Cristina Daniela Dumitru-Pascal
You sent him to me out of the blue. It was raining. And he took me under his umbrella. You made him kiss me when it was starting to snow. He was cleaning the snowflake from my face with his lips. Inevitably, our steps led us to the church doors. When we loved each other, you would fill our home with apples and sleepless mornings. When we fought, you would nudge us so hard that we would grab on to each other's souls to not fall. You illuminated everything about us. Please, let me stay here for a little longer. Because if you place me next to him, no one else will light a candle. And, Lord, you take pleasure in the light.
Roxana Catana Tarhon
For five years, I have stayed in the Bucegi Mountains, looking for the tunnels of our ancestors, the ancient Dacian people. I have searched everywhere; I have left no rock unturned; I have scaled the Sphinx; I have looked under the Babele - nothing. Now, I came home to my wife. And she got on my case, saying she saw some guy on TV who wanted to become president and who said those tunnels were real and filled with riches. More so, she accused me of not looking for them at all, and just running away from home instead. So, now I'm asking you, Mitică: Don't you happen to know the whereabouts of this candidate? I want to ask for details.
Dana Popescu
I grew up knowing she was behind me, ready to catch me if I fell. A stubborn teacher, the stubborn school principal who saw me with the years of reign written on the back of my hand, and sent me to wash myself, denouncing me to the History teacher. She raised four children; she cooked for the army of grandchildren who filled her yard in the summers, while working both as secretary and accountant of the small school she ran. I'm taking her to the doctor now, when her body had betrayed her, and she is hiding behind me like a scared child. I want my mother back.
(Translated by Francisc Csiki / 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.