‘Do you see the stuffed stag head mounted on the drawing room wall? It’s Uncle Benson’s trophy from a forest expedition,’ Uncle Benson’s friend pointed to the treasured collection of game. ‘How did you find it, uncle?’ I inquired. Uncle looked up at the stag’s head and said, ‘It once roamed freely in the woods. Read more…

When it was lunchtime, Jonas got in the line of food. The prison was high-security and his eyes kept darting to the corners of the walls, trying to pick up cameras and how the guards were positioned. Most of them held tasers in their hands, so that meant they either believed that tasers were good Read more…

*Ten years later* “Jonas… Jonas!!” A woman’s voice called out and a tall boy poked his head out of the car he had been working on. “Yes, mom?” “Lunch is ready and I’m starving, so hurry up!” Jonas dusted the dirt and soot off his hands. He was dressed in unclean overalls, his heterochromatic eyes Read more…

The man sat there with an aghast look on his face. He could not believe what was happening. He struggled to keep himself on his feet and stepped back a little before finding his chair and slumping on it. Was this some sort of a cruel joke? Destiny? The memories of the day flooded over Read more…

The cars and other vehicles formed a beeline along the small road as the sun above shone brightly. It was a busy day, and everybody was in a hurry to reach their respective destinations. Rehan rushed out of his apartment gate and waved at one or two cabs, but each one of them seemed to Read more…

The wall clock made its presence felt with its relentless tick-tock, the only sound apart from the gentle whirring of the Xerox machines and the coffee machine that were being operated by Akash. He was working late in the office. It was 2 A.M. already, and he needed to get that presentation ready for the Read more…

“Riya, honey, let’s hurry. You don’t want to be late for school, do you?” Riya’s mother warned her fourteen-year-old daughter and hurried to retrieve her school bag and water bottle from the dining table. Riya gobbled the last bit of toast and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Coming, mom” She hurried Read more…

“Get up, you horse,” said Kian, thrusting a soft pillow on my head. I groaned and pulled the blanket up above my head to block out his voice. It was obviously in vain. Kian was anything but a quitter. He would never take no for an answer. He, for one, knew how to take advantage Read more…

The loudspeaker rang loudly as the Commander’s voice boomed through the hall. “On the ground in 10 minutes.” The cadets, who had been in deep sleep, woke up as if they had been attacked by an angry swarm of bees. It was 4 am, and the chilly winter breeze pricked at their skin-like icicles. Amar Read more…

‘Good morning, it’s a new day…’ rang the alarm sitting on Martha’s beside table at six in the morning. She waved her hands in the air before reaching for the outdated alarm and dismissing it. She then slowly got up before retrieving her glasses from the bedside table. Martha was in her late fifties. Her Read more…