Black Horse By: Kailash Srinivasan He’s trying to paint, but the wife just won’t shut up. She starts again with how she wants to be a mother, cradle a child in her arms. That he should start looking for a real job. There will be an extra mouth to feed. Money, money, money, she chants like a mantra. He wants to capture the expression of the old man he saw at a Shinto shrine a day ago, the way […]
Beautiful Boy By: Sayantan Ghosh The day could have ended like any other. School got over like it would on another day, the bus passed through the same dusty lanes like it otherwise always did, the little beggar boy with one hand came as usual to sit with Caul near the railway crossing and watch the trains pass by. Everything was in order, until he got home. Mother looked exceptionally beautiful that day, she was Irish. She was wearing […]
By: Doug Robbins A glob of chocolate ice cream sizzled on the pavement in the summer sun. A security guard noticed strange smells and sounds coming from the purple and gold tent at the fair that summer in 1998. When the security guard peeled back the flap of the tent and peered inside. What met his eyes was a plethora of horrors too wicked to mention. Skulls were piled high one on top of each other on a makeshift […]
Ara in the Amazon BY: Sudama Panigrahi The green foliage of Amazon flashed and the snow capped mountain was like a mound of milk while the valley marched like a river of silver. Ara stood in the shadow of a tall bright oak tree. Riding in the night was tough and unsafe but the woods was neither safe. The dense forest frightened and hid packages of dangers. Behind Ara, her mare nickered and she felt the animal’s breath on […]
His feet dragged across the stained floor, his head hung low, staring at the empty blotches of red imprinted on his clothes. The sound of clinking metal chains rustled his thoughts, resonating his thoughts. Why was he even here? Did it matter anyways, if he were dead or not? Did it? The weaver of words continued walking, his eyes half hanging towards his destination. Muted conversations all passed him, none at all catching his attention. This wasn’t like him […]
That catastrophic rendezvous By: Mandisi Jali “Derrick?” she asked whispery. She was bent over her desk, clutching the phone tightly towards her ears, with one hand and pulling the cord nervously with the other. “Yes?” he answered with an impatient, unfriendly and unenthusiastic tone. Relief made her weak. Then she gnashed her teeth, realising that he was alive. “Derrick?” Surprised by this monstrous tone, she sat up. “It’s Bettina” as if she needed to jog his memory. “Bettina […]
