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 …

It was Christmas eve. Festivities were gathering momentum in the Whitney household. Nina was glad that she had Jack to spend her Christmas with. Jack was her sister May’s brother-in-law. And well, they had been dating each other for months now.
Last Christmas had been a miserable one for Nina. She had broken off with her long-term boyfriend Ned. He was not worth her. All he wanted was to go to bed with her. For Nina, love was beyond the physical realm. And she wanted to take the final plunge with …

Little Sherry had just turned four and she considered that to be quite big indeed. Big enough to play with her elder brother Sam who considered her a pest. Unlike 15-year-old Sam, Sherry’s Christmas meant Santa’s gifts. After all, she was too young to spend the occasion with her equally tiny friends. So while Sam was allowed to party whole night on Christmas eve, little Sherry would count the hours before she would wake up on Christmas morning to check out the treasures bestowed on her.
She was yet to understand …

“I’m fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars
for young men to die in.” – George McGovern.
The night sky resembled an endless black fabric with dozens of tiny pin-pricks, through which glittering light shone. It seemed to envelop all that lay below it. The iron shack on the outskirts of the township sparkled with its covering of winter frost. From its door only a single, lonely pathway etched in the dust and dried grass, showed its connection to the others. Inside there was a bed, …

11: 20 PM: Brittany and I drove to a party downtown. It’s Saturday night, forty minutes to midnight; the night is an infant, and the morning far away. The limo sped down the highway, the roof was open. We swayed our drunken heads to expensive music. Champagne flutes tossed on the floor, we drank from the bottle. We turned our heads, stomped our feet, shook off sleep, shut our eyes and let the wind sweep away beads of sweat. Lip gloss, Hermès shirts, Ferragamo shoes, vintage Gucci, Manish Arora scarves.  …

Part I:
“I can I can change black to white
I have it in me to make you go out of sight
Ho Ho! It’s me the man of wonder
With my wand and wit I can create thunder
Watch out watch out all you misters and misses
I have arrived to please and steal your share of kisses”
He sashayed into the room with a quick little spin, chin up and eyes on the crowd. He swayed his black magic cloak with a deft hand delivering his lines loud and clear with gleaming eyes. After two …

Ananya ran to simmer the burning stove. It was 2nd time in a row this week that she had put the milk to boil, forgotten all about it and now a good deal of milk was running all over the neat stainless steel kitchen counter. “Mother is going to get mad at me again”, thought Ananya to herself. “Mother hated milk and other necessities going to waste, but what the heck, a glass here and there, it was no big deal. She will clean it anyways after she is home” …