Fiction
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UnsaidLetter 1 – Ruhi Addressee: Her late Abba Abba, I don’t know why I’m writing this. You’re not going to read it. But something in me needed to talk to you – maybe just once, properly, without pretending I’m fine all the time. I wanted to write last month, and the month before that, but… -
Pink RickshawUnder The Neem Tree The last of the sunlight spilled over the rooftops of Faisalabad like ghee sliding down a garam paratha – thick, golden, and a little too heavy. Evening had begun its slow crawl, bringing with it the scent of burning charcoal, frying oil, and the faint sharpness of guavas from the rehri… -
Chandni MeinSitting on the cool stone step of her childhood home, Hala sharply inhaled the sweet scent of date palm flowers within the air. Humidity wrapped around her, sticking to her skin as she flicked off her pink khussas. She scraped off the dried mehndi that clung to her fingertips, the red-brown stains peeking from… -
Necrosis“Fuck, fuck, fuck..” Mae’s fingers curled tightly around the rusted, iron rod that was impaled into the left side of her abdomen. The damp air felt suffocating. The sharp chilly breeze tried its hardest to soothe the burning that was fizzling in her blood. Rain rushed down, rattling the moss-covered cars a few feet… -
The Zuhr Salah of Eid-ul-Fitr2010 Yasmeen yanked her sister’s arm towards her. Opposite her, Zohra suppressed a whine and obeyed. She fiddled with the end of her older sister’s kameez as she watched Yasmeen grab a cone of mehndi. They shuffled closer together until their knees were touching, and Zohra rested her palm over her sister’s. “Have you decided?”… -
The Sweetness SouredJoscelyn Kafara rolled her gold ring across her pale fingers. She kept her gaze fixed on the bartender, who’s mistakes outnumbered the tips in the stained jar on the till. Her drink remained untouched on the dirty table; on the house, the sweaty, old boss had said. The stench in this place made her want… -
Whispers of my soulAlone I sit in solitude The emptiness, it echoes through The silence weighs, a heavy mood A feeling deep, that can’t be subdued ~ A longing for a friend to see The truest parts, that lie in me The laughter and the tears alike The shadows hidden and out of sight ~ The ache that… -
ForgivenessGod, the fire has burned me My sins replaced my flesh My soul has been tattered and torn Your punishment has no rest I beg for forgiveness But it will never come For my sins are so much None of it can be undone -
NumbUnpredictably, his heart would occasionally beat fast And during that time, he’d dissociate himself from everyone Swiftly, he would close the curtains and lock his door He’d sit in his chair and look at the stacks of books placed on his desk Oh, how he wished he could live in those books He wished for… -
Death would be lonelyHe was as beautiful as the moon Yet no one could see him as that Just like the moon that was guarded by the ash grey clouds in the sky; making it impossible for its rays to shine That was him No one could see how behind that protected wall he had built around himself;…