Everybody's Story (Short story by Sadhika Menon)

Once upon a time, Alan was in his mother's womb and a few months later he was out and ready for the world. Alan's parents loved and cared for him dearly. They worked hard so he could have a comfortable life and the luxury to follow his passion and dreams.

On his 10th birthday, his dad got him a video game console. It was the best gift ever. He spent a lot of time playing. He was fascinated by the graphics and wanted to know more. This peaked his interests in graphic design over the years. He taught himself basic software and learnt more by designing T shirts and posters for his friend's bands. His parents were happy to see the focus he exhibited in what he was passionate about. They were happy they made good parents. They had their own hopes and dreams before Alan. His dad was going to eave his job to open up a small restaurant and his mom was a wild spirit who just wanted ti travel all over the world. But things changed and they had to restructure their lives with a kid on the way. His dad never got to open that restaurant and his mom never got to wear that blue bikini at Navagio. But they did not live in the past and regret and celebrated on doing a good job raising a kid and having a beautiful family.

On his 18th birthday, his dad got him a very expensive laptop for college and told him he should never give up on his dream and keep at designing even if his major was different now. Alan left for college and as it happens to the best of us he spent mos of his time getting stoned and drunk. It was a rite of passage Alan had to take. The fun years went by pretty quick and Alan now had a huge student loan to pay off and he had minimal job offers. He took up the first one he got. His mom and dad urged him to follow his dreams and they would support him but Alan wanted to make it on his own. He took the accounting job. His dad did not want him to compromise and live his life not feeling passionate about what he does. His parents has worked too hard for him to settle for a life of compromise.

A few later he met a girl and married her. 5 years later, Alan was going to be a dad. He couldn't wait to meet his daughter and dedicate his life to her. On the day his wife's water broke, he rushed her to the hospital. As he entered he saw their logo and smiled. He was at the hospital whose logo he had designed. He looks behind and his parents are there to offer him help. At that moment, everything was perfect and he truly appreciated his blessed life. 

STORY (Short Story by Smruti Choudhury)

She kept on glancing back to check if he was following her. He was. That reassured her. She walked with a light step, soaking in all the sights and sounds of this amazing place. She had never seen such majestic structures. And so many colors!

She even liked the afternoon sun beating down her neck. Of course, she had heeded her host’s advice and slathered on sunscreen to save herself from sunburn. But she still burned. Her skin was the color of warm honey mixed with burnt umber now. She liked it. She had never tanned so much, even when she would lie for hours sunbathing back home.

But what interested her most was the eyes. Everyone had such beautiful dark eyes and the women lined them with kohl to make them pop. She had seen babies with kohl as well. It was said to ward off the evil eye.

The boy who was following her as she walked around the palace also had kohl in his eyes. He was around 10 or 11, definitely pre-teen. But he looked interesting. He didn’t come across as the annoying tourist guides who were always pestering her to give them some money. He hadn’t approached her but kept her within sight. He didn’t even look like he wanted any money. Maybe he had never seen a white skinned woman ever. No, that was not possible. This place was crawling with white people of all shapes and sizes. Jaipur was considered one of the must-see destinations in India.

The red sandstone walls merged into a seeming infinity, stretching beyond it. The exquisite carpet of the erstwhile inhabitants of the City Palace, Maharaja something or the other merged with the giant kurta type garment of the kings and seemed to be suspended in the air. Everything merged with everything in a riot of colors and everything was blurred at the same time. The only thing that was well defined was the boy with his kohl rimmed eyes twinkling.

She shook herself from this reverie and came back to the riot of colors. She looked around for the boy and found him at the corner, looking at her with the same intensity. She beckoned him to come to her. He didn’t. She took out a piece of candy from her bag and offered it to him. He slowly walked upto her and put out a timid hand for the candy. She let him take it and gestured him to sit down next to her. The boy chomped away at the candy bar. They looked very comfortable sitting there in the middle of the museum watching tourists throng by, ignoring the heat and the crowd. They looked happy.

Finally, the boy broke the calm comfort and asked “So, what is your story?”

She smiled and ruffled his hair thinking about her son who would have been the same age as this boy. He might even have the same confidence. Everything would be just as same except for the eyes. The eyes with its kohl would only belong to this timid yet confident Indian boy who had been following her around.

An Ode To Alcohol (Prose by Sadhika Menon)

To my eternal love, thank you for never leaving my side. You never let me leave you too. But why would I? You have always been there for me, no questions and no judgments. You are my one and only. My beautiful ball and chain.

I remember meeting you for the first time when I had runaway from home. I had sworn it was the last time he would lay his dirty hands on me. You really saved me that night, made me feel safe and like I was going to be alright. I had a good start, I met a good old lady, Welma a few days later who gave me a job in her grocery store and a room in her beautiful home. She became family. Life was so good. I only met you for the fun occasions in that period- for birthdays, weddings, happy things! Remember when you and I were just fair-weather friends? Man, that was a long time ago. 

Things changed fast and for the worse. Welma passed away and I was thrown out of her house by her relatives as they thought I had something to do with her death. I was on the road again and you comforted me again when we met at a local pub. It was just like the last time, I felt it would all work out. Remember we skipped town together? I still remember that hopeful road journey, just me and you and a million possibilities. 

Life kept throwing the biggest curve balls, but there was nothing you and I couldn't face together. We were going to make a beautiful life together. I would have a big house and keep a whole cabinet full of you. We were gonna have the most amazing parties with famous actors, models and all congratulating us for our amazing success. But that never happened.

10 years later, we did not achieve anything we set out to do. I did not plan to spend all my time with you. I should have kept you as an occasional friend. I did not realize that even though you were there, you drove everyone else away. How can someone be so loving and cruel at the same time? Now it is like you have this venomous control on me and I am always at your mercy. Our relationship turned toxic. I wish I had never met you.

ALCOHOL (Short Story by Smruti Choudhury)

“Do you know what alcohol does to your liver?” Mickey asked. 

“I know what it does to my mind…hic” giggled Minnie.

Mickey had no option but to drag a fighting, clawing Minnie to the bedroom and lock her in.

He quickly came back and hid the bottle of bourbon at the back of the kitchen counter.

It would be a matter of minutes before Minnie knocked the bedroom door down. When she was under the influence of alcohol, she got superhuman powers.

As Mickey was pouring out the dregs from the glass into the sink, Minnie crept up behind him and hit him with a frying pan, knocking Mickey unconscious. She then reached behind the kitchen counter to retrieve her bottle of bourbon. Mickey always hid the bottle there. “By now he should have found better hiding place” scoffed Minnie.

After a few quick pulls, Minnie glanced at the still frame of Mickey and realized that his breathing had slowed down. She fell to her knees and kept her head on Mickey’s chest to listen.

All she could hear was the loud ‘Thump Thump” in her head. A bit disoriented, she got up and gulped down two fingers of bourbon before she even reached the bedroom. Then Minnie passed out.

The next morning, Minnie woke up to the smell of frying bacon and eggs and smiled at the thought of breakfast. Her head still ached but her stomach was growling more. She walked out to the living room and stopped short at seeing everything changed.

“What happened here?” Minnie asked.

“I did some spring cleaning” answered Mickey, “Breakfast?”

Minnie sat down obediently and Mickey turned from the stove with the frying pan in his hand. He had a big scar running across his face from where Minnie had hit him last evening with a frying pan.

Minnie noticed that it was the same frying pan that Mickey was using for the bacon. She got a bad feeling about it and her stomach churned.Mickey raised the frying pan and just as he was swinging it over to Minnie’s face, she threw up.

It was the best projectile vomit that Mickey had ever seen and he ducked out of the way. The pan went flying across the dining table and crashed against the wall, splattering hot bacon grease over the polka dotted wallpaper. The oil stains disturbed the symmetry, forming new dots.

Mickey turned to look at Minnie who was alternating between giggling and throwing up.

“What’s so funny? Asked Mickey.

“You won’t understand” answered Minnie

“Try me”

“Don’t you see… it’s the alcohol which saved me from getting an ugly scar”

“Bite me!”

MAGIK (Short Story by Smruti Choudhury)

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT 

Meg flips on to her back, while cradling her phone. 

MEG

Right. So I have hit publish. Now what? 

She listens for a few seconds, before flipping back to her belly. She drags the laptop closer to her and watches in amazement as Ryan takes over her screen, remotely. 

He does few things, which make the page rearrange itself. 

MEG

Wait, tell me what you are doing. I would need to learn this, right? 

INT. OFFICE - NIGHT

RYAN

(cradling his phone between his ear and shoulder)

All in good time, Megs. Just watch the magic happen. 

Ryan reacts to something that Meg says on the phone and stops. His expression changes. He quietly puts the phone down and looks at the screen. 

FADE TO:

INT. LIVING ROOM - DAY

Meg is dusting the sofa. She is dressed as a sexy french maid. It doesn’t look like she is doing any actual dusting. She bends over and looks back in a very suggestive manner. 

We pull back to see that her webcam on the laptop is on. 

Meg pouts and slowly walks to the camera, blows a kiss and switches it off. 

Immediately, she drops the sexy act and sits down. Right then Ryan enters with some coffee. 

RYAN

Coffee? 

MEG

Sure

Ryan passes on a mug to Meg. 

MEG

You don’t have to be grumpy about it. Its not forever. 

RYAN

I don’t like it. 

MEG

You don’t have to like it. You don’t have to watch it. 

RYAN

How can I ignore it? I have to authorize the payment.

MEG

You can teach me. Why won’t you teach me? 

Ryan has nothing to say. He walks away. 

Meg sighs. Then puts on her game face again and switches on the webcam. 

FADE TO:

INT. BEDROOM - NIGHT

Ryan and Meg are in the middle of passionate sex. The laptop chimes. 

Ryan freezes. 

He gets off Meg angrily and looks for the laptop. He finds it and slams it shut. 

MEG

Baby, don’t get mad

RYAN

(spluttering with rage)

H H How...How dare you? Have you no boundaries? 

MEG

It’s not how it looks? 

RYAN

It is exactly how it looks. 

Ryan reaches over to Meg and tries to strangle her

MEG

(breathing heavily)

No baby, this would have been the last one...l..let me go. Yo..you ar..are hurting m..me. 

Meg flails her arm around. Kicks wildly but can’t get out of Ryan’s grip. 

Ryan loosens his grip and just sits there looking at Meg. 

MEG

This client is new. He wanted to see Magik and her boyfriend doing it. He had promised 1 Miilion dollars to just see us. (pause)

MEG (CONT'D)

After this, I would never have to do this. This was Magik’s last act. Don’t you want to be free? Don’t you want Magik to die? 

RYAN

(Sobbing) I don’t Magik to die. I like her. 

MEG

I thought you liked me. 

RYAN

What is the difference? 

MEG

Magik is not me. Magik doesn’t love you like I do? 

RYAN

But I met you when you were Magik. In that shady bar. 

MEG 

(Confused) But then why are you upset? 

RYAN

You still don’t get it, do you? I want Magik to myself. I don’t want to share you with anyone. 

MEG

Ok. I get it. 

She lies down again and pulls Ryan closer to him. She starts kissing him but her eyes are blank. Ryan starts moaning. 

FADE TO BLACK.

Musings of a magician (Short Story by Sadhika Menon)

I was raised by a very poor family. We barely scrambled one meal a day as there were 11 of us. They had found me abandoned in the sewer and had rescued me. They shared what little they had with me and took care of me. They were my heroes. But times were tough for all of us.

Growing up, I always looked up at the big buildings as palaces people live in. I lived in a very different world where bleak reality was staring right at us everyday. But because of that I was a very vivid dreamer. I thoroughly enjoyed escaping to my fantasy lands. I had built castles, kingdoms, whole universes in the sky. My imagination knew no bounds. I could be swimming in the chocolate river of my Zokan kingdom on the moon or I could use the rainbow as the slide in my Tektum planet in a different galaxy. I could eat as many cookies, chocolates and every other treat in my worlds. I was the happiest when I was lost in my thoughts. And as I grew older, my worlds also evolved with me.

One day, in one of my dreams, I met a strange woman. I had never met anyone else in my worlds before. She was staring at me and somehow looking through me at the same time. She was wearing a gown made of a shiny fluid material I had never seen before. I did not feel threatened by her presence and since she was a part of my imagination I was confident to have a conversation with her. 

"Who are you and what are you doing in the kingdom of Ukwepek?", I said. She kept looking at me with no change in her expression. I decided to go up to her and touch her to see if she would react. I did that, and she disappeared. I was very confused. I waited for her to come back but she did not. I felt a big thud in my head and I woke up and it was my step brother sitting on me. I was awake but I knew I had to go back and find her.

That night, I was back in Ukwepek again and there she was looking through me again. This time I was better prepared to handle the situation. "Can I help you with something? Look, I mean no harm but you are in my kingdom and I will need your purpose for visiting here. And if help is what you need, I am willing to hear you out", I yelled. She started to glide towards me and she was in front of me in seconds. She was very fast. "I am here to grant you a wish. My lord wants to do something to help your situation in the other world and I am here to grant you ONE wish.", she whispered. I was not expecting that. I mean even though she was the voice of my imagination, for that moment she did not feel like she was conjured by me. But then again, if someone offers you one wish you do not blow that chance now.

"I want to be a real magician who can will himself anything he wants. I do not mean a trick magician who will take a bunny out of his hat, but a magician like you, who can grant people their wishes." She still had no change in her expression. She continued to place a stick on my head and the last thing I remember is a big flash of light and I was awake in my house. "Wow, that was one intense dream",I thought to myself. I decided to get something to eat. I was craving bacon, but we couldn't get that. I took my plate and served myself a small portion of the porridge Ma had left on the stove. When I began to eat, the porridge tasted different. It wasn't porridge at all. I looked at the plate and released I had conjured up bacon. I couldn't believe it was real. She was real. I was ready to give back to my family and I knew life was going to be a fantastical adventure thereon.

Naive Protests (Short Story By Sadhika Menon)

The grumpy old man had taken their ball again. They couldn't let this go on.

The grumpy old man, Mr Parekh's house was right next to the only park the kids had to play. They often played cricket or catch. Many a times the ball went straight to his porch. He would shout at them to not throw balls on his property and in order to teach them a lesson, he confiscated all the balls that came his way. Even if the children begged him to return them, he would scowl at them and scare them away.

The kids weren't keeping count but they estimated that the man may have a collection of 30 balls at the very least. It wasn't fair he was keeping whats theirs with no repercussion. They had even collectively complained to their parents but none of them wanted to get on Mr Parekh's wrong side. He had been the community president for 10 years and had a lot of respect within the community. So the kids had to take matters into their own tiny hands. They had to teach him a lesson.

They decided to make his life a little difficult. It started with ringing his doorbell and hiding repeatedly till he got flustered and angry. They started playing very loudly and all of them would scream at the top of their lungs till he came out and lost it. They took thier dogs to poop in front of his porch. But besides riling him up temporarily, their actions did not get their lost balls back.

One day they ran out balls. They knew needed to ask Mr Parekh to return them. Uptil now, they had individually approached him. This time they all decided to go, so none of them had to face him alone.

Mr Parekh is taken aback seeing 10 kids on his porch. One of them musters the courage to voice their collective demand. "Uncle, we are really sorry our cosco balls disturb you. But now we have lost so many our parents wont buy us anymore. We will try not to throw them on your side, but could you please return the balls. We are very sorry, for everything", he said. They get the door shut on their faces. All the kids decide to keep standing there. After 20 minutes, the door opens and Mr Parekh's helper comes and gives them their 40 balls. The kids rejoice, screaming 'Thank You Uncle', 'Thank You Uncle' all the way.

Mr Parekh,sitting on his rocking chair, sipping his tea, smiles gently.