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Julia Rajagopal

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2024

Stories (10)

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6 Followers

3 Following

10 Stories

185 karma pts

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Darling Tender Reader

Julia Rajagopal

Submitted to Contest #254

“Yes, it is a fine day, Maharaja,” Lady Lila Chatsworth smiled from under her parasol. The Maharaja Amar Singh looked cool and dry in his red silk jacket with gold embroidery. Lila, however, was already sweating through her pink dress. Perspiration dampened her blonde hair and dripped down the back of her neck. “Call me Amar,” he said. “I’m so glad you were able to visit. My host’s gardens are said to be the best in the region.” His kind brown eyes crinkled as he smiled.“It’s my pleasure,” Lila said. “I adore walking, and Lady Asheron’s gard...

7 likes

Mutually Assured Destruction

Julia Rajagopal

I am so hungry I could eat my purse. It sits innocently on the passenger seat like a giant candy bar. It’s a buttery-smooth chocolate-brown Bottega Veneta Cassette bag, so it would be a delicious, if expensive, snack. Instead, I grab a tin of sugar-free mints and pop one in my mouth. They say mint suppresses appetite, but it’s not true.The light turns green, and I slam on the gas. My SUV jumps from the light with a jerk. I take a deep breath and lift my foot. It’s 10 am on a Sunday, and the roads are nearly empty. There’s no need to speed.A ...

2 likes

The Happiest Place on Earth

Julia Rajagopal

Felicitous D. Abernathy was not happy, which was strange considering he lived in the happiest place on Earth. His grandparents had purchased the intergenerational stay at Happy Valley Amusement Park nearly one hundred fifty years ago. His parents, and then he, had been born into generational happiness. Felicitous knew he had more privilege than the billions living outside Happy Valley's walls. Yet he could not ignore the feeling that something was wrong. When Felicitous was 6 years old, he sat at the dinner table with his parents. Their robo...

2 likes

In a Flash

Julia Rajagopal

Submitted to Contest #244

I see it in a flash. They say you can’t remember your first few years, but that’s not entirely true. I remember crying, my little face wrinkled in pain and frustration. I’m angry because I have colic, though I don’t know what that is. I only know that the cramps in my stomach make me feel like I’m going to be ripped in half. My mother is holding me, her brown hair a mess of permed curls surrounding a pale, chubby face. She looks down at me, her face tightened in anger and irritation. A pinch of hatred wrinkles her brow. Someone has snapped t...

10 likes

The Mountain of Light

Julia Rajagopal

Submitted to Contest #242

As his painting slides out of the crate, the Maharaja, Duleep Singh, opens his large brown eyes. Several white-gloved conservators carefully grip his frame and ease him onto the wall. Duleep freezes while the livings are there. A dozen men and women stand before his painting as the conservators gently adjust the security features behind the frame.A warm, dry breeze blows through the silk gathered at Duleep’s waist. He feels the breeze, but the fabric remains still. It never moves while livings are present outside of the frame. The artist pai...

12 likes

Revenge Heist

Julia Rajagopal

If you want to find security camera blind spots, watch where security guards use their cell phones. My colleagues congregate in the museum's dark corners and hidden nooks to check text messages and update social media statuses. The two-hundred-year-old building has plenty of nooks. I’m unsure how I’ll use the blind spots in the heist, but it is helpful information. The name on my badge is Edward Tuttle, though that is not who I am. Edward Tuttle is a low-level Marketing Executive at a third-tier ad agency and an unrepentant high school bully...

3 likes

Suburban Apocalypse

Julia Rajagopal

Submitted to Contest #241

“You told them,” Hannah Gregor said to the woman at her front door. “I can’t believe you told everyone about our extra supplies.” The cool night air blew in through the open door. Light from the flashlights and cellphones shone at her like a spotlight in the dark. “Hannah, they don’t want any trouble, but you have to share,” Rachel Andrews said. “You’re hoarding food, and it’s not right.” Shouts and grumbles came from the people behind her. The group had started as a few random individuals, but more neighbors had filtered out of their houses...

10 likes

A Different Kind of Life

Julia Rajagopal

*Warning: Some swearing and murder." “I didn’t abandon my son,” the old man said as he scratched his gray beard. “He thinks I did, but I didn’t. It wasn’t like that.” The deep wrinkles in his ancient face looked ghoulish in the bonfire's light. “Why does he think you abandoned him?” the younger man asked. “That’s not usually something a person gets confused over.”“He thinks I sent him away because he’s deaf,” the old man leaned back against a stump. “I mean, I did send him away because of his deafness, but it was best. I sent him to a school...

1 like

Alive

Julia Rajagopal

Tessa had met Freddie at a MeetUp group. She wasn’t sure why she had invited him back to her apartment, only that she had been lonely that evening. He had seemed nice at the bar. He bought her two glasses of chardonnay and offered to get a third. Tessa had declined, not wanting him to feel entitled to anything from her. They were kissing on Tessa’s brown leather couch when Tessa decided she wanted the man to leave. His first mistake was plunking his foot on her beautiful new coffee table. The table was small and made of sleek blonde wood. I...

1 like

The Potter

Julia Rajagopal

Submitted to Contest #239

On a bright Saturday morning, a young woman sat before her parent’s stone cottage peeling carrots. The sun shone in a cloudless sky, and the wind from the sea blew brown hair around her face. She glanced around and pulled a book from her apron pocket. “Ariana. Carrots,” her mother stepped outside. “You’ve graduated from school now. You need to start helping more around here. At least until you start your own family.” The woman began sweeping the stone steps. “Of course, Mother. I wouldn’t want to waste my time.” She picked up a carrot and t...

5 likes