Today is 3rd of June. Two years back , this day Aru was with Meenal. It was her birthday and just 2 days later was Aru’s birthday. Since last few years they had been celebrating both of their birthdays together on the same day. They had outed the whole day, had a beautiful candlelit homemade dinner.
But today Aru is all alone. He has just returned from the Village hospital. Tired and exhausted he lies on the cot of his small quarter. He tries to dose off, but thoughts keep propping …

I open the door, prepared to be cross with him but he launches himself at me out of the midnight darkness, all wild hair and leather and bone crushing hugs and I can’t remember why I was mad in the first place.
“Okay. You’re going to have to figure out how to move around the house with me hugging you because I am not letting you go,” he declares in that adorably boyish manner of his.
“B-b-but! I have to go to the bathroom!” I cry in mock distress as we begin …

I bend over the bar. For her, not for drinks. She says: “Finnish”; and it all starts right there.
“Finnish”, I smile. “Finnish” I wonder and I smile. F-i-n-n-i-s-h, I let it drup in, drup, drup,
drup, letter for letter.
“Lapland”, I think;
“Cold”;
“Foreign affairs” (I just read an article that mentioned the Finland model, questioning myself
what that could be);
“Somewhere north”;
“Cold”?!;
“Bears”? No, no bears I believe, and I smile.
I take another sip of my Friday eve beer. It’s a pity for those bears, I like bears. Maybe I
should go to Greenland and find some …

She plays, ten fingers running up and down the ivories, filling the audience room with music. She sits straight, very straight, it is part of the technique. I feel a smile growing on me, stupidly happy, as if I am still surprised to find us here, almost every day for weeks now. I just love this moment: her piano on stage, Eline totally drawn in herself, that very same spotlight, the empty chairs, and me, watching from the silent dark. It is like a movie, and I feel part of …

I heard her voice. I turned my head toward the main entrance door, attempting to identify where the voice was coming from. She spoke again.
“It’s my mother!” I exclaimed, racing to the door, as my husband remained on the couch, confused.
I was excited as I realized my mother had come to visit. I opened the door. She was on the front yard. She seemed in no rush to come in the house. She was too entertained with the unkempt rose bushes that had grown everywhere about the yard.
Mom! I approached …

The night before, I couldn’t find sleep. So, I got up from my bed, switched on the bedrooms lights. I presumed, but it wasn’t even mid-night. The clock suggested 11:46PM. I love the silence during the night, but not that day. It was haunting, chilly and the dog barking outside made the night even more eerie. My mind was filled, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the trip. Literally, a million questions popped up – “What would it be like? Where will I stay? ….gosh! I don’t even know anybody …

The crossroads waited, dreaming in the peace of the early Sunday morning, blinking stop-go commands to the empty air.
Suddenly, the heavy station wagon hurtled through the protesting red lights, to consummate itself in a destructive passion on the small panel van starting to cross with the green light.
They rolled and slid in an obscene embrace that rended and tore and crumpled, and then the absolute hush of shocked silence spread over the crossroads. From a long way off a siren shrieked its urgency as it approached, until its wail expired …

It was Christmas again when the streets were covered with snow. And, everywhere you turned, things looked pristine white. Dana loved Christmas time. She thought Christmas was magical, and secretly believed in Santa Claus. She loved the colorful lights, Xmas trees, and the snow fall. It made everything even more beautiful!
Most importantly, Dana felt loved and treasured for it was the time when everyone showed how much they cared. Friends and relatives showered gifts on you too. And Dana knew that if you were lucky, your beloved would show you …

Seven-year-old Ben was super excited. Christmas was just a day away. With his mum Rhea, he hurried into the crowded shop to grab some last minute Christmas gifts. With his little hands, he jostled his way into the toy section as his mum watched him with amusement. While some people mumbled at the prices of the toys, little Ben got busy selecting toy cars for himself.
Suddenly Rhea found that instead of focusing on the car in his hand, he was staring at something in the corner. Out of the corner …