fiction|poetry Category
Karti’s Revenge
Posted on December 21, 2017 9 Comments
Karti scrubbed with grim determination. It was tougher than she’d thought to get blood out of carpet, and she was sure someone in the building had already called the cops. Even with Marron doped up on tranqs, she’d had a hell of a time muffling his screams. Someone must have heard.
Exit, Night
Posted on December 6, 2017 25 Comments
Night enters, rudely awakening fear while light peeks tentatively from other rooms. Fate reaches for the one match still housed within its book, lone survivor of smoking years. Phosphorus flowers into flame, snatching at the candle. Vanquished, darkness slinks away.
Madame Veronica
Posted on December 6, 2017 16 Comments
Kevin read the sign above the door again. Madame Veronica: Clairvoyant and Psychic Healer. It had been a year since the accident. His memory of that night was still sketchy. They’d been at the Andersons’ for dinner. Lars had been overgenerous with the wine, as usual. He’d argued with Gillian over who should drive home. […]
Noir
Posted on August 3, 2017 22 Comments
Crimson splatters line the walls, crime scene tape girds the door. Shattered glass, a single lily, and pristine white shagpile carpet grace the floors. He lifts the needle, abruptly silencing the Shostakovitch piano concerto. Tipping back his trilby, he scratches his head. Who still uses a record player? Image credit: SouthernRebel/pixabay SaveSave SaveSave SaveSave
Night Shift
Posted on September 4, 2015
The sun peeked over the horizon, ensuring everything was as he’d left it. The earth, clearly pleased to see his return, snaked long wispy tendrils of steam upwards, celebratory streamers heralding the return of her luminous lover. Fred yawned and stretched, reaching his fingers high into the early dawn sky. Night shifts were starting to […]
Tiny Acts of Revenge
Posted on March 29, 2015
The blue and white pot glares disapprovingly at me from the mantle. In death, in ashes, as in life, my mother has the power to make me feel inadequate. “Bury me in the ground. I don’t want to be burnt to a crisp and sit cooped up in some urn on a mantlepiece!” She […]
Secrets and Lies
Posted on March 29, 2015
‘And today’s sermon shall be on the value of chastity.’ The bitter thought swirls and sticks as I sit, eyes downcast, a penitent look fixed firmly on my face, listening to Mum berate me for missing my curfew, yet again. Why doesn’t she get it? Her rules were fine when I was a kid, but […]
The Wedding Sari
Posted on March 29, 2015
The fans circle, humming sonorously, making no difference in the dense hot air. My aunt and I sit surrounded by cascades of colourful, gold-embroidered silk as the small birdlike dark skinned shop assistant claws more saris from the shelves, fanning them out to their full glory, allowing the light to catch the subtle changes in […]
The Bestowing
Posted on March 29, 2015
The old woman sits, stooped and wizened on a small wooden stool at the front door of her cottage. The skin at her throat sags and droops, as if two sizes too big for her. Her gnarled fingers trace shapes in the air and her lips move in their silent dance, forming words that will […]
The Other Side
Posted on February 25, 2015 4 Comments
She wakes with a start. The air feels stale and cold. In the darkness, she fumbles for the bedside lamp, and jostles the bottle of whisky that stands vigil. Night must have fallen while she was asleep. The gentle click of the lamp reverberates in the silent room, but there’s no light. The power must […]
Asha Rajan 