Katarzyna Popiel
Bio
A translator, a writer. Two languages to reconcile, two countries called home.
Stories (15/0)
Weep Ye Not
‘I need to tell you something, sweetie.’ Granny’s voice sounds unusually serious. I look up from where I’m sitting on the floor surrounded by my favourite dolls. She remains settled in her chair, hands folded on her lap, the motionless bulk of her body like a statue against the light coming through the window behind her. What is it that she wants to tell me?
By Katarzyna Popielabout 4 hours ago in Fiction
Hic Sunt Dracones
I've been dreaming of dragons for as long as I can remember. It’s difficult to say when and how it started. My mother used to say that my legs tended to jerk rapidly in my sleep when I was a baby. So maybe the beasts chased me even before I could walk? My own memories don’t explain anything either. All dreams merge into a long string of chases, desperate searches for cover, running, hot breaths almost searing my back, and then waking up screaming, covered in sweat, entangled in blankets. Sometimes on the floor next to my bed.
By Katarzyna Popielabout 13 hours ago in Fiction
The Right Thing
I only noticed that new girl in class because of the name: Melanie. Never heard it before. But I had no time for her. I have friends already. Like Eve and Sylvie. Especially Eve, she’s always up to something. Last week she invited us to the military base where her dad works. Well, not exactly to the base, more like the training grounds in the woods. We went there Sunday, when soldiers had a day off. There were ropes to swing on, narrow planks to test your balance, wells with ladders so you can go down, tunnels… Eve and Sylvie are my besties.
By Katarzyna Popiel7 days ago in Fiction
She loves you in her own way is what they like to say
Uncle Adam dropped us off in the city centre on his way to work. We emerged near the Wawel Hill, ready to climb the steep path to the castle. It was hot already despite the early hour, even in the shaded parts close to the stone walls towering over the path. Mother was keen on seeing as much as possible: the State Rooms, the Crown Treasury, the Cathedral. I thought that the crown jewels looked surprisingly garish and felt out of breath in narrow and gloomy royal crypts beneath the floor of the Cathedral. Their cold was a welcome respite from the heat though.
By Katarzyna Popiel9 months ago in Chapters