Fiction

“When we read a story, we inhabit it. The covers of the book are like a roof and four walls. What is to happen next will take place within the four walls of the story. And this is possible because the story’s voice makes everything its own.”
― John Berger, Keeping a Rendezvous

Nilambara Banerjee‘s anthology of shortstories.

A little girl was sitting with her mother on the terrace under a starry sky which looked like the blue velvet lining of her mother’s jewellery box on which were scattered numerous starry shiny trinkets. The girl looked at the sky with awe-filled eyes. She pointed to the shiniest star and asked her mother as…

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Dibyasree Nandy‘s short story: Subaru

11:15p.m. user@bagpipes: Did you know? The Professor who teaches the Renaissance Period special paper to the 3rd years died last night. On my way to class this morning, I overheard some students from the History department whispering about it. user@apple_pie: He didn’t just die. He was murdered. I’ve got a friend who attended his class. user@je_crois_en_moi: But I…

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Murali Kamma‘s short story: The Exchange

I’ve never belonged to a book club, but when a friend in town proposed a story club—perhaps because few of us were going anywhere that summer—I was hooked. For the wrong reason, it turned out. We were group texting, and the problem with that sometimes is my impulsive use of emojis, as if I’m letting…

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Andrew Paul Grell‘s short story: Blow

“Good morning, chuckleheads. Welcome to the fourth class, Practical Mathematics. Everybody ready to get their  GEDs?” “Yo, perfesser, GED sand for Goddamned erectile dysfunction?” “Rod, stay up all night thinking that one up? Think up an answer for this. Lay-Z comes over, wants three spoons of coke. You had a 40-gram brick, took out five for yourself and stepped on the rest. How much blow is Lay-Z going to…

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