Nandan Prasad

“Victory to Thee” by Nandan Prasad

Submitted to Contest #72

The moonlight reflected of Lovelock’s glasses, casting a thin line of white light on the newly plastered wall. He tilted his head to the right, watching the line shorten further and further, till it was nothing a bright speck, passable as a shiny fleck of paint. He took another pull of the cigarette he was clutching, relishing the sweet, watery taste that could only be classified as a poor shade of yellow. He checked his watch, stamped his cigarette out and strode out of the building. It was like any other Camp; square, grey, low-ceilinged, ...

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“Vampire in Hell” by Nandan Prasad

Submitted to Contest #67

Clang. Thirteen. Clang. Fourteen. Clang. Fifteen. Fifteen. I sighed and drew back to inspect my work. It was not up to my usual standard. My fatigued arms screamed for a break, and against my better judgment, I dropped the axe and soon followed it to the ground. I sat dejectedly, flicking pebbles just to see how far I could. It was not very far. “How many have you done?” I turned. It was 1260. 1260 was the closest thing I had to a friend down here, but we really didn’t know anything about each other. “Fifteen.” 1260 laughed. “Fifteen’s good...

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“Forever Yours” by Nandan Prasad

Submitted to Contest #58

We buried her two days after she died. I know I was supposed to be crying, but somehow, the tears didn’t come. It didn’t surprise me.At the funeral, I could see the others whispering, gossiping, about how I wasn’t affected enough, or that I wasn’t being respectful.If only they knew the truth.I finish my evening jog later than usual. It’s November, and a cold, dry wind blows; a smattering of thin raindrops hits my face, and I shudder.It’s darker than it normally is at six-thirty. I quicken my steps and turn to the road leading up to my home.I...

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“Remembrance” by Nandan Prasad

Submitted to Contest #57

Mr Jayadev Narayan woke up feeling crankier than usual. He lay in bed, pondering over what made him so angry so early in the morning, when he turned and his eyes focused on the date, glaring in neon from the alarm clock.Of course. The eighteenth of December.Mr Narayan hated the eighteenth of December. He normally used to get away to his sister’s house at least a week before, but she had recently moved to California (a better work opportunity, Mr. Narayan vaguely remembered her saying), and she hadn't outright said he couldn’t come, but she h...

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“Liberty in Death” by Nandan Prasad

Submitted to Contest #56

Someone famous once said, “We are who we are only by the choices we make.”I made a choice once. I made a choice to escape my past life, and start afresh. Everyone and everything I knew, I lost contact with. I don’t regret that choice.I don’t regret that choice because it’s what turned me from a monster, to something genuinely likeable; an angel of sorts.Or so I thought.Apparently, my boss organizes office parties every Saturday, and invites everyone.I hate them. I hate them so much. Office parties are nauseating. Disgusting. Sick. Useless. A...

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“Peristalsis- Part 3” by Nandan Prasad

Author's note: Hey, guys! As promised, Part 3, the final one, is out. Just wanted to say that this story actually has nothing to do with the prompt. It's part of a slightly long story I've written and I just wanted some feedback. Judges, unless you're looking for a fun read, please ignore this. It doesn't relate. It mostly won't be approved, as it is unrelated, but hopefully you'll enjoy it. My opponent’s tasting, though, happened to be far more interesting and engrossing than mine. Ranjith took the first plate – the starters. He bent clos...

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“Peristalsis- Part 2” by Nandan Prasad

Author's note: Hey, guys! As promised, Part 2 is out. Just wanted to say that this story actually has nothing to do with the prompt. It's part of a slightly long story I've written and I just wanted some feedback. Judges, unless you're looking for a fun read, please ignore this. It doesn't relate.It mostly won't be approved, as it is unrelated, but hopefully you'll enjoy it.I roamed around at the edge of the vineyard, counting the number of grapes in each bunch. I’d finished sixteen bunches when I got back to the group. Ranjith was standing ...

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“Peristalsis- Part 1” by Nandan Prasad

Author's note: Hey, guys! Just wanted to say that this story actually has nothing to do with the prompt. It's part of a slightly long story I've written and I just wanted some feedback. It mostly won't be approved, as it is unrelated, but hopefully you'll enjoy it. So, Judges, unless you're looking for a fun read, please ignore this. It doesn't relate.Part 2 will come out later this week. Thanks!P.S. Sorry for the awkward separations.On a bright, sunny Thursday morning, I received a letter. I walked over to the mailbox and struggled with th...

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“Revelation” by Nandan Prasad

Submitted to Contest #55

“Can you keep a secret?”The question came from Greed. Greed was an odd-looking creature, with a bulbous, green body and two very white eyes. The pupils were mere slits, and almost invisible at first glance.The creature next to it, Sloth, was a similarly bulbous creature but with slightly larger pupils. It nodded “What is it?”Greed looked around furtively. It leaned close to Sloth and whispered, “I sabotaged Envy’s books before the test. Half the answers it marked are probably wrong.” It ended off with a snicker. Sloth only nodded.“Who do you...

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“Inferno” by Nandan Prasad

Submitted to Contest #54

Day 1 I nearly killed a person today. To be honest, it wasn’t exactly my fault. I thought the road was completely deserted. Let me start at the beginning. As it neared six’ o clock in the evening, I hurried out to the back streets of my area. They’re usually deserted or crowded with high hippies who believe half the things they see are because of the marijuana they’ve been smoking. It was the perfect cover for what I was about to do. I started off small; just summoning a little flame on my palm. It wasn’t much, just around the size of a fis...

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“Number Theory” by Nandan Prasad

Submitted to Contest #53

 “… with the temperatures hitting a record 42 degrees Celsius,” the reporter on TV said “and that is a staggering one degree more than yesterday. Up now, we have meteorologist Dr. Neena Gupta to…”“Goddamn it, Vijay, are you listening to me?” The lawyer banged his fist on the table. I looked up. “Hm?”The lawyer sat back in his chair. “I can’t. I just can’t take this anymore.”I smiled wanly.“Listen,” The lawyer sounded angry. “I’m trying my best to save your life. So, you better goddamn listen to me.”I sighed. “I’m sorry, go on. I’ll list...

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“The Navy Blue Chevrolet” by Nandan Prasad

Submitted to Contest #50

The navy blue Chevrolet was parked right outside the Metro Cash and Carry supermarket. On the first glance, nothing seemed wrong with it. But if one looked at it for even another second, they would know something was wrong.It was hard to pinpoint what that was. It was nothing too conspicuous, like a broken headlight or a flat tire. No, it was just the subtle aura that seemed to surround the car. It was like a little pool of poison, slowly spreading, growing larger, seeping into everything it touched.It was no surprise that the parking spaces...

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“The Man in the Suit” by Nandan Prasad

Submitted to Contest #50

The man in the suit walked out of the station gates. He moved to the side of the staircase leading down the station and stood silently, watching the world go about its business.There was the pani-puri seller, his stall at the bottom of the staircase. He was doing booming business, even though it was just after lunchtime.At the opposite corner of the staircase was the balloon seller. He didn’t only sell balloons, though; he also sold wooden dolls, little plane figurines, those long cylinders that exploded into streamers and some liquid when t...

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“The Man at the Station” by Nandan Prasad

Submitted to Contest #49

12:49 a.m.13th October, 1947Karachi, PakistanThe streets were deserted. The riots due to the India-Pakistan Partition had taken their toll on the citizens. No one dared to come out for fear of being caught and beaten or burnt to death by a crazed, fanatical mob.That is, no one, but my husband, my son and I. We were hurrying along to the train station; there was a train leaving to Jodhpur, India, in fifteen minutes. We would have gone earlier, but fear of the riots stopped us.On the morning of the 12th, a kindly neighbor had informed us that ...

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“There's Another Year Coming” by Nandan Prasad

Submitted to Contest #48

When I was a prince, I had everything in life. I had over fifteen horses to myself, all different colors from all parts of the world. I had Chinese horses, New Zealandian horses, Nigerian horses, Russian horses… you name it, I had it. I also had six hundred acres of my own land, and I could do anything I wanted with it. I built a palace, of course. But the land wasn’t enough, so I had to buy another three hundred acres. The palace was a lovely one. The building itself was huge, standing at a glorious height of sixty feet, and sprawled over f...

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