Aditi S.K

“Shadows of the Badge” by Aditi S.K

The little girl sits on the bench, clutching a brown teddy. She rocks back and forth, occasionally, swinging the teddy left and right. Her mother, Shruti Shah sits beside her, staring at a spot a few feet ahead of her. The clock reads 7:07 pm and I can’t wait to go home. Am I selfish for thinking like that? Am I selfish for thinking about my comfort when the woman in front of me will not get to experience any sort of comfort even in the four walls of her house anymore, not with her loved one gone? This is the part of becoming a policeman, th...

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“Lady Catherine” by Aditi S.K

Nobody tells you how loud silence is. Not until you make your 2-liter water bottle fall on the cold, hard wooden floor. Then, not only do you get a warning in your name but a dozen dirty looks from the students around you. There’s no point in apologizing. You’re already a menace in the eyes of the librarian.My brain is foggy at this time of the night. I glance at the clock and the time reads 9:09 pm. Only 9 pm? That has got to be a new low for me.Around me, at least twenty students are on their way to get the Astronomy scholarship. And here ...

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“Blueberry Enclave” by Aditi S.K

“Here and here.”  The clerk handed out forms and he signed them without much attention. “The head wishes for the project to be completed before October.” Great. Only a week away. Patrick muttered a weak thank you and rushed out. The room always gave him the creeps. But in his job, you would expect him to be accustomed to even the ghastliest of screams. The VIA spirit hunting management was pretty new, having set up at a time when the number of complaints from humans about ghosts and spirits had been increasing. In his career as a spir...

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“Gates to Hell” by Aditi S.K

“Was that 5J02?”“5J06”“I’m sorry what?”, I practically yell, trying to keep the hint of annoyance out of my voice.At this the lady gets up, yanks her mask down and almost shouts, “5J06!!”It is not her voice that startles me but the extent to which she had to go through, to convey the message to me. Her teeth, which have stains of a bright red color are visible.“Thank you and please enjoy your flight.” She doesn’t wait for me to move ahead before she shouts “Next!”I grab my pink suitcase and try to run. Just that it didn’t occur to me before ...

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“Ray of Light” by Aditi S.K

The wooden bowl lays untouched just a few inches away from her hand. Today it’s a few centimeters closer than yesterday, so I’m guessing it’s a good thing. The hot water in the glass has long gone cold and I don’t bother to reheat it. Everyday it’s the same routine: I boil the frozen soup-packets in water, defrost the peas, cook rice and assemble all of this on the table, while trying not to spill anything. And she comes and sits, with the same expression that she had two weeks ago. I’m trying. Everyday I’m trying to break into the wal...

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“Light from within” by Aditi S.K

Submitted to Contest #99

Golden, like a basket of light. Strong, orange tones at the corners. Light swatches of pale blue mixed with a deep purple. My eyes start to water as I haven’t been blinking. Slowly, I draw my eyes reluctantly away from my window, back to my textbook. The sunrise looks so beautiful. It still lingers in my vision, even though I’m looking at the question in the book. I stare and stare at it. “Find the value of ‘y’ if the value of ‘x’ is…” My mind slips off and after five minutes I’m still trying to figure out the meaning of the question. My e...

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“The Reunion ” by Aditi S.K

Submitted to Contest #90

My head drops and my glasses slide off my nose. I start sliding down and I can feel my legs stretching forward. My neck hurts but I know its not because of this position. Hours of studying, and tutoring is the reason for the constant soreness in my neck.  I feel a cold hand on my back and I suddenly jerk up. The hand withdraws quickly, as if scared by my sudden movement. A pair of twinkling eyes meet mine. Next to me, an old Chinese woman, wearing a red sweater is holding a cane for support.  I can feel the heaviness in the air. T...

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“Warmth in the Winter” by Aditi S.K

Submitted to Contest #77

I sit, huddled in the corner, below the window. Strong cold winds blow through the window, causing my teeth to chatter. Tears stream down my cheeks and I make no attempt to stop crying. At least here, there is no one to judge me. Here. This place appears to be nothing bigger than a tiny wooden cabin. It smells of fungus and dry wood. My fingers are numb from the cold and feet are turning blue. I cannot make out the shape of my hand in front of me. Even my pale fingers aren’t visible in this dark. The only source of light is the moonlight wh...

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“Trick or Treat” by Aditi S.K

Submitted to Contest #65

It had been two hours of endless screeching, crying and laughing, there stood the five-year old Elsa before  me, who had chocolate milk spilled on her silky blue frock. The whole room was filled with dresses, plastic crowns, some old pieces of leather, wigs, bags and a lot of dust. At the corner, a huge brown trunk was sitting with its contents thrown across the floor. The clock on the table read 6:32 p.m. A small plastic jack-o-lantern, which was kept near the door, beamed its toothless, wicked smile at me. “Smile!” I heard my sis...

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