Fiction – Page 35 – Short Stories

The People in Zoo: The Hippopotamus

Posted on Nov 21, 2019Jul 1, 2020 by Shaily Agrawal

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

Fiction

150 Posts Old!

Posted on Nov 20, 2019 by Shaily Agrawal

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: 🍎 🍐 🍊 🍌 🍉 🍇 🍓 🍈 🍒 🍑 🍍 🥭 🥝 with a sprinkling of 🍋

Baked vegetable: 🍅 🥦 🥒 🥬 🌶 🌽 🥕 with a sprinkling of 🍋

Two flavor of soups: 🍵 🥣

Bread: 🍕 🥪 🥙 🌮 🌯 🥗 (because if a Pizza, sandwich, burritto, taco, roll or noodles are loaded with veggies, I consider it healthy too)

Icecreams, cake, pastries and muffins: 🍧 🍨 🍦 🍰 🎂 🍮 (Come on! What’s a party without desserts?)

Again, let’s dig in! 😋

Nature stories

The People in Zoo: The Swan

Posted on Nov 20, 2019Jul 1, 2020 by Shaily Agrawal

He looked at her gliding contently in the water with all her regal grace. He wondered what their children might look like–a mix of her black and his white.

Of course, he will have to ask her on a date first, but hey! a man can dream…

Image by Kari at Unsplash

Fiction

Tethered

Posted on Nov 18, 2019 by Shaily Agrawal

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.

Fiction

Aftermath

Posted on Nov 16, 2019Jul 1, 2020 by Shaily Agrawal

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…

Fiction

Dumb Excuses

Posted on Nov 15, 2019Jul 1, 2020 by Shaily Agrawal

“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!”

Fiction

The Gamble

Posted on Nov 12, 2019Jul 1, 2020 by Shaily Agrawal

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.

Fiction

The Unfortunate

Posted on Nov 10, 2019Jul 1, 2020 by Shaily Agrawal

The baby girl’s cries announced her arrival in the world.

Her mother’s sobs announced her impending departure.

-Female Infanticide was and still is very prevalent practice in India. With advent of Sonography, this is now replaced with Female Featicide among literates.

Fiction

Charred

Posted on Nov 9, 2019Jul 1, 2020 by Shaily Agrawal

The woman had a strange gleam in her eyes while she held her newborn—a girl—in her arms for the first time. It unnerved the Gynecologist as she asked: “How are you feeling?”

“Relieved!” replied her patient grimly. “Her father made my father miserable all these years. He is bound to love his first child though. Someday, my father will be avenged!”

Fiction