Esha Mahmood

“LIFE IS DEATH” by Esha Mahmood

I get all sorts of strange looks and I wonder if it’s because I am furiously scribbling in my lime green notebook. Otherwise I am a completely normal looking human girl with brown skin and long black hair and I am dressed in a skirt and shirt. They have no way of knowing I spent my childhood in a spaceship. They make me uncomfortable but I still don’t leave the place. Oh! It’s such a nice place. They call it a –a sidewalk cafe. You can go and sit on the chairs and tables of carved wood that are set outdoor, under the sky! And a kind lady com...

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“I AM UNSTOPPABLE.” by Esha Mahmood

I am a slave at the castle. All my ancestors have been. For some it’s a matter of pride but to me, who knows my ancestry as well as The King’s, it’s unbearable. My only hope lies in the poison bottle and the secret diary I have. I am afraid. It’s not unusual for the royals to force us to marry them or worse. I can’t do that. I never will. I’ve always tried to be ignored. I’ve kept my golden hair wrapped in some rags and my skin covered in soot. But still if I sense danger, I’m going to kill myself. I am delusional, maybe. But I write a diar...

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“Ring, turban and music” by Esha Mahmood

Submitted to Contest #99

I, the great king of the Al Qasim dynasty that rules over half Arab, sit on the desert sand, hungry and weak. The heat radiating from the orange sky only fuels my fury. I glare at Abu Fardeen, my slave and the ragged dervish, thier eyes closed and hands raised for dua, and imagine the punishments they'll receive once we return to my kingdom. And why shouldn't they be whipped and beheaded. Never have I been more insulted and disrespected. Never have I been told what to do and what not to do but he dares tell me I'm a tyrant, which I shoul...

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“YOU SAY, SO WE'LL DIE” by Esha Mahmood

Submitted to Contest #94

I love eid. And Fesikhs. They’re the traditional festival food of Palestine. Baba is buying them right now. I stare at it, longingly. Hurry up, hurry up, shopkeeper. Someone pokes my head from behind.“Patience fatty,” it’s Ali, and his mouth and chin are covered in chocolate. He’s my five-year-old brother. I’m two years older than him.“Oh I’m fatty.” I say sarcastically. “How much eidi did you get?”“Four dinars.” he tells proudly.“I got five.” I say. “I can’t wait to meet grandma.” We’re gonna have guests at home today. There’s a party.“Come...

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“How the demons posses” by Esha Mahmood

Submitted to Contest #91

People were gathering their books and leaving the library. A seventeen year old girl, Eloise with long brown hair, a bleeding lip and bruised forehead was sitting behind a cluster of books, glancing around, nervously. She had no intentions to leave the place and return to the demons. She loved the library, it was her refuge. How tragic! If only she’d deduce something from the large hunters moon visible from the large window. . . . The thick leafed branches concealed him. His black cloak protected him from gazes, of the passersby and the unse...

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“The greatest weapon” by Esha Mahmood

Submitted to Contest #89

She was draped in lovely white. We were invited for her wedding but we attended her funeral-in the same marquee decorated with lights and flowers. We looked grotesque, wearing gowns and jewels, washing our make up with tears. Her parents and Mehmed, her to-be husband were stricken. She had been overjoyed, even though it was an arranged marriage. But from what I had seen, Mehmed was the most compassionate and caring human alive in Turkey.The last time I saw Evren, she was laughing, her blonde hair dancing around her waist. But often there are...

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