Scare

Villages on the country’s border were on a high security alert. One could see window panes and skylights covered with a black cloth or paper, to prevent light from passing through in the night. Blackouts were ordained, to mitigate the risk of enemy bombing. Television and internet were blocked to prevent give-away signals of a … Continue reading Scare

Believe me

I don’t know why the Comet chose privacy, when it struck me. The media remained oblivious of change. I am transformed. I am blessed with supernatural powers. I can see and hear things other mortals cannot. They do not believe that I am going to outlive them. The idiots have locked me up in a … Continue reading Believe me

Future

“I can’t stay here.” She wrinkled her nose in disgust, while the guy looked blank, as if trying to recall something. “You are in the future,” the room resonated with a deep voice, “this is the junk that you have been dumping on the earth for decades, and into the genes of your successors. Do … Continue reading Future

Mirrors tell tales

“We will come here late evening, and then, watch the fun…” “This place is not supposed to be safe after dark. There are ghost stories …” “I’ll show you what kind of hilarious ghosts they are. The monkeys watch us from the bushes all day, and then put up an act in the night. We … Continue reading Mirrors tell tales

Pay it forward

There is something special about this bakery school. One batch in a month is conducted free-of-cost for street urchins, and they are provided jobs in other outlets, if found competent. The owner, Jack remembers the humiliation he faced when he stole a loaf of bread for his hungry sister. He was all of eight years … Continue reading Pay it forward

Burst of color

A sudden burst of color had the small township pop up with rumors in the last few months. Who was she? What was her agenda? People started fading into oblivion whenever she appeared on the scene. And to top it all, she loved strawberry ice cream. Was there a connection with the past somewhere? Did … Continue reading Burst of color

Those two

All the persuasion by his friends failed to make him participate in a jungle picnic. He looked petrified, and his wife insisted that he be left alone. The friends decided to take him to a counsellor later. Nobody realized that he was consumed by guilt. It was a crime committed in the first flush of … Continue reading Those two

Mindset

There are days when the white clouds look like flocks of birds, which will descend to destroy the flowers. Their menacing shapes symbolize evil, out to destroy happiness. I desperately want to spread a net on the flowers, or cover them with my body to protect. There are days when I think that the sky … Continue reading Mindset

Maps and devices

I don’t know what is insanity, and why do they call me insane. It just happened that the geography did not match the maps ingrained in my mind. I asked for the airfare in local currency, and people around me mentioned miles yet to be covered. There are no milestones in the sky, and I … Continue reading Maps and devices

Trimming the grass

The grass had not been trimmed for ages. They believed that it protected the house against evil. It did breed a lot of mosquitoes though. The health worker, Sara, who came to the village, to teach prevention of malaria found herself battling social evils instead. The campaign brought her face to face with an old … Continue reading Trimming the grass