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Big Day Prep
Sleepless night, Running thoughts, But father said, “Sleep fast son.” But it can't be resisted,
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DNA
As I walked through this new city for the first time, something familiar constantly clicked in my mind, making me pause, every now and then. “I have definitely been here before,” I mumbled to myself, skimming my hand over the rough plaster, proceeding forward with the nagging feeling of familiarity.
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From one home to another
It was hot inside the bus – there was no air-conditioning. I was engulfed by the stench of stale sweat, cheap cologne and a gloomy scent of desolation. What an oxymoron, though, because the bus was anything but empty, with passengers crammed both inside and on the roof, clutching their bags of coconuts and fresh vegetables that they had collected from
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On my window pane
On my window pane they stay –
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Afternoon Tea
“The tea was really bad, eh?” the man from the cafe stepped up right next to Kazan, who was about to step on to the tracks. Startled, he stepped back on to the platform. He hadn't realised there was anyone else in the station.
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LIKE LADY MACBETH
Will you tell me a story? I have not slept for thousands of years,
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COSMOS
She sat at the throne of the moon, And put on her crown of stars.
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Vermillion
Radha stared ceaselessly at the mangled slab of flesh, blood and bones, trying to find any hint of resemblance between the person she'd known and loved, and been happily married to for all these years, and the mess lying in front of her.
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The Nights We Dream
Opening my eyes slowly, I sat up. The soft, cosy bed with its warm blanket from my dream had vanished. Above was the roof of the market stall, and beneath, the cold damp footpath. As my senses started to clear, unlike the fog that hid the watery winter sun above my head, I became very aware of two things: the tickling sensation on my nose and the unbearable chill. Lifting up one frozen hand I removed the
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My best friend and I
No kid is happy without a best friend and I'm especially glad for mine. She's not really the type of person anyone would be friends with but I love her nonetheless. The best part of my day is the evening when I play with her at the rooftop. No, she doesn't go to school with me. I actually don't even know which school she goes to or whether she goes to a school at all. She never discusses these matters with me. You see,
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AN ANONYMOUS RIDE
It was a ride, A dream ride, Between the future and the past,
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RETRO
Stolen moon scales, fresh parchments, Distant polaroid and broken pendants.
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The Finishing Line
There are people everywhere. Runners with their family or friends, maybe even both. It's far too easy to tell the runners apart from their well-wishers. The athletes are dressed in all white, the only things that's not white is the big bold black number glued right at the chest. Some of them did take the liberty to accessorise themselves with colourful headbands and colourful socks — some ankle high and some up to their knees. Anticipation can be detected in the faces of the tag-alongs, whereas on the runners' faces, a prominent look of dread sits rooted, which I'm sure is present on my face as well.
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The Evacuation
The feathery white clouds floating lazily across the cerulean sky indicated that it was going to be a lovely day. Just like other days that ended in massive brouhaha. Old Li Yan was sweeping the park, when he sensed something different in the air. He looked around, but everything seemed pretty normal. Call it the superstitions of an old man, but Yan's intuitions had never failed him previously. Something was not right.
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The Sky Moves Sideways
They asked me what I believed,
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Drizzles of Hesitation
It's another dark day. It was a sunny morning but looks like somebody suddenly stole the humour from the sky. It had seemed like a great day to go out without an umbrella, I thought, waiting under this sun-shed in front of a departmental store. This is why you should always listen to moms. The thundering is making the dark city glow with heavenly lights for split seconds. The cool temperature and vapours of
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Chaos
Counterfeit blessings, Virtual possessions, Freedom costs ineffable pain.
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WHILE FLYING IN THE DARK
While flying in the dark Beyond the sky, Above the arch,
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Ruins and Refuge
“Vulture Unit 32, departure in one hour. Remain under 800 meter radius of the rendezvous point.” The comm unit in Abbey's hand buzzed with a thick layer of static. The voice of her squad leader disappeared as she shifted her attention back to the task at hand. She marked down the time in her comm unit. Remembering things had never been her forte. But remembering to brush your teeth was one thing while remembering to get back to your ship before it left you stranded in the ruins of the old world was something else entirely.
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Victorian nose drop
Ponzi schemes and Freud's dreams, Mr Alan had suffered from a shrink flop, From voodoo nymphs and herbal creams, He mixed a Victorian nose drop.
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ONLY TRUE FRIEND
Depression is the only true friend. I have finally come to embrace it. I truly would rather be eternally depressed instead of being caged by the fallacies of affiliation. I am not understood just like everyone else, but I refuse to live in denial. I am not a happy person just like many others and I refuse to be in denial.
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Anjum Surfers & Co.
They thought she was possessed by her son's ghost. The sand coloured saree that she wore far too often, and her curly, greyed, short hair added to this belief of theirs that settled as sediment in their hearts.
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A Deal with the Henna
It was late noon or early afternoon in an insignificant city, and a certain rickshaw was roaming the insignificant streets of that insignificant city with an unsettling smugness.
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An often told tale of a rich girl and poor guy
When our hero first crashed into our heroine in the middle of a corridor in their college, none of them were aware of the life-altering incidents were about to follow. Our hero was annoyed because this hold up meant he would be late for class and our heroine was annoyed because she was now late to her first date with her seventh boyfriend in as many months. Oh and by the way, our hero is called Raja because apparently that's what lower middle class people name their sons. Our heroine is called Tina because that's what rich businessmen who are often called Chowdhury name their daughters.
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SOLITUDE
Never again was the night void, The stars were the only witnesses, Of my existence.
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To My Author
The book is opened and the story starts, With your words, but with my voice, With the plot you wove, but with the life I live, A story that is both of ours.
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Where Did I Put That Damned Pendrive
I remember the first time I saw Rafiul bhai. We just moved into our new Mirpur house, and I accompanied my mom when she decided to visit our next door neighbours. Rafiul bhai was sitting in front of a
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THERE WILL I MEET MYSELF
Where all light streams into one place, Where all love heals itself, Where no one dare hide their face, There will I meet myself.
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Letters of a daughter
I keep staring at the fidget spinner in my hand. It keeps me focused. I wish it kept me distracted. It's funny how people keep advising me on how to cope up with my loss, without even understanding it.
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Mutual Feelings
After so many years of our marriage and some years after our kids got married, I realised one night while we were having dinner that we don't talk much like we used to. Sometimes I forget what your voice is like, until you call for me. Must be the old age.
