Fragile - 55 Word Story

She lived in the fragile hope that they would understand her. She did not want to marry. Her aim was not to work in the kitchen and then in an office for 8 hours a day. All she wanted, was to free her soul from the rigors of life.  She left everything behind and disappeared.

Moon - 55 Word Story

The boy was painting the moon. Objects of space excited him. His mind kept repeating, “New-Moon, Waxing-Crescent, Waxing-Gibbous, Waning-Gibbous, Waning-Crescent Full-Moon”, as he intensely colored the white shaped circles. Satisfied, he left them to dry. He would submit it the next day. A rat cut it the same night. His moon shaped tears never stopped. 

Silence - 55 Word Story

People were screaming. Talking. Making a noise about everything that was happening in the world. She heard them all. Her head spun with all the noise surrounding her. She wanted to speak out. Scream at them all. Yell. But no one would follow her. It was time to un-follow everyone. Time to silence her time-line.

Train - 55 Word Story

Anandilal Poddar lived in a place and time when trains were unheard of. Days when trains plied only in Bombay. He picked a handful of his best painters and sent them to Bombay. He made them paint the train in his haveli in Rajasthan. Today, people from Mumbai visit the haveli to view his train.

Mystery - 55 Word Story

The girl looked at the huge mysterious box in consternation. She had never seen anything like this. She opened it, not heeding her father’s warning. Pulling her brothers arm, she entered the wondrous box that hung from a thick rope. Just as she was inspecting her surroundings, she heard a click. The lift started moving.

Fairy-Tale 55 Word Story

Tears rolled down her eyes as Ayesha felt him collapse on her. The darkness hid the salty drops and the silence in the field still reverberated with her screams as he had raped her. The stormy night had taken her virginity. As the lightning struck, she screamed again. Her brother had ended her fairy-tale story.

Distance - 55 word story

The little boy looked at the four circle logo of the Audi. It was parked a little distance away from where he stood with his mother. She was examining some silver bangles at a store when he pointed towards the logo and shouted, “Why don’t you buy those bangles mommy? They look better than these.”

Possession - 55 word story

The man had just 10 bucks in his pocket. But a family of six to feed. The killings around them did not matter anymore. Survival was all that mattered. He bought a chocolate, cut it into 6 pieces and the family had their last dinner together. They were sent to a concentration camp that evening.

Seduction - 55 word story

Shekhar was watching the movie with his mother.

(The actor caught the actress’s sari, and pulled her close to him. She smiled reluctantly as his fingers grazed her face. His touch sent shivers down her spine as he moved his lips to kiss her...)

And then the screen showed two flowers seducing each other.

Whew!

Alcohol - 55 word story

Maria looked around surreptitiously. There was no one in sight. Smiling, she took a few sips from the small bottle. Tomorrow she would be back on her way to sanity.

Police-women entered the parking-lot and arrested her. Maria had forgotten the video-camera. She should have remembered she was in Saudi Arabia. Alcohol was banned here.

Taste - 55 word story

Meena stood looking at her field. She loved the aroma of wet soil and the feel of fresh air on her face. It was harvest time. Taking a deep breath she bent low to cut the sugarcane. Instead, she picked a handful of soil and gulped it down. The fertilizers killed her the next day.

Irony - 55 word story

Satisfied, the man looked around him. The house looked beautiful now. He remembered how decrepit it had been a month back. He had scraped it, filled the cracks, smoothened it and colored it brown. He turned to the owner and returned the house keys. It was time to go home. Back to his thatched hut.

Fight - 55 word story

She fought love as always. Love was not something you gave yourself to. It cut your soul. It made you forget who you really are. All it did was give you pain. Make you its slave. She deleted his number. Cut-off with all contacts. Left the city.

Lust would rule her life better. Fight over.

Silver - 55 word story

People sure have peculiar turn-on’s. So had he. The minute he looked at her, he knew he had to have her. It would not be easy to seduce her. But he was a player. He looked at her, wondering how to approach her. 55 year old women with silver streaked hair turned him on. Big-time. 

Epiphany - 55 word story

As she orgasmed, she felt nothing. No pain. No pleasure. No hurt. No happiness. The focus of climaxing made her feel nothing. That one moment. That one point of endless time. When there was no one but the two of them. At a height that was otherwise insurmountable. There was only the epiphany or nirvana.

Boredom - 55 word story

Her dream had been fulfilled five years ago. Women aeronautical engineers were a rare sight after all. The problem started when she married Atul. Women in his family weren’t allowed to work. They were dolls. Mere puppets. Boredom has set in now. There is only one way out. A fling with his best friend Sachin.

Gravity - 55 word story

The mother had tears rolling down her eyes. When will her stupid daughter ever understand the gravity of the situation? The need to keep her in-laws happy? Mamta was to get married soon. But she was adamant. She wouldn’t stoop so low.

Mamta refused to use the fairness and vaginal lotions lying on her dressing-table.

Blood - 55 word story

All she wanted was blood. It had been days since she had seen any. It scared her. If she did not get it, her life would end. If she didn’t bleed soon, she would have to abort her baby. A child born out of rape would die a hundred deaths before it leant to live.

Words - 55 word story

The babu had worked very hard. Fourteen years of his life had been sacrificed for her. He had forged deals. Transferred lands to trusted people. Converted government grounds to high-rises. Made money. Killed a few.  All in the name of the President.

But the only words he could write were Abhinav Kelkar. He was illiterate.

Catalyst - 55 word story

She was shocked. But the tears wouldn’t flow. Anger didn’t allow them to. “Divorce”, he said. He did not love her anymore. She lay on the bed, urging the tears to drown her grief. When nothing happened, she went to the kitchen and cut a nerve. Tears started flowing. The knife was the perfect catalyst.

Airport - 55 word story

I’ve always had a thing for pilots. Standing at the airport, I watched the handsome pilot talking intimately to a beautiful air-hostess. Smiling, I walked towards them. He was my man. The bitch was never going to see him again. He glanced at me without interest. I arrested him for holding a fake pilot’s license.

Decadence - 55 word story

The child looked at his notebook. He could not solve those sums. Tables were too difficult to remember. Angrily, he switched on the computer. ‘Calculator’ would help him solve them. He started playing Counter-Strike. Got bored in ten minutes. Ipad next. Bored. Cartoon then. Bored again. PSP followed. Boring.

Decadence of the brain. Wasn’t it?

Crime - 55 word story

He forced her to sign the document. Teary eyed, she did as asked. She did not want to go through this pain. But Karthik did not support her. The nurse entered, carrying the operation equipment. Dr. Karthik picked up the scalpel. He would abort his own girl child. A crime executed by his own sperm.

Night - 55 word story

Lolita’s task for the night was drawing circles. Yesterday it had been squares, and she had drawn them well. Her only drawing-aid was a pencil. She sketched her circles carefully. Every circle had to be perfect. For every crooked circle she drew, there would be another circle on her bare skin. Drawn with a peeler.

Relationships - 55 word story

Amrita shared a special relationship with him. Feeling his naked body slither over her, she moaned in pleasure. His hungry lips caressed her bare body as they made wild love. Perspiration mingled with heat. Lust peaked. Teary eyed, she climaxed. Looking at his picture on the almost bare wall, she pushed the dildo away. Condemned. 

Zoo - 55 word story

The monkey jumped in through the half-open car window. I froze, shell-shocked. Glaring at me, he reached out for the Pepsi bottle lying nearby. Smirking, he jumped out and opened the cap. I burst out laughing when he shared the drink with his friends.

The monkey must have thought he was in a human zoo.

Fear - 55 word story

Fear crept in, as he pushed her onto the bed. She couldn’t see who he was, but could feel his presence. He devoured her body, almost sucking her life out of it. He smelt awful and felt cold. But his lust was feverish. Chillingly feverish. She cried. He climaxed.

The incubus had taken her virginity.

Name - 55 word story

The Gulmohar tree stood in the center of the ground. The man surveyed the ground and knew what he had to do. The next morning the tree was dead. ‘Acid’, they said. A month later a swimming pool replaced the tree. High-rises would come up soon. Ironically, they decided to name it ‘Gulmohar Housing Society’.

Space - 55 word story

He dared not move. He was scared for his mother’s wellbeing. What if he hurt her while he raised his hand? What if she bled to death just because he had moved his head? There wasn’t enough space for movement. He was almost stiff. And she was afraid that her foetus had died. She cried.

Game - 55 word story

The war had started. The game had begun. The pilot maneuvered the aircraft towards the enemy line. Adrenaline rushed through his system. This is all he lived for. He knew the ‘Yudh Seva Medal’ was his. He moved to fire the rocket.

BOOM

The MiG-21 exploded.

The game didn’t even begin. He lived for nothing.

Bollywood - 55 word story

1976. He was the poster boy of Bollywood. The movies he worked on, colored the people’s lives. His famous pictures would pull the excited crowds to the movie-hall. They would jump, throw coins at the screen and applaud. He painted movie posters for a living. No one knew of his existence.

2000. He was redundant.

(prize winning entry)

Poison - 55 word story

Nothing excited her anymore. The whips, floggers and crops did not work. He hit and almost strangled her, licking her poison sprayed body. He was fast losing consciousness. She orgasmed thinking of the venom that could kill him. There was only one way she would administer the antidote. If and only if he kissed her.

Wish - 55 word story

Mahaveer had been fasting for almost 6 months. His pre-conditions to break the fast were not easy. A chained, bald-headed princess in tears; offering him uncooked lentils. Waiting with one foot in the house and the other outside. Princess Chandana had everything but tears. The monk turned away. Wishing him back she shed those tears.

Suitcase - 55 word story

The suitcase travelled with her everywhere. She never let go of it.

She packed diamonds in it and passed through the Green Channel.

He stole the diamonds and killed her.

He packed her body in it and threw it in the English Channel.

It never let go of her. She travelled everywhere with the suitcase.

Leather - 55 word story

Imran, the 13 year old boy swung the leather chabuk. Perfect. Unwrapping six blades, he fixed them along the whip. This was his first time. His father did this every year. In the evening, he joined the mourning procession. “Ya Ali”, he shouted, as he hit himself with the whip. It was time for Matam.

Label - 55 word story

Ours is the only family in the village that celebrates the birth of a girl child. I am 12 today. The cacophony of women and music is intoxicating. I see the old woman pick up the needle. She tattoos the beautiful paisley on my thigh. The label that flaunts the new whore of the village.

Chemistry - 55 word story

She entered the well-known coffeehouse. The aroma of coffee permeating all around her. But no. Today was not the day for coffee. She ordered the much talked-about strawberry smoothie. Sitting in the corner she sipped the pink drink. Little knowing, that it was all a part of chemistry with the cochineal beetles extract at Starbucks.

Dysfunctional - 55 word story

He swam and raced ahead of his brothers. They passed through a tunnel with no obstacle in sight. The goal, he had heard, was something to live for. He reached the target, awaiting the reward. His only reward were tears. Tears of a woman who could not conceive because he the sperm had been dysfunctional.