I wake up with a start. It had to be a nightmare.
What else can possibly explain it?
Dazed, I glance at the clock. 4am.
Waking up scared, night after night, how long will I suffer?
I snuggle under my sleep-warmed quilt and my hand reaches out
to stroke the cold half of the bed-Empty since the last month.
All I want to do is curl up and weep.
But the tears have all dried up, sucked out from me by the same dark
angel that crushed his skull to unidentifiable pieces that evening.
I feel cold inside, without …

(Please read the Prelude & Intent before reading the content. I also
recommend that the reader reads it as slowly as possible, interpreting
the gravity of each word)

~~~
The Beginning of Time.
Energy & Space & Light. Not Born yet.
Being. Unborn.

Split.

Inarticulate white sands mush with their feet. Their bodies are in
definitive. Not formed fully. Shapes are unclear. Eyes are unformed.
Moments from the first Sunrise. They face each other. Standing. Naked.

Distance exists. They move towards each other, without effort. They
see without light. Their undistracted vision merges into each other.
Distance recedes. …

I studied the world outside the frosted glass, hoping it would distract me from the wrapped present in my hands. The refrigerator hummed, the logs in the fireplace crackled as the heat deemed too much on the chunks of wood, and the rush of holiday traffic buzzed by in a hurried frenzy. Even with all that went on around me, the absolute stillness within the walls of my once home pierced my ears and rattled me to the core.
Don’t go there.
I brought my attention back to the present. I couldn’t …

Esmay sat crying on the porch steps, thinking with dread at what her daddy had planned.  At first she thought it was all a sick and cruel joke; his way of paying her back for something she wasn’t quite sure she had done.  But as the days had wore on things became obviously clear that it was as real as the tears that filled her small hands.  She had planned to run; hide anything to avoid the terror not moments away.  She was an only child and the betrayal she …

Tringg-Tringgggggg! Anna wriggled in bed hoping the ringing would stop. When she eventually answered, her maid was calling to inform she wouldn’t come to work, as rains had flooded her house. Sulking, Anna slid back under the duvet, wishing she also could stay in. Having moved to the city few months back, Anna lived alone and worked with an advertising firm. Unwillingly assisting colleague Mary on a presentation for high-revenue client Mr. John, Anna worked late and hardly managed a few winks. The fact that she wasn’t part of the …

Standing in one corner of the crowded and brightly lit grounds, Arjun dug
his hands deeper into his pockets and let out a small sigh. As he’d
expected, his friend was already entertaining a group of the bride’s friends
and he hadn’t even gotten as far as hello. Of course, Arjun knew which girl
he’d like to say hello to. He’d spotted her as soon as the wedding party had
arrived, looking pretty in a blue saree. Scanning the gathering, his eyes
rested on the newly-weds. Just then, the groom also looked up and beckoned
Arjun to …

I always feel sad when I see some poor dumb animal, or bird, lying in the road after being hit by a car or a lorry.
I am, sad to say, frequently harassed by the countless birds that sometimes seem intent on committing suicide as they glide across my path. In my case, I have room to maneuver as I don’t drive a car. I spend most of my traveling time on a bicycle, either shopping, riding over rough terrain or just plain racing along the county roads, chasing tractors and …

As Henna hit the send button in her mailbox, her heart was thumping loudly. She did not know how Sameer will react to her stance. She has been a shy girl, but love gave her strength to be honest and forthcoming about her feelings for Jai.
Henna had met Jai recently, and she felt an instant attraction towards him. She could not help herself from falling in love with him. The fact that she was to marry within next few months seemed immaterial. She knew what she shared with Jai was …

This windy day, Hannah receives a willow leaf which glides into her top pocket like an angel’s wing; instantly, it caresses the scars upon her soul and nestles by her heart. Her destiny scripts itself upon a tiny frame: “The Comforter” — she barely knows what this means. She dreams of beauty and an escape above the crevasse where she lives. Someday, she will sing gentle music to them, and the presence of Love will calm all things. She smiles tenderly in the face of reality.
Her Father prods her with …