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Priyanjali Bhattacharyya

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jun, 2024

Stories (23)
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11 Followers
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23 Stories

344 karma pts

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A question of life and death

Submitted to Contest #297

Tick-tock, tick-tock, went the clock, as slowly and disparagingly as it could. Ameer was listening the clock tick patiently from atop the roof. He hesitantly placed one foot over the ledge, then with far more conviction counted to himself "1,2,3," before he leapt and jumped down. Time seemed to stop, or perhaps that was just inside Ameer's head. Nevertheless, things must go on. The heavens above noticed him. As in happiness, likewise in misery. But the heavens did nothing, except for when the last few moments in the life of an individual w...

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Rain rain go away

Little rain drops splattered onto her face. "Pitter-patter raindrops, pitter-patter rain drops!" her 3 year old girl exclaimed happily. Most children were afraid of thunderstorms. But not her Saileen, or Shelly, as people called her. As the thunder rumbled, Shelly giggled happily. Raima took Shelly on her other arm and bolted, stopping for shelter underneath a shop, waiting for the rain to stop. It was still summer and the rains were unexpected. 'But I guess,' thought Raima, 'a kalbaisakhi is not uncalled for.' The rain showed no stopping....

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If the Lord wills it

Submitted to Contest #293

Raghavan threw the sea shells up above and watched in delight as they fell to the ground. His nimble and deft hands quickly caught three shells out of the four that landed on the ground, face upward. Sreemati made a face, even while she grabbed the fourth one, a little too late. "How do you always do that?" Sreemati said. "Next time it'll be me for sure!" "You wish," laughed Raghavan, "I am stronger, taller and faster than you are, or ever will be."Sreemati's eyes watered.Seeing that, Raghavan sobered up. "Let's go again," Raghavan said."No!...

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A Rishi and an Apsara

They said, whoever loves the maiden shall surely face hell. Whomever touches her in a passionate way, will die. Was the maiden the cause for their grief? No, but whoever brings her forth to a life (apparently) worth living, shall perish. The maiden was one of the apsaras from heaven. Bewitchingly beautiful. They were sent to break the meditation of the Rishis - those who vowed to live a celibate life for as long as they lived, as long as they were destined to be born. They would bewitch them so they broke the vow of celibacy and fell from ...

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In this land where you exist

There was an eerie silence, but through that noiseless plethora came a seemingly high-pitched ringing, that which could barely be heard. Jennifer heard a scuffling noise which she didn’t ignore. Could you free me from this horrid place? It was as if Alice had heard her. “No, you have to suffer this in silence,” Alice said harshly. Tears streamed from Jennifer's eyes. “No, don’t leave me here!” Jennifer said out loud. Her words echoed back to her…”Leave me here…” The silence was uncanny. And it loomed over her. When she closed her eyes, sh...

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A glimpse into the past

Submitted to Contest #285

Jay's life till now had not passed simply as lightly as a breeze. Jay was in his 50 vampire years. Or more. He had lost count after the first 45 years, soon after he had met Myra. He knew about a lot of things, and he was more careful as compared to the rest of his kind. The streets he was walking through were dark, dingy and messy. Beggars sat begging there in the mornings but not at nights. An i.v. drug abuser sat there, getting high and having the time of his life. Jay wondered if he would make a good meal. He needed the blood, but the...

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The Geriatric Counsel

Submitted to Contest #285

The summer wind was cool. Mrs. Ray's arthritis was acting up. The first 30 minutes after getting up in the morning was brutal. Thereafter, walking along with everyone else made things a little better for her knees.She would cloister with the other older people in the monastery just after waking up, groaning as she went. Saayaa would be a patient listener to her problems, problems of the same nature everyday. Mrs. Ray had become a widow recently. Mr. Ray had been a part of the Geriatric Counsel of the town. Nothing in the village happened wit...

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Sooner, or later?

Submitted to Contest #283

'Help me fix this,' Stan thought.Stan tried to unlock the lock with the rusty key.The hinges were rusty too.The trunk opened with a creaking sound.He uncovered a picture of him and Stephanie, taken 12 years ago. "Go get her, dad," Leah said, hushed. Stan walked to the graveyard, pausing for a while before he started walking with renewed vigour. Till he reached the hospital. The doctor was getting Stephanie ready for dialysis. End stage renal disease. But that was not all. Stephanie had Alzheimer's. "Ah, Stan," she said tearfully. "How co...

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The past

Be careful what you wish for.When Seeta asked Rama to catch the golden deer for her, she didn't know Ravana would carry her away.Whatever it maybe, in her next birth, was that why Krishna would come sparingly to his Radha, tormenting her when he was away so that there would be no golden deer she would run after, so she would just run after him so she'd ultimately be safe?Be careful what you wish for, Poppy thought.Because you may get everything you wished for and maybe more.Myra had given her a wishing spell for her birthday. Wyatt didn't kn...

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Dogs and what not :)

Submitted to Contest #279

15 dogs stared at me like I was their next meal. Saliva dripped as they growled at me. Should I charge at them before they charged at me? Should I run? Should I let them have a go at me and drink up their blood?I didn’t know if drinking blood from a different species worked. Another question I had to ask of Jay.Nope I waited too long. I closed my eyes as they howled and just as they went for the kill, "Poppy! Here!" Someone shouted and I clutched at the vine that was attached to the pulley with a heavier weight on the other side. Just like t...

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Childhood long lost

Submitted to Contest #277

“Maasi, you don’t have to look after me anymore,” Jagrut said.Hena caressed his arm over the blazer and said, “Those whom I have helped grow up mean a lot to me, child. Stay well at London and sometimes come visit me at Shimla.”Jagrut laughed and said, “That is why I came to you, maasi, to get your blessing!”“Bless you child,” she said, “Grow up and be the son your parents would be proud of.”Jagrut took Hena maasi's leave and a few minutes later, Hena heard a car drive away.Hena covered herself up in winter clothes. A sweater over her saree,...

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Wicked blood's draught

Submitted to Contest #277

I was busy fixing my hair when Jay arrived. My luscious black hair fell to my waist. Jay looked radiant. “It’s my marriage, Popsicles,” he said. “With Myra. You know her.” I looked away from the mirror (vampires can see themselves in a mirror – because you see, light doesn’t travel from *within* us right?) and said, “You mean your bewitching witch? Yes of course I know her, but that’s not why I am mad. I am mad at you because in the two years you turned me, you never told me Myra was not *just* your pet!” I pouted. It was just then that Myra...

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Devrishi

Submitted to Contest #276

Warning : Heartbreak, True factsI don’t remember anyone who wasn’t living in the slums, or getting orphaned at a young age or dealing with a congenital disease, telling me that their childhood was glum. I had none of these, I had great parents, and yet, my childhood was utterly depressing. I had no friends till I was in Class nine. I remember having a best friend when I was in Prep and Class one, but ultimately I had lost them. I barely spoke to anyone..So I won’t waste my time narrating my childhood days. I will just begin from the day I go...

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Mary Ollen's Diary

Submitted to Contest #276

Mary Ollen's diary When we were little, we always were together – we were neighbours, you see. I wanted to weave a happy ending through the entries in my diary. We laughed together, played together, studied together and married each other. It was all going well when he had a stroke in his youth – my dear poor Mike – and following that he lost his ability to walk. So it fell upon me to raise our two kids and earn bread for our family. We had come to Russia a while back. We had to go far off from the place where we grew up, to avoid those snak...

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The Next Realm

Submitted to Contest #275

So many of us have lived a life, unafraid of each other, surrounded by loved ones who would pick each of our complaints and not rest till they have been resolved. So many of us were given, or in fact, handed out pleasures in this life that our ancestors worked so hard to get to begin with. I say this because I want to impress upon the fact that some of us – boy, we were born lucky. My grandma would get up early in the morning and give the pigeons and the sparrows some uncooked rice grains to eat. Only then would she prepare a meal large enou...

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