Short Stories

Ping. Ping. Ping-ping-ping. The phone wouldn’t stop buzzing that morning. I glanced at the screen. It was our apartment WhatsApp group — the one meant for “important updates only.” The thing about the Keshav Kunj WhatsApp group is this: it always starts with good intentions. Someone shares a helpful reminder, like “Garbage pickup time has … Read more

At 2 a.m., the world outside was still. Inside my head, it was anything but. I was close to 11,000 feet above mean sea level, trying to sleep in my hotel room. The ceiling fan whirred softly above me, a steady rhythm that somehow made the silence louder. I thought I was sweating. I turned … Read more

There’s a little tea stall at the corner of our street. It is an old one. The paint is peeling, the wooden benches are wobbly, and the tea is always a little too sweet. But no one seems to mind. Every morning, the place fills up with people — strangers, neighbors, and regulars – all … Read more

The radio was playing an old song I hadn’t heard in years. Suddenly, it wasn’t just music anymore. It was the soft lilting of the song, the sound of melody drifting from the next room, and a presence I hadn’t felt in a long, long time. For a moment, I wasn’t sitting in my present. … Read more

I was not in a particular hurry, but closed lifts seem to do it to us. I tapped my foot as the lift doors finally closed, waiting to reach the ground floor. A few of us were crammed inside — strangers sharing a tiny metal box for a few seconds. Most of us stared at … Read more

The wedding was fixed for Wednesday. There was lots of shopping to do once her official leave began on Monday. The weekend was going to be busy for Saanvi. While her fiancé Aarav was away for his final bachelor weekend, she had a look at her to-do list. The backyard of Saanvi and Aarav’s house … Read more

He sat in his room at home in the dark. All alone. In solitude. The noises he heard everyday were about to start. And they did. On the dot. At the precise appointed time. The noises never started all at once. It always started with a couple of voices. Then as time progressed, it always … Read more

“Alexa, don’t run away from me. Listen.” “Playing, Run to you by Bryan Adams.” “Alexa, Stop.” “Alexa, will you pay attention here for once?” “I didn’t quite get that.” “Not you, Alexa. Alexa, you!” “I still didn’t get that. Could you…” “Alexa, Stop.” “Alexa, will you give me, for heaven’s sake, some break from this … Read more

The morning sun reached the centre of the sky. Even in full brightness, Lakhinath Kaman looked like a ghost. He sat with a straight back on his second-hand two-wheeler. No beeps on his phone. Not a single phone call. No one thought of calling him. The only calls he received in the past week were … Read more