Candles, Stories, and Friendship: Ivana’s New Beginning

Fluent Fiction - Croatian: Candles, Stories, and Friendship: Ivana’s New Beginning
Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:
fluentfiction.com/hr/episode/2026-07-06-22-34-01-hr

Story Transcript:

Hr: Ivana je stajala ispred svoje nove studentske sobe.
En: Ivana stood in front of her new student room.

Hr: Srce joj je kucalo ubrzano dok je gledala unutra.
En: Her heart was beating rapidly as she looked inside.

Hr: Prostrana soba još je bila puna kutija.
En: The spacious room was still full of boxes.

Hr: Bilo je ljeto, sunce je jako sijalo kroz velika prozorska okna.
En: It was summer, the sun was shining brightly through the large window panes.

Hr: Sve je mirisalo na svježe pokošenu travu.
En: Everything smelled of freshly cut grass.

Hr: Brujio je umoreni bum generacije mladih ljudi koji su u žurbi aranžirali svoje nove domove daleko od kuće.
En: The tired hum of a generation of young people hurriedly arranging their new homes far from home was buzzing.

Hr: Ivana je bila iz malenog grada u Hrvatskoj.
En: Ivana was from a small town in Croatia.

Hr: Sada, ispred nje, nalazilo se sve što je trebalo da učini – upoznati Marka i Anu, nove cimerice.
En: Now, in front of her, lay everything she needed to do – meet Marko and Ana, her new roommates.

Hr: Uvijek je bila ambiciozna.
En: She had always been ambitious.

Hr: Željela je studirati arhitekturu i ostvariti snove.
En: She wanted to study architecture and achieve her dreams.

Hr: Dok je unosila kutije, osjećala je nervozu.
En: As she carried in the boxes, she felt nervous.

Hr: Hoće li se uklopiti?
En: Would she fit in?

Hr: Hoće li ju prihvatiti?
En: Would they accept her?

Hr: Marko i Ana su već bili unutra.
En: Marko and Ana were already inside.

Hr: Marko, visok dečko s osmijehom koji bi mogao otopiti led, raspakiravao je svoje knjige.
En: Marko, a tall guy with a smile that could melt ice, was unpacking his books.

Hr: Ana, sitna djevojka s dugom, smeđom kosom, uređivala je police.
En: Ana, a petite girl with long brown hair, was arranging the shelves.

Hr: Zvuk glazbe dolazio je iz nekog od sobnih kutova.
En: The sound of music was coming from one of the room's corners.

Hr: "Zdravo, ja sam Ivana," rekla je veselo, iako je glas malo zadrhtao.
En: "Hello, I'm Ivana," she said cheerfully, though her voice trembled a little.

Hr: "Mislila sam da bismo mogli večeras organizirati neko malo druženje, da se bolje upoznamo?
En: "I thought we could organize a small get-together tonight to get to know each other better?"

Hr: "Marko je podigao pogled s knjiga i nasmiješio se: "Odlično!
En: Marko looked up from the books and smiled: "Great!

Hr: Možda možemo zajedno pripremiti večeru?
En: Maybe we can prepare dinner together?"

Hr: "Ana je također izgledala oduševljeno idejom.
En: Ana also seemed excited about the idea.

Hr: "Slažem se!
En: "I agree!

Hr: Možemo napraviti salatu i naručiti pizzu.
En: We can make a salad and order pizza."

Hr: "Večer je stigla brzo, i njih troje su se okupili.
En: Evening came quickly, and the three gathered together.

Hr: Razgovarali su o svemu, od studija do omiljenih filmova.
En: They talked about everything, from studies to favorite movies.

Hr: Ivana se polako počela osjećati ugodno.
En: Ivana slowly began to feel comfortable.

Hr: Iznenada, svjetla su treperila i ugasila se.
En: Suddenly, the lights flickered and went out.

Hr: Struja je nestala.
En: The power went out.

Hr: "Što ćemo sada?
En: "What do we do now?"

Hr: " upitala je Ivana u polumraku.
En: Ivana asked in the semi-darkness.

Hr: "Sve je u redu," rekao je Marko, već je pronašao svijeće.
En: "Everything's fine," said Marko, who had already found candles.

Hr: "Mi smo čitali strašne priče kad smo bili djeca svjetlosti ovako.
En: "We used to read scary stories when we were kids in this light.

Hr: Možda je vrijeme za par njih?
En: Maybe it's time for a few of those?"

Hr: "Ana se nasmijala: "Zvukovi kao plan!
En: Ana laughed: "Sounds like a plan!

Hr: Možemo smisliti svoje priče.
En: We can make up our own stories."

Hr: "I tako su, dok vani cvrčci pjevali a mrak prigrlio, troje cimera sjedili u krugu svijeća i pripovijedali jedni drugima izmišljene priče.
En: And so, while crickets sang outside and darkness embraced them, the three roommates sat in a circle of candles and told each other imaginary stories.

Hr: Smijeh se širio odjem od zidova.
En: Laughter echoed off the walls.

Hr: Činilo se kao da je vrijeme stalo.
En: It seemed as if time had stopped.

Hr: Nakon nekog vremena, svjetla su se vratila, ali njihove priče nisu prestajale.
En: After a while, the lights came back on, but their stories didn't stop.

Hr: Ivana je shvatila da su ona i njezini novi prijatelji stvorili nešto posebno.
En: Ivana realized that she and her new friends had created something special.

Hr: Osjetila je kako su nestala njena stara strahovanja.
En: She felt her old fears melt away.

Hr: Nasmijala se, iskreno i sretno.
En: She laughed, genuinely and happily.

Hr: Te noći, Ivana je krenula spavati s osmijehom na licu i toplinom u srcu.
En: That night, Ivana went to sleep with a smile on her face and warmth in her heart.

Hr: Shvatila je da joj pripadnost dolazi prirodno kada je otvorena i iskrena.
En: She realized that belonging comes naturally when one is open and honest.

Hr: Ovdje, u studentskom domu, napokon je doživjela početak novog poglavlja u životu s pravim prijateljima.
En: Here, in the student dorm, she finally experienced the beginning of a new chapter in life with true friends.

Hr: Više nije trebala skrivati tko je bila.
En: She no longer needed to hide who she was.

Hr: Značila je da je tu, prisutna i spremna za sve što dolazi.
En: It meant being there, present, and ready for whatever comes.


Vocabulary Words:

• spacious: prostrana
• panes: okna
• freshly: svježe
• grass: travu
• humming: brujio
• generation: generacije
• ambitious: ambiciozna
• achieve: ostvariti
• nervous: nervozu
• fit in: uklopiti
• unpack: raspakiravao
• arranging: uređivala
• cheerfully: veselo
• trembled: zadrhtao
• get-together: druženje
• excited: oduševljeno
• salad: salatu
• pizza: pizzu
• comfortable: ugodno
• flickered: treperila
• semi-darkness: polumraku
• candles: svijeće
• scary: strašne
• circle: krug
• imaginary: izmišljene
• echoed: širio
• genuinely: iskreno
• belonging: pripadnost
• chapter: poglavlja
• present: prisutna