Aisa M

“the cursed lady” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #102

That afternoon she asked him, ‘Do you remember the cursed lady?’ It was the type of question she asked him randomly. An idea or memory that suddenly came in passing, probably triggered by something or someone. Her voice was animated. The one she unconsciously used when she was excited about something.The two were sitting opposite each other at a table in a coffee shop. Apart from the acoustic music in the background and the occasional grind of the coffee machine, the place was pretty quiet. It was a Monday afternoon. Quite a strange day and ...

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“how to cook adobo” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #100

My cooking is a lousy business. My mother makes it worse.No one is born a great cook. One learns by doing. So I don't understand why mother expected me to know already what to do in the kitchen.My kitchen is as tidy as the ones in the Ikea showroom. In lovely green and an environmentally conscious themed kitchen. For weeks, the pans have not touched anything but thin air, and the most useful thing in this place is the microwave.And then mother calls me and shatters my completely perfect circle of life. She's coming.So here I am, in the middl...

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“wait until the sun rises” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #99

The only house rule was to be back before sunset and never to step outside until the sun rises again, and Jake couldn't even follow.Aurora held the doorknob as she watched the sky burn behind the rocky Mount Tanglad. She looked at her digital watch every other minute as if looking at it would bring Jake back from wherever he was. Where has he been, by the way?They came back to the house at around three in the afternoon after the day's work, and Aurora took a nap. When she woke up after an hour, Jake was nowhere.She clucked her tong...

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“Ants Bring Rain” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #95

Ants crawling on the wall meant rain is coming soon.Sarah always mentioned this to Naila. ‘It is how nature works,’ she would say, but then she would ask Naila to spray insecticide as soon as she sees an army of them marching on their walls. ‘I don’t like ants,’ she would say. ‘Their bites hurt and itch for days.’They were in the kitchen that afternoon. Naila watched the army of ants crawling diagonally up and down the kitchen wall while she cooked sticky rice mixed with coconut milk and lots of sugar. The slow hypnotizing movement of the an...

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“It's A Small, Small World” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #93

Our summer tradition, which was to visit the fiesta carnival every year, ended one starry evening in 1992.Every year in May, ever since I could remember, a fiesta carnival would cover the vast vacant land at Barrio San Jose behind the local gas station.Sarah and I went to the carnival every year with all the coins we saved up until after the school year ends every March. We'd use them to buy darts to pop balloons, to get prizes such as stuffed toys or pillows.My favorite game was the color game, where there were six colors I could choose fro...

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“House of Shadows” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #92

The window was like a massive painting of a tulip armory in pink and yellow helmets facing their three commanders - windmills made tiny by the distance. The sky blue melted into grey, tinted by tangerine. This eight-bedroom country house inn made of 1900s red bricks oddly stood amidst the vast meadow of endless green, dotted with pink, yellow, and some purple and red bits. William marveled at the view that he would wake up to for the next thirty days or so and hoped he’d finish his draft by then with the inspiring vista. He arrange...

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“La Ultima Noche” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #91

If they all arrive at the library on time, I could leave swiftly as agreed with Colonel Martinez. My family and I could move away into a safe place. Nobody would know me, and we can start a new life. It is half-past nine now, and I can see them all from where I stand, outside the back window of the library, behind the acacia tree.Vicente, Miguel, Juan, Apolinario, Gabriela and Josefa are already in. They must all wonder what this is all about. They must have found the messages they received this afternoon as strange. I could not copy th...

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“To The Edge: Point of No Return” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #90

When you board the train bound to The Edge, that means you are on your way to the ends of the Earth with very little to no chance of going back to where you came from. That means you signed up for a sort of exile or banishment or death. No one ever has come back from The Edge. And I don’t think I will be an exemption.***I sit on a small cabin of a train where there are about thirty passengers. I think the area is suitable only for about fifteen. People who boarded found their place on the floor. Some are standing, leaning on the locked door ...

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“Finally Free” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #89

After seventeen years, Cecilia's hair was finally cut for the first time. She took the scissors and indulged in cutting her long thick, jet-black hair that extends to her waist. Chunks of hair strands went through the scissors' blade and fell off one after the other. She didn't care about the style or whether the hair was cut evenly. All she wanted was to cut it.She went out of her room. Her hair's length was just until underneath her ears, which she intentionally showed to her papa, who made it a law in their house to never chop her hair of...

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“Lost in the Woods” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #88

Finally, Wanda spots her potential meal, her first after a century. She is pretty lucky for there's not only one but two human beings walking towards her house. Wanda grins then licks the window pane. She spits in disgust after tasting the thick dust and wonders what happened to her home.'Every part of my house is supposedly edible,' she says in her wicked, hinge-like voice. She looks around the house and remembers that this is not her ginger-bread house anymore.'But never mind, I think I will have a really nice meal today,' she says as...

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“April's Tradition” by Aisa M

April woke up earlier than usual, and at half-past seven, with disposable gloves on her hands, she's ready for her annual tradition.Candy broke into the door and screamed 'Happy April Fools' Day!''Why should I be happy when I'm getting fooled?' April asked while putting slices of white bread in rows on her table. Her friend came in belly first, shaking her body and screaming to the top of her lungs Baby shame on you if you fool me once. Shame on me if you fool me twice…..Oooooh life goes on….'Shhhhh. Don't wake up the whole town with your st...

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“The Ugly Flower” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #86

Not because you named your child after a flower already meant she would be as delicate, pretty, and as fragrant as the flower she was named after. It could be otherwise.Jinta would be seen every day in front of her flower shop. Her face would be a frown, her rich dark eyebrows a V-shape above her huge crooked nose. She was a strange sight amidst the beautiful flowers surrounding her. Toddlers would cry when they see her. Bigger kids would shoot her with pellet guns from behind and run away when she looks back at them with an angry face. Wome...

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“Doors, Closing.” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #85

That’s the thing about this city. It’s so loud and it never seemed to sleep, yet at dawn, it shows its mellow side. The streets are still almost empty, the train platform desolate.The first train of the day crawled towards me like a giant yellow caterpillar. Sleepy-eyed, I pulled my luggage and entered the wagon, inhabited by few sleeping passengers. I sat on that long, empty bench beside a luggage area. The train's announcement was played, mentioning the next station followed by the Arabic and English versions of the phrase, Doors Clos...

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“Big Eyes, Beauty of the Sky” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #83

You come back to the surface face up, and even before you could clear the water on your face, you throw a sea cucumber on me. Its soft texture hit me and the slimy insides splatter on my face. I scream. You laugh. You like to tease me. I chase you but you swim faster than me. You look back at me and stick out your tongue. We race towards the jetty and jump into the water over and over again.We grow up together. Barefoot, salty, and sun-kissed. With sleepy eyes, we go with your father for early morning fishing trips. We bother our mothers as ...

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“Permanent Fixture” by Aisa M

Submitted to Contest #79

A delicate atmosphere enveloped the dining area. Each word said sliced through. Like cracks on a frozen lake, they stemmed out little by little. Tiny brittle sounds filled my ears. The silence was like forever, waiting for a random passerby whose step could break the entire frozen lake and drop him into the oblivion of a dark, cold universe. That wasn’t the mood we expected to have for Ma’s 60th birthday celebration.The table was filled with my favorite food as if I was the birthday celebrant. Ma made spaghetti with sweetened tomato sauce, s...

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