Vidya decided that the building was at least 350 feet high. She balanced herself carefully on the railing, and looked down. Funny, she thought. She had always been scared of heights as a child. And now…

Somewhere, a woman screamed.

Vidya The Vanquisher of Villainous Elements grinned as she flew down to save the world.

Trying

Spirals.
Flowers. Some with sepals.
Blissful stars, fiendish crescent moons. Spiked suns. And all that galactic nonsense.
Meticulously doodled on white paper.
One whole page devoted exclusively to these little masterpieces.

The upturned lines on the smileys started drooping.
The images became frenzied, riotous.
The dark blue ink, mutinous.

She wished they had been words

Sometimes

I’m tired of reading between the lines and measuring the depth. I’m tired of placing everything under a damned microscope. I wish I could admire the beauty of the surface, for a change. I wish I could appreciate meaninglessness, irrelevance and anything that is about as much use as a chocolate teapot.
Only sometimes, though.

Delusion

The past can be terribly deceptive. It’s like an old photograph. You see a smiling face, a loving arm around someone, and your eyes start glistening with unshed tears.
I look so happy…
Photographs can lie.
They’re just images you create.
Smiles can be faked.
The past can delude.
All because you want to believe.

Mirror

Remember that day in the coffee shop? You know who appeared on that empty chair beside you. You tried to hide her, didn’t you? With extra cups of cappuccino and silly laughter and inane conversations. Do you think your friends noticed? No, you did a pretty good job.

It’s a pity reflections can’t be killed.

The right choice

She bit her lip in frustration. She couldn’t believe she was in such a situation again.
Choices. Argh. Why did it always have to be either this or that? Why me? Why me?
No. She had to choose. She had to make a decision. And the right one, for that matter.

"Beige. The beige bag."

First time

“Two, please,” I told the guy behind the counter.
Keya’s eyes were alight with excitement. I was more composed.
She reached for hers with trembling hands.
“You’re almost twenty!” I teased.
“It’s your first time too,” she retorted. “Even you were never allowed this stuff”
I grinned, and took a bite of the cotton candy.

The Painting

Light streamed in through the frayed curtain. Rhea was already awake. She was frowning at the painting she had hung on the wall last night. There was something vaguely disturbing about it…
Realization struck. She shuddered.

That was a bad hiding-place, she thought contemptuously. The spider, now on the floor, twitched briefly and lay still.

Caprice

She spun wildly, her crazy footwork sending him into a delightful tizzy. Soon, more appeared. Behind the apple bush. Beneath the willow. Beside the sapphire stream. The patter of tiny feet filled the silent night.
The wind noticed, and whispered a warning.
They twinkled out of sight, leaving him with a broken midsummer night’s dream.

will power

Don’t stare at him, don’t stare at him, don’t stare…I peeked at him from beneath my eye lashes.

NO…No looking at him! I squeezed my eyes shut.


“Maya, I hate to break your reverie, but could you please read ‘Ode to a Nightingale’ for us?”

The class waited.


Well.

This was going to be tough.

Fear

I can’t bear it any longer. I can’t skulk in the darkness forever.
I have to sneak a quick look. I just have to!

Gingerly, I lift the curtain…

--------------------
---------------

I creep back to the corner, shaking.

Footsteps.
I sink deeper into the shadows.
An impatient tap.
“It’s time.”

I walk numbly.

Stage fright is normal.