He hugged her. Hugged her tight. They didn’t want to let go, just yet. He kissed the top of her head, she sighed. It was perfect in that moment. “Look up,” he said. “No. Our lips might meet.” “Would that be such a bad thing?” “No! Not at all!” It’s the aftermath that will kill.
Salvage
“Sir, market value of your car is Rs. 57,000,” droned the valuator’s mechanical voice on phone, “company calculates salvage at 75%. So Rs. 42,750.” Tears trickled as he mumbled “ok”. “12 years of loyal service”, he thought, “How can they assign a Rupee value?” “So, that’s what he gets attached to?” she wondered, “Inanimate objects.” […]
Anguish
Today’s 55-word prompt, “Anguish”, got me thinking in two opposite directions. So here you go, two for the price of one. 😉 Which one did you like better? * * * 147 Kenyans killed in an university. Afghan suicide attack kills 17. Rape. Farmer suicides. Honest officers die. Corrupt politicians thrive. Not to mention, […]
Fervent
Mrs. and Mr. R worked together. It was a love angle. She loved him, he loved his work. She wanted him to talk to her. He would talk to her – about work, fervently. The more he did that, with equal passion, the missus wouldn’t want it. She found a new love – her baby. […]
Bibliophile
She liked how the word sounded when said aloud, “bibliophile”. It had a texture of naughtiness about it. It allowed her to cheat on her lover without being unfaithful – an acceptable form of adultery. After all, she loved words more than stories, for what are books without words? Another word she loved – meta. […]
Sequence
It’s like love played Benjamin Button. They are strangers and exchange glances when they meet in public. They part ways. They fight. They make up. They disagree. Their love is intense. They are fond of each other. They are smitten. They were strangers and exchanged glances when they met in public. * * * […]
Hesitation
“meow”, she prawls up to my flat as the milkman delivers. She eyes the packets for laps of her nectar. We race to the milk. She wonders if a pounce could still work. I pause, “should I claim my superiority, and shoo her anyway?”. That’s our “good morning” everyday; with hesitation. * * * […]
मिल बाँट के …
आखरी टुकड़ा कॅडबरी का, पानी पूरी की एक प्लेट, वह गर्मी के दिनों में, पानी का आखरी घूँट, मिल के बांटना ही आधा-आधा, करता था उन लम्हों को पूरा| सुनूँ मैं अनचाहा गाना, क्यों कि तुझे वह रिझाये, तुम चलो दोस्तों के साथ, क्यों की दोस्त हैं वो मेरे, मिल के करें समझौता आधा-पौना और […]
यूँ पीठ कर दी
यूँ पीठ कर दी मैने तुम्हारी तरफ, क्यों पीठ कर दी मैने तुम्हारी तरफ? जानती हूँ मैं, तुम ना सह पाओग टपटपाते आँसू, ना देख पाओगे तुम थरथराते होंठ, यूँ पीठ कर दी मैने तुम्हारी तरफ… पूछोगे तुम, हुआ क्या? देंगे हम मुस्कान बनावटी. सह ना पाओगे, दर्द अनछुपा. यूँ पीठ कर दी […]
Conversations in Macro
How do countries talk to each other? How do skin colors communicate? How do religions engage in dialogue? From one holy book to another? Through pigment-speak of some kind? In one’s language or the other’s? Or do they have a translator or two? Country A and B are in talks together with country C as […]