Andra Toropoc
I looked like the guy from Atlantis, I was sure the instructor liked me. I went snorkeling to show off, but, in truth, I was terrified. Cautious, I clung to the woman's waist, trying not to think about sharks and other marine dinosaurs. All of a sudden, she pushed me towards a mound of sand and I almost swallowed the mouthpiece out of panic; I was out of air, and two black periscopes were rising, hypnotising me. I could feel my chest throbbing violently. My wife had dug her fingernails into me, wake up, you're snoring.
Caterina Tudorache
Get out of here. Beat it. I'm not in the mood. You've heard me, I don't want to. Darn you. Who do you think you are, loser? Still haven't learned your place? Hey, leave me alone. I said no. No. You, idiot. Hello, show some respect. As you see, I don't want to. Goddammit, let me sleep. Alright, sweetheart. You don't want to play. Come, mummy's got something tasty. Come get a kiss from mummy. You, bloody human, you could've just said that from the beginning. Fine, fine, I'll open my eyes if you insist. What? Kibble again? The low-calorie ones again? If you ever wake me up for crap like this, I'll scratch you.
Dan Banu
He had woken up, warmed a mug of milk, downed it in a few gulps, then curled up on the couch. He didn't know how to wash himself and didn't have whiskers, but otherwise, he could have made a fine cat, she thought to herself. That's why she wasn't even surprised when the man stood up, went out on the balcony, scrutinized the sky for something in particular, then climbed up on the railing. He went up in her esteem. When he disappeared from her view, Miți, too, climbed up on the railing, looked down, counted to one and darted to the door to wait for him.
(Translated by Mara Scoroșanu / 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.