FICTIONS

  THE WRITER’S OBSESSION Meeting Jane was the best part of the day. After all the journey of 12 hours from Russia to the United States, finally I met my dearest cousin. It’s been 6 years since we last met. She was now a very independent girl, not the one who used to beg for my toy cars anymore. With a salary of around $300,000 per annum, she had already purchased her home in Atlanta. We reached home by evening. After dinner, we talked till 11:30 approx. At the time of sleep, when I was in my bed, that is when it all started. I heard the sound, of footsteps, slow and steady as if a thief. Considering this an illusion, I ignored it. As I tried to sleep, I saw a shadow, passing over my door. This surely wasn't an illusion this time. There was someone, definitely. I went out. No sign of life other than a lizard on the wall. I went downstairs. As I passed by Jane’s room, I decided not to disturb her, so I went ahead on my own. The main door was open. “Who’s there?” I asked to get no rep...

Grief of Loss Under the shadows of trees, in a nearly dilapidated temple, in the middle of a dark forest, left virgin for almost three decades, so dense that even sunlight doesn't reach the ground, in the bitterly cold night of mid-January, facing the wind, cold enough to freeze the blood in veins, sat the little boy whose 12 years old ears couldn't feel the chill anymore, nor did his eyes see the night. He kept sitting there. Tears of grief, obviously frozen and dry, wouldn't come anymore. For the first time, his eyes were emptied not his heart. He wanted to cry out more, but tears wouldn't come out. He could feel his heart become more and more similar to the temple he could see; dilapidated and ruined, to which no one would set a foot anymore. Even his favorite and only uncle, the moon, left him on his own that day. His mother, as he remembered, always used to tell him that his father had gone to meet his uncle, and he would come back after fetching stars for his dear...

The mid-night experience Horror is something everyone has experienced. Some incidents are breathtaking and some are life threatening. I also have one such experience. This is about times I was a law intern at a law firm. I had a habit of going out with Raghav every night and would come back fully drunk. It was not my fault actually. When someone goes to a private university for law, he learns about everything except law. The same happened with me. When I went to college, I started with cigarettes, then weed, and then finally took to drinking. Let’s not be judgmental here. It’s impossible for one to ignore all this when their best friends are doing this. I am no pervert, nor am I from Mars or Jupitar. I got involved in all this. But when such things are done, we need a friend to accompany us. I too had a friend. Raghav was always with me on those trips. I was out with Raghav that night. We were sitting at a deserted place, behind a sparsely frequented, dilapidated factory on the outskir...

  The Old Friend I wasn’t still sure how I would react when I see him. Meeting your best friend after 12 years is like walking on the chilled streets of Ladakh without sweater, taking bath in sea without knowing how to swim, driving on the dark streets with headlights turned off. Basically it requires guts. Stop with those ridiculous analogies. I scolded myself. I was nervous. Actually more than that. I couldn’t stop myself from thinking what if he doesn’t recognize me, or what if we end up having a simply awkward experience. Reconnecting from those memories after this long is not an easy task. Also, I didn’t have his phone number. How would I, we didn’t have phones back then. I wasn’t sure if he still lived of that address. The only thing, I was sure of was, I would meet him, at any cost. I then decided to look out of the window, the clouds down there felt like I was on the city of cream. The memories which I shared with Subu started flashing in front of me. I started thinking...

  The Tighter You Grip, More You Lose