Stanimir Petrovich woke up and set straight up in his bed. Awoken by the rooster, it was not even 6 in the morning. He got out of bed, put on his loafers and his dark green bathrobe. He opened the balcony doors and picked up the rakia glasses from the evening before. He emptied the ashtray onto the grass, the way he often did. The sticky glasses were put in the sink. The sun peeked into the room with a strange flowery wallpaper. Suddenly, the dog started barking outside. Stan

The ship was set to leave the port of Vidin at 8:45. On this misty day, it would take a lot longer to get to Silistra. They had to leave in a bit. Dimo lit a cigarette and looked at his shoes and jeans that were black from shovelling coal. He wasn’t a rich man and had no wish to be. Shovelling coal was all there was to do. Oddly satisfying. There was nothing much to life for Dimo. He was a quiet man and that’s what he enjoyed. “Quit standing there you useless whimp!” he heard

"Don't forget to take your lunch!" said Lauren as Roy was about to leave for school. His mother always reminded him as he tended to forget to pack either his books or his lunch. It was going to be another long day at school for Roy. A day which he hoped would turn out for the better. The last days had been especially hard. The other kids, the "bullies" as his mother would call them, had really put Roy on the edge. It wasn't easy for him. He'd felt like an outcast ever since h

Boyan slowly dozed off by the fireplace. As his head dropped, he continuously shook awake again. He had drunk too much and this would disrupt his sleep. Apart from that, his night was pleasant. He had reflected on his ended marriage with Sylvia, the woman who left him for a more independent life. She had felt trapped like stuck with glue and wanted more adventure. Boyan was left with his inner voice and had days to fill, reflecting on the best parts of his life. As a pensione

Marto passed the steering wheel through his thick sausage hands. His wedding ring suffocated his finger and seemed to symbolized his marriage that was figuratively gasping without air. He drove long shifts on the trolley bus and had little time to see his wife Irina. Marto was on his way to the trolley bus depot, it was his last ride after a long day. Now the trolley bus would derive from the original route, towards the depot, Marto opened the door of the driver cabin and scr

At the station of Gyushevo, Maria was starting her day with a strong black coffee. She had grown to like the bitter taste on her tongue and there was nobody to be bothered by the coffee breath anyway. It started with just one cup of sweetened coffee a day but now Maria was a full-on caffeine user. During the days monitoring the train schedule and collecting post, she would even pour some liquor into her coffee as well. This only happened on particularly dark afternoons where

Marko was just doing his final round through the madhouse. The night fell and the last sunbeams peeked through the barred windows. Bored to tears with his job and the dull rounds, Marko stroke his hand along the peeling paint on the concrete walls. He had wine and felt tipsy. He’d gotten used to the screams in the hallways, the mad would not just go to sleep. The job was far worse for the night shift workers. As the screams and cries continued, Marko felt like he was silently

The night set in when Ruslan rinsed the last glasses of the hotel bar. He had gotten used to the hot water burning on his skin. As he cleaned the coffee machine and hastily blew aside the grounds that had spilled out of the filter, he heard a loud thunder. The sky had broken open and it was raining by the buckets. Ruslan didn’t expect any more guests to visit the hotel bar so he planned to close up early. There were few guests in general, now that the weather had turned grim

It had been a harsh winter, during which Petar had cut out large chunks of ice to be able to fish. Now that it was finally summer, his days were much easier. No more kneeling down to saw through the thick layer of ice, inconveniently holding in his belly that had become far too large over the course of the season. Petar was surely enjoying his calm summer, fishing, doing renovations around the house and enjoying quiet reflection. He had foreseen he would come to resent Eli mu

After having ignored his alarm clock for over 5 minutes, it was time for Ivan to get up. No matter what a man did, each morning waking up takes something from him. Whether it’s waking up to make breakfast for the family and bring the kids to school, to report for work or to take care of animals.. To first hug your wife and say good morning and then leave the sheets. To each his own. Ivan had lived through many hard mornings, just like this Tuesday when he woke up to a day tha

Awoken by a thunderstorm, Darko sat himself against a pile of pillows and wept away his eye discharge. It had been quite a heavy night with the guys and as often, it ended with him getting too little sleep for his business the next day. He thought little of himself, like he constantly disrespected the day after by always getting so little shuteye. In just half an hour, he’d have to be all set for the big event of today. Opening the window blinds, the sun was still hidden some