Pragya Rathore

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Dec, 2019

Stories (7)

7 Stories

2023 karma pts

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“In Your Arms” by Pragya Rathore

Trigger warning: child death   It is the time of night when its silence is not disturbed by whispered words, but by exhaled breaths. You shift in discomfort when loud snores disturb your delicate sleep. You extricate yourself from your husband’s loveless embrace and head to the adjacent room. In its musty darkness, you find him in his cradle, staring at the glow-in-the-dark stars, as he always is. His open eyes glaze over everything in their sight. You take him in your arms and softly close them. You wh...

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“The Bright Side” by Pragya Rathore

As his drinking buddy Agarwal had recommended (in an effort to stop a drunk Rastogi from jumping off the ledge), Rastogi tried to find the bright side of getting fired.For one, he wouldn’t have to see his intellectually inept colleagues anymore. Anybody above him was a rich man buying his way upwards; anybody working with him was just someone to bear with until he fought his way to success.He was sure, for example, that if he had met Joshi in the pub rather than the office, they would have hit it off im...

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“Her Beautiful Hands” by Pragya Rathore

Her hands were pitch-black now, but they had not always been.The bus lurched on the iron bridge crumbling apart. It stumbled on the bumps of the road like an infant learning to walk. She would have clutched the armrest to reassure herself that she would survive the journey, but between the residual dirt and sweat left like a legacy by previous passengers, and the old man subtly trying to shift closer to her, she remained indecisive.“Going to work?” an old lady enquired, elbowing the old man as she spoke. He smiled s...

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“The Faint Of Heart” by Pragya Rathore

Gupta was the ugliest member of the wedding band- not that it mattered; his face was always hidden by the massive flute he carried. Now, as Gupta set out to play the flute for a wedding, he wondered who would play it in his own. His father, who had been playing it in Gupta’s first wedding, had fainted of shock when the bride eloped before the wedding. During his second wedding, the bride saw something she wasn’t supposed to before the wedding (which was Gupta’s face). The bride screamed so shrilly that even the bats of t...

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“Euthanasia” by Pragya Rathore

 What felt worse, how normal things used to be, or how terrible they became?I laughed when they came. I did your job, I told them. Laughter was the best medicine, but it wouldn’t cure the gaping hole in their chests, which appeared to be true agony, from where blood oozed like the toothpastes they gave us. Just a little pressure, and it all came rushing out. How could you laugh when you might break at any moment?How could you laugh when you weren't human anymore? 

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“A FEAST TO REMEMBER” by Pragya Rathore

In the far-away land of Arbainia, where the animals could talk like humans and the birds could perpetually be seen flying in the clear, remote firmament, their wings glimmering like kaleidoscopes, something inexplicably bizarre was happening. An obscure murkiness had recently engulfed the island with its freezing touch and foggy winds, the reason for it beyond all comprehension. The king, frail-hearted as he was, had apparently been killed while investigating the elusive mist, or the Jwelalur, as the locals began to call it. He had been e...

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“A NEW 'MENTALITY'” by Pragya Rathore

When Adriel announced that he wanted to be a cardiovascular surgeon, I asked him if he'd be okay with patients wanting never to see him again; he blinked and said," That's okay, Mum, as long as they're alive to wish it."Being a single mom was hard both financially and emotionally, with a recently started psychiatric practice and just a few guilty calls by my ex to ask after Addy and checks sent 'with remorse' for child support. Who will support the mom? I wanted to scream sometimes. I was desperate for better credentials t...

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Shortlisted 1 story ⭐️

Contest #54
Her Beautiful Hands – read story