Lexicon

  2.Did you know? “How did it go?” Cam asked.  “Not an ideal first day of college” “Oh” I gave him a sad smile. He returned it too. In that moment, we said everything without words. Everything about how he was sorry my classmates found out, about how I knew I would never really be accepted in society, about how it felt to be illegitimate. Everything. It’s fascinating just how much a sad smile can hide.  As we were crossing the footpath beside one of those beautiful ponds in the city, he asked me pointing at the water lilies “Lara? Did you know water lilies lasted for only three to five days?”  Cam was sad. I knew it since he would throw random facts my way whenever he was. His way of coping up, I assumed.  “No, I didn’t know that.” ~~~ “Hello?!” yelled the young man in the floral shop in the North-west valley.  He seemed to have been calling my name for a while now but I didn’t realise.  “Yeah, sorry. Can I have a bouquet of blue water lilies please?”...

3.Water lilies It’s 3 a.m. and I’ve given up on trying to sleep. Because everytime I do, I hear my screams. Helpless and hopeless. Desperate cries of help that will always ring in my ears.  The whole night is basically about me shifting sides and my bed creaking beneath me every time I do.  “Cam?” I asked, to the darkness in my room.  “I miss you. I miss how you made me feel like I wasn’t a bad person. Like I had the potential to improve. And that I deserved to be treated better than being tagged as ‘illegitimate’. I miss your smile, your jokes, your presence. Everything you said, everything you didn’t. I miss you everyday, every moment. And above all…I miss us. I miss what we were together. Our talks, our time spent together. Our life after we met each other”  I didn’t hear a response. But I’m not quite sure what else I was expecting.  At around 7 a.m. I got up to leave. As I cycled towards my destination, I recalled every little detail of that day crystal clea...

  Untold A raindrop once said,  while sharing his pain  "I have been through much more  than just going down the drain  I have been wasted, I have been saved I have been soaked, I will be again Though I've seen so much  The thing that left a scar was watching a cloud suffer by each drop forced in, so far but it didn't complain, it didn't cry patiently waited to silently die-" he stopped midsentence as his voice just died  After which teardrop cried, "I get where you come from these struggles are no joke though we seem to be mere drops, we're proof of lost hope"  Raindrop nodded in pain then stood completely still as he noticed blood drop's 'sigh's and the tragedy hidden beneath his  eyes just the extent of what they had to hold  convinced him people have stories far worse  and untold...

It was a deserted road and Mr. Arora was more than sure not to meet a company by the break of dawn, which was still about some nine hours away.  He walked breathlessly towards the only open tea shop, with a heavy bagpack and two huge suitcases. He walked for what seemed like forever but as crazy as it sounds, the closer he went toward the shop the further it appeared to be.  He finally stopped still to breathe. As he did, he looked at the view ahead of him and thought of the striking contrast between what he saw and where he came from.  The sky was lined with shimmering stars, not street lights. The air was fresh not polluted. The only sounds audible were those of crickets, not vehicle horns. But all the above observations were least significant to Mr. Arora.  His way of looking at the contrast was analyzing the industrial development. It was negligible where he was right now and considerably good from where he had come. It would be safe to say, majority of credit fo...

He stood behind the threshold  between his new life and old Old, was bit dull but just fine and new, was all bright sunshine  He paused midway, conflicted and sad for leaving behind every experience he had  every thought which in his mind once crossed would now just become a lesson lost God read his mind, understood his concern and blessed the man with a bag for every lesson he had to learn The man was elated, he finished packing his experience  but as he moved towards the door he started missing convenience So he stuffed in his bag  his entire comfort zone  then left for the door but saw his habits sitting alone Unable to resist he packed them too and took his step towards everything new With h is bag on his back, the weight was weighing him down as before his new life had a chance to unfold he collapsed by the weight without ever reaching the threshold...

      "Parul!"   "PARUL FAST!!"   "FOR GOD'S SAKE PARUL, RUN FASTER!!!"   It takes everything in Aditi and Armita to not jump out of the moving bus, lift me to my knees and cart me back to the bus. They have to understand it's also taking everything in me to not faint right on the spot.  I'm panting so hard my lungs hurt. My whole body is aching with pain I never knew I had it in me to bear. Regardless, I find myself running at my best speed towards a bus.  And surprise! I make it to the bus.      The moment I get in, Armita and Aditi pull me into a tight hug like they almost thought they'd lost me forever. I would be lying if I said I didn't think the same too.  I inhale a deep breath and close my eyes chanting 'it's over, it's fine now, I'm fine and so are my friends. God, thank you' on loop.  No amount of I'm fines could ever make me believe that though. ' Cause I'm SO not fine.   About an hour ago m...

 

  When other kids my age feared being forced to drink milk...I feared death.  I was different, and that fact never failed to make its existence obvious. While I was convinced my life was a curse, one day it so happened... On an especially crowded street with more soldiers than civilians, I tried to carry my twelve year old self without having people shove me to the ground. They successfully did though, they always did. At that point, it did not even feel like anything beyond an added dirt stain on my dress.  I got up, to see a hand circle my mouth before I could even think of reacting. Then another hand swiftly lifted me to my feet. I had already been panting but with my nose covered, I craved air.  After about a blurry minute I found myself in a dimly lit kitchen. The boy who lifted me a while ago insisted I do the dishes. I protested at first, cried even but one glare of his was enough to shut me up. As I did what I was told out of fright, I heard voices of many me...

[This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses  schools, events and incidents are the products of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.]   “ Ignorance killed the cat;          curiosity was framed!"                                                                       - Quote by C. J. Cherryh Four years ago Electromagnetism is the physical interaction among electric charges, magnetic moments, and the electromagnetic field. The electromagnetic field can be static, slowly changing, or form waves. Electromagneti...

   

  On one of the parapet walls on the rooftop of a deserted skyscraper stood a middle aged man. He seemed to have one of those faces with a permanent frown, huge dark circles and highly wrinkled cheeks.  He held a clear green bottle of beer in one hand and an empty one in another.    I had an urge to immediately rush his way but I had known better.  I knew for a reason that, that parapet wall gave me an electrifying sort of thrill, as though challenging me to jump. What was disturbing though, was how although I hate to admit, I liked the feeling. I feared liking the feeling, craving it and giving in to it too.   But people like this man kept coming here on this infamous rooftop occasionally, luring me towards those awaiting walls.   Within the wink of an eye, his right leg was suspended beyond the parapet over nothingness...unless of course, you count the ground fifty floors below.    This time I couldn't help but sprint towards him. I regrett...

                                               Nobody would ever believe me on this. Not my friends, not my own family, not even you.   Every single night at around 10:00 p.m. I would hear the sounds of the piano. It was feeble at first, then subtle and soft, next it was audible and gradually it reached a stage where it became unbearably deafening. I had been reporting the same in the society office for months but no actions had been taken. I even tried to ask other neighbours for help, but in vain. One day I decided that I had had enough. My board exams were approaching and the tension in the air was already enough. The disturbing music only made things worse. Determined, I got up to leave and marched up the stairs, stomping angrily at the poor floor. It didn’...

That Night One of my first and oldest memories dates back to when I was a preteen. It gives me full-body shivers to think about even today, as an adult.  It was a no moon night. As fate would have it, the entire town had a power outage. This particular night also happened to be the first time my parents let me live home alone while they were out for work. I remember shivering intensely. Tears rolled down my cheeks when I couldn’t even get myself to muster enough courage to grab a jacket. I had my head buried in my hands when my eyes caught the sight of something unfamiliar. At first, it was hard to know if it was just my sleep deprived self making up visions or something really was up.  As I inched closer to the broken wall, I figured it wasn’t broken after all.  It didn’t exist anymore! Kid you not, by this time I had lost control over my limbs. They simply felt like a few lifeless grams of flesh.  And I had a fair reason to feel that way! It’s not everyday you see...

  He hated flowers... I once met a guy who looked older than his age whose behavior was weird and opinions beyond strange He received flowers daily bouquets of beautiful Jasmine, Rose, Lily but trashed all instead "I hate flowers" he often said I wondered where that came from and asked him too he said "The answer's too deep, too dark for you" When my curiosity would reach its peak I would force him to finally speak "I've just spent too long 'round flowers" I'd wonder then, just how many hours? Just how long would that take you To wish flowers were out of your view? "So you live in a garden!" I exclaimed with surprise Just when a sad smile reached his eyes "Never grow up" he whispered and went After years I now know just what he meant As I receive bouquets from fakers and more from those I barely knew I wish I could go back in the past and forget flowers lie in cemeteries too  -Palavi Karnik

  Floating came to me naturally  I'd even swim occasionally  'cross the ocean ahead of me No matter how endless  it seemed to be The sunny air, the tides were bliss  Now it's all a part  Of what I miss Though the air's nearly the same But not quite It's all darkness I see Even though there's light Now, there are people to watch  And more to judge many to pass harsh comments  Like they hold some grudge  "We just want  to see you afloat!"  Oh, how easily  the words escape their throat  When if anything,  it's a mere lie As they provoke me to drown And watch me die

    Wish I could cart you to the past showing what you've missed,  Things that did not last I bet there'd be a list of wildlife that you've never seen How the forest was  Before in the world you've been  Oh such a pitiful thing to know and tell A cub like you has known no den  Your habitat's snatched, your rights are too I'm sorry darling, I couldn't give those to you  But though I'm old and my power's all gone I can give this in my last few breaths  it isn't much dear, just some advice to pass on don't let yourself obsess over grass  start admiring the glass 'cause those cages you know, will be your new home and in a month or two you'll be in the vulnerable few Know this though, you'll be just fine  you'll adapt well with it over time I know you'll live well by yourself But this lioness, will never forgive herself  For she's the mother who never could show you the trees,  The rivers, the forest, the moon and the breez...