It is a long walk down the aisle. My father holds my hand reassuringly while my mom sobs in the pew. He stands with the pastor looking perfect as ever but I can’t bring myself to smile.
Is it too late to cancel?
Is it wrong to wish for something other than perfection?
I pass by her and, for a second, her entire face lightens up but, then, the lights go out again. Her red-rimmed eyes mirror mine.
Is it too late to cancel?
Power was out.
Eating dinner in the candle light,
Fanning us both in hot summer night,
Never felt so right.
The long quiet walk through the sea of sand with you by my side…
The sight of warm air blowing through your long eyelashes…
The jingle in each step you take…
The walk to work now makes my heart skip many a beat, as I take each step with you, everyday, forever…
Photo by Fynn schmidt on Unsplash
The story is now part of a short-story collection available in black-white and coloured prints and as an ebook. I will share the links soon.
The story is now part of a short-story collection available in black-white and coloured prints and as an ebook. I will share the links soon.
The wife enters the room at night, bone-tired after the cooking, cleaning, washing and nursing routine.
Husband: Did you iron the shirt I asked you to?
Wife: I did not get time today.
Husband: Really?! You were at home all day while I was slaving away my life at work…
The story is now part of a short-story collection available in black-white and coloured prints and as an ebook. I will share the links soon.
The story is now part of a short-story collection available in black-white and coloured prints and as an ebook. I will share the links soon.
The story is now part of a short-story collection available in black-white and coloured prints and as an ebook. I will share the links soon.
When parents arranged the marriage...
She: Please don’t make me marry him, I am in love with another.
Mother: Please understand my dear. It is a matter of our family’s honour.
When she returned after a few months of marriage…
She: Please don’t send me back. He drinks, beats and rapes me every night.
Mother: No! You must go back…for our family’s honour.
When she eloped with ‘another’…
Mother: I wish she was born dead. She dishonoured our family.
It was difficult to start a conversation while our families milled around us. We had only ten minutes to decide.
She took out her phone ‘replying an urgent text’. I received a message from an unknown number, “Let’s run away from them all!”
She was smiling!
His willowy wife slept in his arms but his sleep was gone after the nightmare: a girl in white–with a stocky frame, unimpressive black hair and eyes, and laughter lines–looked at him with a thousand accusations in her eyes as he stood at the back of the church. She, then, took vows with another man.
His heart felt hollow.
She knew nothing about the man she had just married, as was usual in her community, and her stomach was in knots.
For the last ritual, the Pandit asked the couple to put their hands in the milkpot to find a gold ring. “Whoever finds it first rules forever”, he said smiling.
They both frantically searched for the ring until the groom’s fingers found hers inside the pot. Electric hummed between them and, quietly, he slipped the ring in her hand.
Year 1920
“Of course we don’t send our daughter to school. Who will marry her then?”
Year 2020
“We are sending her for a professional degree. Helps in finding good grooms.”
Year 3020
“Yes, she is in the team flying to Planet Isis. Heard there are many bachelors over there.”
She looked at the sky
With the longing
Of a bird in a cage
Through the small window
In her marital home – her prison.
She watched in horror as her 80-years-old husband exchanged vows with a 40+ woman.
Tears flowed down her face. She knew he would not wait for long but, at least, he could have let her grave dry.
He looked at the tears flowing down her blackened eyes. He pulled her in his arms and, once again, said, “Sorry, Love! Just don’t make me angry again.”
“Hey Girl!”
(Silence)
“What’s wrong?”
(Silence)
“I hope you did not give in to your mother’s threat. She thinks marrying a man will ‘cure’ you. But if you can’t bear the touch…”
(A gasp and silence)
“Look, I know! The entire group knows and we are okay!”
(A sigh and silence)
“I have a spare room if your mother doesn’t understand.”
(After a long silence) “Can you call an ambulance, fast?”
-Based on a true story
She felt a stab of jealousy as her husband eyed a man with a longing he would never have for her.
If only the world was more resilient to people like him, she would have had a chance at love too.
-Based on true stories
Short Stories | Fish-eye Perspective 