Reena’s Xploration Challenge #437

Welcome back! PROMPT #437 We have an image prompt giving three versions of the same situation. You are free to choose any one or all three to inspire your piece. Just go wherever it takes you. There is no restriction on the length of the piece. There is no last date unless you wish to … Continue reading Reena’s Xploration Challenge #437

Cliff-Hangers

They saw a callous criminal without a conscience who could kill to attain her nefarious objectives. They wondered how so young a mind could be so venomous, language so vitriolic and demeanours so remorseless. She struggled to analyse the instincts that drove her - the inner compulsion, the act of rebellion, the courage of taking … Continue reading Cliff-Hangers

Shadows lengthened

She did not know what delicate meant until she felt the pressure and assessed her capacity to withstand it. She did not fear Power until the intense heat threatened to wither her away. She made no effort to avert deceit because she did not see a reason for anyone wanting to harm her. Curiosity drove … Continue reading Shadows lengthened

The Power of Ideology

The genie emerged only when someone wiped off the dust of stories from the lamp. She felt suffocated in there, especially because she was punished for no fault of hers. The claustrophobia had also compelled her to look inwards and find a light beyond what the lamp could imagine. She was destined to be a … Continue reading The Power of Ideology

History and Story

Sheena was a gift from God to her mother, who had been childless for five years after her marriage at the ripe young age of 18, and was being lambasted for infertility. Her mother’s position was precarious as her maternal grandfather told her she would be welcome back home, only if she visited with her … Continue reading History and Story

Reena’s Xploration Challenge #436

Welcome to changing seasons, and all that accompanies it! PROMPT #436 You need to wear your hat of a prose artist or a poem constructor, and see what works better for you. I give you a stanza of a poem that should be expanded to prose. Make it a story, anecdote, memory, non-fiction or any … Continue reading Reena’s Xploration Challenge #436

Three Believers

The celebrity conducting a famed chat show is flummoxed by the same photograph placed in the offices of three of her interviewees. Could there be a connection? Anaita, a Parisian model; Sandy, a startup founder in Silicon Valley; and Saraswati, a Professor of Psychology at an international university, conducting classes in India. The research team … Continue reading Three Believers

Reena’s Xploration Challenge #435

Welcome back! PROMPT #435 We have a word prompt to inspire you this week. NUMINOUS I leave the meaning and interpretation of the word to you. There is no restriction on the length of the piece. There is no last date unless you wish to be featured in the Weekly Wrap. We will not include … Continue reading Reena’s Xploration Challenge #435

Entitled

Shadowy figure with glowing eyes wearing a crown labeled 'ENTITLEMENT' surrounded by smoke in a stone hall.

I count the villains on my fingers and watch them fall away like decrepit branches. I wish a carpenter’s hacksaw blade would perform the last rites, but they start rising again from slush with new names – Power Politics is now called The Orange Puppeteer, Corruption is Lord Rotveil, Entitlement is King of Claims, Racism … Continue reading Entitled

Wind Song

A bolt of lightning leaps at me, but I’m ready to catch the thunder. Electrocution is a possibility, as much as being activated by a divine force. I call the winds to help me decide, but they are busy pushing stubborn clouds. Those tiny people sitting behind rectangles in concrete structures speculate on various things, … Continue reading Wind Song