Real Fiction / Ruxandra Comșa, translated by Beatrice Porumb: Til Geta Do Us Part

I lie in the tall grass and nibble on a sweet straw, sharp on the tongue. I’m 16 years old, it’s a hot summer and I can see him from here. He comes out of the barn and starts chopping wood. The ax becomes his arm, his arm turns to stone, his skin gets beads of sweat. She leaves the house with a steaming decanter. An insect tickles my nostril and makes me sneeze. He, with a smile in his voice: you …