The silence was maybe for a second or two but it felt like forever. He looked over. Too fast. His father felt the gaze, and looked over and smiled. On his hand lay a bigger hand. One that squeezed. Warmly. If he was freed then, he was a god now. Outside, the evening sun shone dimly. Red light punctured the sky. Horns pierced through the thick smog. Nothing broke through the heavy traffic. Hand on
Read MoreThe car trudged along the busy road. Outside, the smell of noxious fumes and tempting diesel. In another time, he would have wondered how good dinosaurs must have smelled if diesel was so heady. Imagine being buried for millions of years under dirt and mud, and then come out and smell so damn good. In another time. In another time, he might have seen the cars, the brightly colored trucks, the
Read MoreA screech. A crash. Impatient horns from outside. People were waiting to go home. There was no glancing out of windows. They just hammered their horns from inside, pressing impatiently, pressing many times. The smell of diesel hung low and heavy. The thick fog pressing in from all sides, pushing out visibility. The mirrors on cars were fogged up.
A screech. A crash. Inside the car that had
Read MoreWhat had happened was this. The lady that had worked at their house for well over twelve years, almost the age of the boy, that lady had become pregnant, and six months in, she could work no longer. So she went home, and they were in desperate need of a new maid.
It had been towards the end of the monsoon season, barsaat, when rains fell every day, the air was wet, the mud was soft, the smell of
Read MoreHe walked into their room.
It was a beautiful day, he had been out playing with friends for hours. The sun was shining, the grass was lush. It was that strange day that could not decide whether it wanted to be hot or cold, and so it was a mix in between, nice cool wind blowing, the warmth of the sun breathing down upon him. As they played they truly based in the sun, dhoop sekhna, as his mother
Read MoreHungry. Always hungry. Rows and rows of things, and hands grabbing them greedily. Reaching for them without restraint. Barely is the next thing in the grasp of those firm grips before eyes begin darting around for the next, and the next, and the next. The smell of burning desire. Drops of sweat falling onto the dusty ground. No one cares what the ground looks like, no one even remembers what it
Read More“I heard they took out most of the originals. They only have Charizard.”
“Well, i mean it’s a new Pokemon game, of course they need to promote the newer ones.”
“There’s four hundred plus in the Pokedex dude, what harm were six more. I really like Blastoise.”
The other shrugged.
“And also, some of these new ones, Trubbish, Pokedex description ‘Garbage Pokemon’, come on. At least the other ones
Read More“You deserve better than this,” he did not have to gesture around, his words were impactful enough. I knew what he meant.
It was a beautiful sunny day. The green on the leaves was lit up by the rays of the sun, that perfect combination of color and light only nature can achieve. The air outside was cool, fresh, moist, but not humid. The surface of river between the two sister cities sparkled.
Read MoreIt does not have to come as pain. It does not come as pain. It did not come as pain. The storm raged inside her head. She felt lightless, dizzy. Her stomach was confused. Heavy and full and light and empty. All four of those things swirling around in a nauseating mess. She could smell her future vomit in her mouth, she tasted ash, and she tasted everything. She was not eating anything. She rubbed
Read MoreThe wind slowly picked up speed, imperceptible to anything but the most sensitive instruments. And creatures of the forest, but there were none of those left around here. The wind slowly picked up speed, noise becoming louder, but unnoticed by the naked ear. It picked up speed, and slowly, the black, and red, and charred dead leaves began to rustle along with it, pieces from their rigid selves
Read MoreDeath does not discriminate. Death is not a soulless creature lurking in the shadows. Death has a job to do. The job is not of its own making, the job is not of its own choice. Even hades did not like his job, even though he was lord of a third of creation. Death has a job to do. And it may seem tasteless but it is ever so necessary. When a soul leaves the planet, the empty husk it leaves behind
Read MoreThey sat on the charpai weaved with jute. The wind inside the tamboo tent was picking up. Three men in traditional clothes walked to the center of the tent. Two had drums, one had a unique looking flute in their hands. They began to play.
The sound filled the tent and their hearts. His began to throb with the beating of the drums. It was a primal sound, as ancient as the redwoods of the
Read MoreLights glimmered as they approached from the distance. Night had fallen. The stars were shy, pollution had blockaded their light from reaching the land. The smell of pine and fur had not yet been diluted. There was shrubbery everywhere. On both sides of the highway and it’s subsidiary routes. He was still sleepy. He put his head on the seat in front of him, and his hair felt the toughness of the
Read MoreHe stood there, in silence. He looked at the bag of roses in his hand, and began to sprinkle them onto the grave. The wind whipped by him, picking up speed and then, momentum. Even though this place was by a busy road, he could hear nothing. Silence throughout. Sombre. Humbling. Alone we come, alone we leave. His mouth was dry. Parched. He began to get uncomfortable, he paced up and down, beside
Read MoreShadows slithered under the setting sun as the wind whistled above them. He walked slowly towards his destination, boots making sharp sounds on the pavement with each step. It was strangely still. No ghostly whispers, no silent screams, no chilling thrills or chills up his spine. Still, calm. A mellow wind whistled. The stone pathway beneath him, the dust on each side, the muddy graves, some
Read MoreKohath reached for the stone. The veins were young, the stone looked ancient but felt as if it were young. The air throbbed with a power that made him hungry, that filled his insides with longing and desire on his tongue. He wanted more.
He had been driven to it because he had heard whisperings from the patients. Sometimes they spoke gibberish, but if you listened closely to it, it seemed that
Read MoreHe touched the stone, and a light passed through him just as electricity cackled within him. Through its glow, he saw the past, present, and all the futures. He saw what could be in its many different forms. He understood how little he actually understood. The hair on his back prickled, the hairs inside his nostrils singed by the power that was coursing through him. He felt as if his eyes were bur
Read MoreHūr stood underneath the building gasping.
He had been walking among the shadows drawn to something. He could feel the power humming through the place, could almost see the invisible umbrella it formed, covering the mansion and the surrounding places. Rats scuttled about, invisible to him, but he could hear them, clanging. The air throbbed with power and energy. Once, he would have shunned thi
Read More“Happy birthday to you” came the singsong chant as the cake was slowly brought over. People were smiling and clapping and singing. “Happy birthday to you” it was the first day of the year. It was the yearly reminded that he had come onto the earth. “Happy birthday dear. Happy birthday to you.” It had been thirty years since it had begun. Thirty years since he had been conceived. They were smiling.
Read MoreChaos swirled around the board. Now it just glowed. All around was darkness. Stifling, smelly, overpowering, darkness. Each shadow a different tint. Thousands of shadows. Prowling around the board, hungry. The two men were shadows of their former selves. Bones and skin. Hollow eyes, lit only by the glow of the board. The game had always been coming to a close but not it was coming to a close.
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