Posts

Showing posts with the label fiction

Humari Adhuri Kahani

Image
As she clicked one selfie after another, to get the right picture, Sudha realized that the smile that she had bravely plastered in front of the camera was not reaching her eyes. Her eyes still looked sad and forlorn. The lipstick and the jewelry added a bit of color, but her eyes betrayed her sadness. Last week, she had stood stoically in the courtroom, with her soon to be ex- husband standing next her. As the clerk shuffled the divorce papers, there was a pit in her stomach and her heart was beating erratically. Sudha's hands were numb and the conversation between them was stilted.  Sudha's gaze moved to the bindi on her forehead as she looked in the cellphone and it took her back to her wedding day. Arun and Sudha had met in Bangalore through common friends. Though they did not know each other earlier, the chance introduction turned into friendship and both were drawn to each other. Their friendship turned to attraction and both soon realized that they were in love. 

The Split 3

Image
Check out  Part 1 and Part 2  before you read this: Shruti walks briskly avoiding the traffic in the bustling market place. She is out to buy Lotus flowers, Tulsi leaves and Coconuts for the Ganesh Pooja next day. The Ganesh Mandal in the market is practicing their Dhol and Tasha routine with full fervor and Shruti can feel the vibrations of the pounding Dhol. She quickly finishes her shopping and hails an autorickshaw to take her home. At the traffic light the autorickshaw comes to a halt. As the driver waits for the light to turn Green, Shruti spots a familiar figure in the adjacent car. She does not recognize the car or the woman sitting next to Vikas. Shruti watches the woman talk animatedly and the way Vikas smiles at her as he replies. They are both engrossed in their conversation and don't see her.  Shruti leans back in her seat quickly so that Vikas does not spot her. Her heart is pounding and her mind is in a whirl. "Who is that woman?" and "Why is Vika

The Split 2

Image
Shruti's reverie was broken as Vikas walked in the kitchen and picked up his cup of tea and sat in front of the television, to watch a Cricket match. She sat at the dining table with her tea wondering when things had changed so much. She had started noticing his long absences just a month back. He was in the shower every morning or getting dressed by the time she got up. Most days he rushed out of the house without eating any breakfast and came late at night, after she was already in bed. On the face of it everything appeared normal and anyone who knew them would not find anything different about them either.  Shruti knew that something had changed imperceptibly between her and Vikas after the miscarriage. It was as if an invisible barrier had grown between them. Their conversations had become cursory and whenever they did talk, it was about mundane everyday things. Many times the  silence between them was so thick that she felt she could cut it with a knife.  Every

The Split

Image
Part 1 I am making the filling for Ukdiche Modak, a sweet made as an offering to Lord Ganesha on Ganesh Chaturthi, a festival celebrated by Maharashtrians all over the world. One needs to use deft fingers to mold the hot rice paste into domes, filling it with the sugar and coconut mixture. My hands are moving with practiced dexterity as my mind moves unfettered to places in the dark recesses of my mind, when my thoughts are broken by the door bell.  Radha bai opens the door and says 'Tai, saheb aale' (madam, your husband is home). Vikas walks in with his laptop bag and picks up the mail lying on the coffee table. He looks tired and had hardly been home these days. His excuse is "there is too much work at the office". Without giving a glance in my direction, he drops his bag on the sofa and goes to the bathroom to wash his face. Radha bai puts a vessel on the gas stove to make tea for us.  I had hired Radha bai to work with us full time, six months back, i

Avenged

I looked across the sea of heads as the priest performed the last rites. The scene was sombre,  It seemed to me that the entire town was at the graveyard to pay their last respects. I saw my parents dressed in black and looking sad as the rain poured down in sheets. I had come to find out if he was really dead, to see his body and to make sure that he was buried. I prayed that the nightmares would go away. I had wrestled with them for many months and I wanted them to end. I wanted to feel whole again. I wanted to be my old self, a carefree school student who was worried about just the grades and dating.  I remember the day it all started. My family was devout C atholic and the church was an important part of out daily life. Father Gregory, the priest of our parish church was a guest at our house many times. He was almost like a part of our family. I had been baptised by him and was also a choir boy at the church. He had been the priest for many years and many families in our neig

Killer Instinct

Image
Jake saw Helen walking in front of him. The crunch of leaves under their feet resounded in the lonely woods. She was excited about their weekend away from the city. Jake remembered the first day he had met Helen. They had met during group grief counselling. Helen had found her fiance David murdered in their Apartment. She was trying to deal with his death and her own feelings. She had spoken about her nightmares and dreams during grief counseling. They all had to talk about the loss and how they were dealing with it. Jake had been attracted towards Helen, her green eyes had a pain which made him want to protect her. After many counseling sessions they had become friends. Slowly, she started telling him about her story. David had been a doctor at the city hospital. They had met when both were still in Pre-Med and totally hit it off. He was sweet and kind, they were to be married in six weeks when Helen had come home to find the apartment ransacked and the love of her life dead

Silent Tears

Hamid tossed in bed just like every night and tried to fall sleep. He could clearly hear the ticking of the bedside clock as the minutes dragged on. He turned over to see his wife Mahtab sleeping next to him and his one year old son Mohsin in the crib by her side. Mahtab had come to UK just over two years back from Pakistan and Mohsin came in the world 10 months later. He was the apple of their eyes, a sweet and bubbly child, full of laughter. Mahtab stirred and in a sleepy voice said " Not able to sleep? Should we go to the doctor? Are the dreams still haunting you?" He said " There is nothing a Doctor can do, you go back to sleep, It is nearly time for Namaz." Mahtab's brows creased with worry, she checked on Mohsin and slipped back under the covers.  Hamid got up from the bed silently and started to prepare for the morning prayers. After his prayers he sat near the window with a cup of tea and waited for the sun to rise.  The sun rose behind the tree

Survival - 3

Tracy opened her window and she heard the woman screaming ‘Please save me, I don’t want to die’. Tracy quickly unlocked the doors and gestured the woman to come from the passenger side. The woman ran towards the other side, but before she could open the door, a hand yanked the car door open and pulled Tracy out of the car. Tracy’s scream died in her throat, she heard a woman scream just before her mouth is sealed with a tape and a black cloth fell over her eyes. Tracy’s hands are tied at the back and she is dragged along roughly. She heard a man’s voice very close to her ears ‘Nosy Bitch, just do as you are told and you will live’. Tracy shivered with horror, everything had happened so fast that she was in a daze. She heard the painful cries of the woman; whose screams are laced with terror. She heard the man say ‘start walking both of you’, being blindfolded it was difficult for her to walk without the fear of falling down. She felt fingers gently grasping her arm and guiding her as

Survival - Part 2

She quickly finished drinking water and washed her face. Tracy did not hear the snap of a twig. She did not hear the rustle of leaves. The cascading water had masked all the sounds. As Tracy was tying her shoelaces, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened with fear. She kept praying, turned to face the person, and screamed. Tracy got up with a sudden start, her heart beating wildly and the sheets drenched with sweat. She fumbled for the bedside lamp and switched it on and saw that it was nearly six in the morning. The dream was still lingering in her mind, so vivid and terrifying. She got up from the bed and splashed water on her face and tried to shake off the images which were still clear in her head. She got dressed, picked her cell phone, laced her shoes and decided to go for a run. She blamed the entire dream on the movie she had seen with friends the previous night. Tracy backed out her car and drove to a nearby trail, where she loved to jog. Tracy parked her car,

The Phone Call

The phone call has stunned me. I need to sit down and take a breath before I faint. I look down at my forearm and see the numbers etched for a lifetime. The loose skin on it has made it difficult to read but even now, I can feel the pain. I rub my fingers across the number and I remember the day as clearly as if it was happening right now and I am just a spectator watching it from the sidelines. The whole thing was surreal. I remember sitting in the cattle train with my sister Eva, which was filled with so many people that we had to take turns to sit down to rest. Our journey had taken three nights, three nights without food and water, three nights of terror and exhaustion. On the fourth day when the train stopped, we were roughly pulled out on a platform filled with men, women and children. The guards were dressed in Nazi uniforms controlling the ferocious dogs barking at us. Eva is just fourteen and I, Lisa am 16 years old. Our parents and younger brother had boarded a different t

A contest and an Entry

Hi friends, The good folks at Indimag have launched a writing contest 'Kathasagar' and I have taken part in it. You can find my story ' Killer Instinct ' if you head over to Indimag website. I would truly appreciate if you could log in at Indimag and cast your vote 'for me' to help me win this competition. I know it is a pain to log in at a random website to cast your vote. Even if you hate the story still cast your vote, cause I know how much you love me. Thank you for your vote and I definitely owe you one. Here is a teaser for you :) _______________________________________________________________ Jake saw Helen walking in front of him. The crunch of leaves under their feet resounded in the lonely woods.  She was excited about their weekend away from the city. Jake remembered the first day he had met Helen. They had met during group grief counseling. Helen had found her fiance David murdered in their Apartment. She was trying to deal with his death an

Mistaken Identity

She was running through the dark streets of a ghost town. She could hear the snap of a wolf’s jaw near her ankles. All around her were lonely streets. The houses had an abandoned look. She started knocking on doors to escape the pack of wolves. She twisted the knob of one door and suddenly she heard a loud ringing. Raksha woke up with a start to hear her mobile phone ringing. She grabbed the phone and wondered who was calling her at this hour. It was her boss at the law firm. He had called to inform her that the police had apprehended the serial rapist who was suspected of raping at least forty women. She checked her bedside clock and saw that it was already 5.30 am. She threw her covers aside and went to the bathroom. She might as well start the day early. There was a lot of work to be done. Her firm was representing two of the victims and they needed justice. Raksha was a criminal attorney and had a fantastic track record of putting criminals behind bars. She was going to be the l

You are beautiful

Netra moved her hand over her scalp. It felt as soft as a baby’s bottom. She looked up to see herself in the mirror. She wanted to distance herself from the image. Her mind screamed in protest…this is not me it is someone else. She looked at the wig in her hand and remembered her long silky brown hair. Her hair had been an object of envy for many of her friends. It now lay in a heap at the bottom of a trashcan. All the things she had taken for granted were coming back to haunt her. She had been steadily losing hair once the chemotherapy had started. Netra had been diagnosed with breast cancer. She remembered the day she was diagnosed and a shiver ran down her spine. Her life had seemed completely futile to her that day. On the outside, she had put up a brave face for her son and daughter. On the inside, she had shattered into a million pieces. The reaction ‘these things always happened to other people and now how could it happen to me?’ had kept echoing in her mind. Ultimately, she

Betrayal- A fiction story

He watched them through his night binoculars. Andre was sitting in his car outside the fancy Italian Restaurant on Aldcliffe Road. They had been sipping champagne in flute glasses and munching on cheese.  He saw his wife Anna, whisper something in her friends ears and they both laughed. Anna looked radiant in her black dress and the diamond earrings he had given her on their 15th wedding Anniversary. Her friend was a handsome man and they both looked good together. Andre was in love with his wife and it made him angry when he saw that his wife did not love him anymore. Anna was a beautiful woman and all eyes were on her whenever she entered any room. It had made him proud but also insecure many times. A few months back he had felt her drifting away from him. He had blamed it on his imagination and work stress which kept him away from her. He could not pinpoint to what made him feel this way. She behaved the same way as before but he knew something had changed between them.  To

Survival

There was sound of labored breathing in her ears. All around her was dark, only the moonlight trickled through the gap in the leaves. The shadows of the trees were like old men with gnarled limbs, frozen in time. The forest floor covered with pine needles muffled her frantic footfalls. Tracy was running as fast her feet could carry her. She could hear her heart hammering in her ribs. Her breath felt like hot flames. Her throat was parched and the stitch in her side was making her wince with every step. The forest was thick with pine trees and other trees she could not recognize in the dark. It smelled of damp and rotting leaves. Her heart had missed a beat more than once when a cackling flock of ravens had shattered the silence. The shrieking Ravens had made a sharp increase in her adrenaline making her imagination run as fast as her feet. Tracy did not know why she was running or from what. She wanted to take a pause and examine her fear. Her rational mind was coaxing her to do

Bond of Friendship

There was a sudden gush of tears in Mita’s eyes. People were whispering and looking at her with pity. She tried to put up a brave face and gave a weak smile. Her mind was trying to escape but her feet were rooted to the ground. Suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and found that her best friend Asha was trying to comfort her.  Mita had come for the baby shower of her cousin. She wanted to share her cousin’s happiness but as always her presence was not appreciated on such a happy occasion. Her Maushi (Maternal Aunt): “Mita you need not have come, after all what you will do here?” A cousin Aaji (Grandma): “It is inauspicious for a barren woman to attend such a ceremony. It is not good for the unborn child. How can you be so selfish?” Another Kaku (Aunt): Beta, It is better that you leave early. I hope you understand. Mita just nodded her head. She was not able to breathe and wanted to rush back home. Her friend Asha quickly took charge and took her home.  Asha and Mita were bes