Ruined

Vero Anttheia Teodoru
In Pripyat, the unfinished amusement park has been frozen for thirty-eight years. Without the voices of children, it's terrifying. Here and there, a doll dropped from frail arms smiles, looking toward the sky. Now, it's clear. A deep howl shatters the silence. The crippled dog sniffs the red leaves. Not a hand from a human to offer him a crumb of bread. In the ghost town, time has hidden beneath reactor 4. Near the sarcophagus, bitter grass grows. In other corners of the world, this isn't seen, but it's felt and it hurts.
 
 Cecilia Fofiu
The planet Mirsa from the Qna galaxy is depleted of resources that Earth has in abundance. Great-Mir summons telepathically the operatives currently on espionage missions on Terra. Dear ones, we will teleport, but I wish to understand the reason for the enormous costs you estimate at 45° longitude and 25° latitude. Great one, reports the regional commander, to faithfully imitate the conduct of the natives, massive funds are required. Thus, we will invade even the multitude of enclosures dedicated to a detrimental routine, the slot machines.
 
 Florentina Ghițescu
Once there was a remarkable tree. It had the most beautiful flowers. It boasted about them. It had worked on them all winter No other tree on the street could compete with it. Then the wind came, and some of the flowers fell. It still had enough to show off. One night, the frost arrived, and all that remained froze. The tree became so sad that it withered. It didn't know that the following year, another spring would come. The other trees bloomed after a year. The place of the boastful tree was taken by a sapling too young to bloom.

 
(Translated by Teodora Anghelachi / University of Bucharest, Faculty of Foreign Languages and Literatures, MTTLC, year I / Corrected by Silvia Petrescu, coordinator of the translations)