Let’s paint the town red – or a heavily watered down red

As a child I was always decent at drawing and painting. I used to take classes and when you’re anywhere below 10 years old, arts and crafts as a hobby and subject are mightily supported by teachers, schools and the curriculum.

I stopped a long time back. But not until a conversation with an editor who was asking what I enjoyed did I realize I had nothing substantial to add apart from books and writing. It was a rude shock that I had zero hobbies since my hobby of reading and writing had turned into a job.

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Epiphanies and the places they can come from #MondayMusings

Listening to people talk, especially on a subject they are passionate about is something I enjoy. It is also a particular skill I’m proud of since it can lead to unexpected epiphanies.

For example, from a taxi driver I learnt that no job in this world is big or small; that it is easy to assume because you’re working hard you should reap rewards.

The dying harvest

You came at me – unbidden
Robbing me of any semblance
Till I was a blathering fool
Left alone to deal with the carcass.

Home

Guarding the gates of hell
Are two asuras
If you can appease one
You have to fight the other.
Only the light of the new moon
Can appease both.
On such a night,
They will reveal their secret.
Are you ready?

Mama I killed a man

I woke up with a severe hangover. I made my way to the bathroom lazily. I glanced at the mirror wondering if I looked as terrible as I felt. I stood staring in horror at the grotesque skull grinning at me. It was one of those clean skulls, the kind you see in museums. As I moved closer, I heard the thin strains of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ start to play.

Successful trial

Opening my eyes, I was in a world less familiar yet more beautiful and soothing than anything I had ever experienced…to breathe felt like living a new life!

The devil got me

I woke up feeling nauseous. As soon as the bile began to climb, I laid back down, breathing in through the nose, breathing out through the mouth. When it didn’t settle, I turned on the side and threw up the yellow, awful tasting liquid.

I sat up, head throbbing. Raising my hands in an attempt to hold it together, I noticed the blood. Recoiling with horror, pain lanced through my entire being.

You did it then, echoed a voice that at once sounded and didn’t sound like me.

Sir Nicklaus

The Emperor had summoned his knights…and they had answered his summons. They knew that it was a matter of great importance. They waited patiently as their Emperor began to address them…

Eleanor

We had all known a day like this was inevitable. We had known of it since we had been in school. You see one never knew with Eleanor. Appearances could be deceiving – one moment she was very calm, the next…not so.

Finish the story collaboration – an introduction

When you are freshly off the Alexa high, you want to take a well-deserved break from writing and blogging. And then when someone sends you an email to onboard you for a fiction collaboration, what do you say but yes?

The concept is quite simple: each of the collaborators has written a story prompt and each of us has to write a tale of fiction (my favourite kind) and viola – you have yourself content for the blog!

My take on the prompts: