The forest is dark as little light filters through the thick canopy of trees overhead. He has been walking for what seems like hours but could be only minutes.
Standing in a pool of dim light, she looks the same after so many years, beckoning him to come forward. Awestruck as if he found his heaven, he obliges.
Somewhere in a hospital, an old man dies…
Image by Johannes Plenio on Unsplash
She lighted the countless lamps
of the fairytale castle
every night,
hoping for love
of the handsome Prince.
ย
The day she died,
the castle alone mourned–
its halls dark
through the night.
ย
While the Prince cursed
and stumbled around
looking for a trickle of light.
Image by Cody Board on Unsplash
Shivering, she pulled the Pink Sweater tightly around her body like a cocoon when the Police arrived.
He had been high on coke and didn’t struggle much when, with shaky hands, she had twisted the sweater around his neck.
He will never hit her again.
Image by Raychan on Unsplash
The pair of Cranes looked at the other birds in the large aviary with contempt.
So, it has come down to this? They will have to share quarters with these minions? How they hate the Gobble Gobble and the Cackle Cackle–the constant cacophony of the mindless birds who have never seen the world!
They looked past the fenced roof and saw a flock fly by. How they craved to fly with them and see the world again…
Love, when you ended
your ‘less-than-perfect’ life,
I believe you had every right.
But your note said
you pray for forgiveness
for your life of sins.
In that moment,
you changed everything.
You had no right to call
our love, our life and dreams,
a Sin…
We were gay, not philanderer–
almost man and husband.
Now that I stand here at your grave,
I wonder if I had sinned
throughout my life
by loving a Sinner.
Photo by BRUNO CERVERA on Unsplash
Of course, it is better than the circus I was at earlier. The minions feed me well and my 100 feet x 100 feet home comes fitted with grass to lay on and trees to scratch my back.
But I miss running around the forest with mom. Don’t know when I will see them again.
Image by Anthony Melone at Unsplash
She already knew the result of the meeting.
Men on the dating site asked her to meet them thinking that her disability will cross out theirs. But they realise their mistake within ten minutes of the ‘conversation’.
Considering that this date was ‘normal’…
She found him waiting outside the venue. He sheepishly gestured the ‘signs’ with hands. They said, “Please bear with my clumsiness with ‘signs’. I started learning recently so that we could understand each other.”
Image by Thomas Lardeau on Unsplash
Where have all the eggs gone again? Did the birds eat them…but I had buried them in the sand under the tree…
But no one came…well, except the cleaner…but he wouldn’t do that to me, would he? He must know how much my babies mean to me…
Maybe they hatched when I was eating and are hiding in the water already…but where are the shells then?
Photo by ะะณะพั ะะฐะผะตะปะตะฒ on Unsplash
The lone Lion replied in response to the pained calls of the Zebra next door.
Enemies by nature, they are brothers in loneliness.
Photos by Geran de Klerk and Alan J. Hendry on Unsplash
I see her sad eyes filled with longing across the wired high fence.
Of course, I have three female companions all to myself. But in this moment, for some reason, I feel I never had a choice.
Image by Diana Parkhouse at Unsplash
My love,
I wish you
Pimples,
Dark spots,
And stretch marks,
So that
You wouldn’t judge me.
He sat on the riverside gazing at the sky while crushing sand in his hands anxiously. The night was almost over but she wasn’t here yet.
The light of dawn revealed his swollen cheeks, a black eye and a bag with all his belongings while he still waited for the star that did not fall that night…
Image by Karl Fredrickson on Unsplash
They have sent me a new ‘wife’! They think she can distract me?
They took away my real wife four months back when she was seven months along. I let them because the guy in the white coat, who treated the pain in my leg, was with them too. I waited for her to return with the baby. But now I hear the two of them in a distance from another enclosure. I called her and she called me right back. I tried to break the walls to reach her but they were too strong.
Now, they have sent me a new ‘wife’! As if I care! Damn these walls!
Image by Gene Taylor at Unsplash
Yeeeeeeeee! When I started, I wondered if I will hit the 50 stories mark. My only hope was that if I can create one crazy story a day for my daughter, I can do the same for my blog too. Now I have 150+ posts! And I have 15 stories lined up in the drafts! Whew!
Thank you all for reading!
Thank you all for liking and commenting!
I would invite you to provide more comments to let me know what could have been better. If you want to read something specific or provide any blog-related advice, write to me at shailygrwl@gmail.com.
Let’s party! Well… I am on healthy veggie diet this month, so… dig in!
Menu
Fruit salad:ย ๐ ๐ ๐ย ย ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ ๐ฅญ ๐ฅย with a sprinkling of ๐
Baked vegetable:ย ๐ ย ๐ฅฆ ๐ฅ ๐ฅฌ ๐ถ ๐ฝ ๐ฅย with a sprinkling of ๐
Two flavor of soups: ๐ต ๐ฅฃ
Bread:ย ๐ ๐ฅช ๐ฅ ๐ฎ ๐ฏ ๐ฅย (because if a Pizza, sandwich, burritto, taco, roll or noodles are loaded with veggies, I consider it healthy too)ย
Icecreams, cake, pastries and muffins:ย ๐ง ๐จ ๐ฆย ๐ฐ ๐ ๐ฎย (Come on! What’s a party without desserts?)
Again, let’s dig in! ๐
I am a Helium-filled balloon. My daughter has tethered me to the ground but she is also the reason I continue my attempts to fly.
He woke up and took cover. His shirt was drenched in sweat and his breathing laboured. As he heard the gunshots again closeby, he groped in the dark for his gun but couldn’t find it.
A body lay on the bed. Was that a friend or foe? Where was that damned gun?
The body spoke, “Honey, come back on bed. The war got over five years back. You’re home.” Her voice was calm as always. But she was hesitating from touching him, afraid of his reflex response.
He knew her. Then her face came back in focus as, once again, she pulled him back from his personal hell, just like every night…
“This girl is the best candidate for the job.”
“But did you see her hearing aid?”
“So what? She was able to hear us just fine.”
“May be. But you know how it is…the cost of adjustments, dependence, medical bills, and so on…and bad publicity if you let them go later… Let’s avoid the mess!”
Mother-in-law: Your lipstick is too dull. Use a brighter shade!
After complying...
Husband: Your lipstick is too bright. Use a natural shade!
After complying…
Father-in-law: Why do you have to paint your lips? It kills the skin!
After complying…
Mother-in-law: Why don’t you use lipstick? Your face looks so dull!
She stepped in the ‘mandapa’ trembling in anticipation of seeing him for the first time but a ‘sehera’ covered his face.
He looked at her eagerly but her face was veiled.
So, they wait until they are bound together forever.
Short Stories | Fish-eye Perspective 