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Priyanjali Bhattacharyya

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jun, 2024

Stories (30)
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30 Stories

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The Kapalik's Disciple

Submitted to Contest #325

I am devastated.My parents have left me at the age of 25.As I stand next to the funeral pyre, tears falling, I feel an eerie breeze brush against my skin.If I were left to myself, I would be howling and tearing my hair apart as I call upon God, asking Him what I was going to do.Listlessly, I go home.As the sun sets, I think about what I want in life.I find nothing of relevance.A chessboard lies in front of me – I have seen many a time my father playing against himself. I would run out of moves when I tried to do the same. I remember my mothe...

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The Giant

Submitted to Contest #310

What if the solar systems were atoms and the universe was actually the combination of many such atoms which created individual cells of a Giant? What if the stars were the powerhouses, the nuclei? So what would that make us? Energy from our sun or a star, in general, came from a chain of fusion reactions of Hydrogen atoms - the smallest elemental atom of the universe. So does this mean we are really living inside life? Thus thought Doris. She was a chemist, who had read about the rudimentary basics of chemistry and now lived as a chemist in ...

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Riyaz

Submitted to Contest #309

"Saaaa..." "Saaa..." began the boy, barely five years old. "No," admonished his teacher, a strapping young lad who was probably over a thirty years old. "Your voice will be steady, undulating." Saying this, he closed his eyes, and..."Saaaaa." The boy was yawning when the teacher opened his eyes midway of the "Saaa" and saw him. "Care to go back to sleep?" The teacher said wryly. The boy really, really wanted to nod and accept his words at face value. But he shook his head and continued training. "Saaaaa," the child vocalised. It was 5 a.m. o...

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One day

Submitted to Contest #307

You wanted the quiet but not the solitudeNo whispers When hunger pangs made you scream out loud, the people fell silent..You wanted Not a kind wordNor pitiful looksBut acceptance... They called you madBut the infamyWhen madness is just a wordFor when people don't understand you.The sudden mood swings,The reason why You cried and laughed At the same time. You cried when you remembered How your mother toiledDay and night So you would Be happy, fed and would tuck you in Singing as you fell asleep. You laughed When you read her letter"I want you...

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For the Noble Cause

Submitted to Contest #307

They had nothing. One morning, Sara would look for work in the dhopa ghat, where she and her mother would wash clothes for the richer people in their village.Sara was six and a half years old. Her brother Ali would go ragpicking with his father. He was four years old. One day Ali found a snow globe. He brought it home to show it to Sara. They enjoyed watching the fake drops of snow sprinkling as they rotated the snow globe and Sara clapped as she saw it. "I'll become a big businessman when I grow up," Ali used to say. "Then we'll want for no...

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The Fairy Guardian

Submitted to Contest #305

"You know what? I quit," I said."What? Why?" Bewee asked me."There is something called a baby's innocence. There's a reason why babies believe in Santa Claus and fairies and creatures of the Dark. It's because they have feelings which get triggered when something from the big fat 'fantasy' world comes near them," I said."We fairies act as the Santa Claus, and as for the fairies of the Dark, they were created to prep those kids to deal with the dark," Bewee, my fairy best friend said."Really?" I challenged her. "So what happens once we stop p...

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Till then

Submitted to Contest #303

Dear oldest friend, I didn't have a choice. I don’t know when I fell in love with you. I only know that it simply happened. One day in kindergarten, you said hello. That rainy day we played with paper boats out in the rain - the same day you gave me your lunch box so I wouldn't go hungry, and that was the day I knew you were my best friend. Few years later, we were in the eighth standard, and you called me to your birthday party. You gave me the first slice of cake to eat. In the tenth standard, I visited you almost everyday. You were ...

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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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