / University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year II / Corrected by Silvia Petrescu, coordinator of the translations)
Versiunea în română a acestui text se poate citi aici, în rubrica Ficțiuni Reale.