Rajesh Patel

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Aug, 2020

Stories (52)

52 Stories

1035 karma pts

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“Isolation” by Rajesh Patel

Submitted to Contest #77

This was a once in a life time social experiment I wanted to conduct since I have been on the work force. All my life, I have been surrounded with noise, pollution, traffic, and technology. Always on the move and always trying to keep up with time. I no longer wish to be slave of time. I want to be master of time. I want to breathe, see the time slow down, think about myself… A friend of a friend recommended me to go spend a month in this remote winter cabin. All alone. With no electricity, no internet, and no phone service. Basically, wit...

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“Contenders” by Rajesh Patel

Submitted to Contest #76

  ‘’I have been sitting here for twenty-two minutes. Where were you? Now, don’t come up with an excuse. When I said 2:00 PM sharp, I meant 2:00:00 or a little ahead of time. Not 2:01, not 2:05, not 2:10…’’    ‘’Look, we all have a buffer of twenty minutes when a time is set for a rendezvous. It is an unwritten rule.’’    ‘’Are you serious? Okay, if that is the case, you are late by twenty minutes from where I am standing. And from your standards, you are still late. By two minutes…’’ ‘’Look. Ther...

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“The Soft Drink of 1886” by Rajesh Patel

Submitted to Contest #75

I had many new year’s resolution in the past. Most of them did not last too long. I was too scared, lacked motivation, was too lazy, procrastinated, wanted to stay in my comfort zone or simply, I did not care after some weeks into the new year. I just wanted to get back into my old habits. As a kid, almost all of us, we get acquainted to candies, snacks, pastries, cookies, gum, etc. All the sugary stuff. It starts young. Halloween and trick or treat do not help. Holidays likes Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas does not help the cause eith...

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“The Last Call of the Year” by Rajesh Patel

Submitted to Contest #74

It is the last day of 2012. A Monday. I am working from 1 PM to 9 PM. I am working in the telecom field as a technical frontline rep over the phone. A cold snowy day today. We are not too many at work. Lot of the employees are on vacation. The company would give us three paid days off during the holidays. The 25th, 26th and the 1st. Today is the 31st so whoever is scheduled to work must show up in the office. I came to work on time. I always try to get to work thirty minutes before my shift. To have time to open my computer, open up my too...

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“Five Proposals and Big B” by Rajesh Patel

Submitted to Contest #73

In this 2020 pandemic year, meeting people face to face has become a very difficult task. My parents, especially my mom, are pushing me to get married. I am only twenty-five but, when your parents are from India, born and raised, for their kids, they must get married at a young age. I just graduated from mechanical engineering with honors. I would like to work in my field now. Gain work experience, earn and save money before even thinking about tying the knot. But no, I need to listen to these long lectures of my mom about marriage, being a ...

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“The Mansion” by Rajesh Patel

Submitted to Contest #72

It was a beautiful fall day. Summer had ended. Another day, another dollar. I am on my way to work. As I am walking on the busy streets of Manhattan, I see a hobo. Right there, standing in front of the entrance of the Subway. He was skinny, dirty, stinky, clothes torned, with one shoe missing. It was the first time I was seeing him at this corner. Perhaps, I did saw him before. How am I supposed to remember? They all look the same to me. I was about to step down to enter the subway, the hobo calmly asks me if I can spare some change or food....

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“Jessica” by Rajesh Patel

Submitted to Contest #71

Finally! I got to invite my entire cooking class to my place. It is the end of the semester of our culinary program. I would like to be a chef of a prestigious restaurant in the future. We just completed our final exams. I did great! I decided to host a cookie exchange evening at my place to celebrate the end of the term. Moreover, I know, I will ace this last exam. Maybe with the best grade. I just completed my first year of four. I never was the math or science type of guy. I was not into literature or languages. I was not into sports. I...

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“Gone Benji Gone” by Rajesh Patel

Submitted to Contest #70

Today, day one, on starting a new novel. My publisher gave me a strict deadline to complete a final draft. I was asked to complete a horror novel worth at least 200,000 words. About 450 pages. A daunting task considering that it had to be delivered within three weeks. The payout was huge if I kept the end of the bargain. Hacksaw, my publisher, was in need of a big hit. A best-seller. They came up to me for this mega project with a sensitive time constraint. The end of year approaching, we are in the last quarter of the year and we are c...

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“The Dealership” by Rajesh Patel

Submitted to Contest #69

My father owned a car dealership that was passed on to him by his father. It all started in 1960 with my grandfather. Then in 1990, my father took over the family business. Today, in 2020, my dad wants me to continue in the same line of business and continue the family tradition. To become the third generation in this family operated business. As a kid and a young teen, I did envision myself working with my dad then gradually take over the dealership. I did spend a lot of time after school with my dad watching him work while working on sc...

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“The Inside Job” by Rajesh Patel

Submitted to Contest #68

It has been months in the planning. We are finally standing in front of the bank and it is 1 AM. It took lot of convincing to be here tonight to attempt such an act… I was in New York but now I am living in New Mexico. In Albuquerque to be precise. It has been only a few months in this state. I rarely stay longer than a year in any given city. I don’t have a permanent address, no family, and no close friends. I spent quite some time in the penitentiary for theft, loot, robbery and illegal activities.  I met Jimmy at the Bank of Albu...

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“The Giant Cephalopod” by Rajesh Patel

Submitted to Contest #67

The year is 1798. The only thing I ever wanted since I was a kid was to get a glimpse and if lucky, capture this creature that I have been hearing for a long time. Fact or fiction? No clue. I would have to see it for myself to believe it. The last known sight reported was in 1776, south to New Zealand to my knowledge. Not sure if anyone has seen it since then and if this creature is still roaming in the deep waters somewhere in the world. Who am I? I am Captain Malchador ‘’Too Tall’’ MacPlank. Born and raised on the sea. Third generation ...

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“The Last Shift” by Rajesh Patel

Submitted to Contest #66

It took time but I made it… I remember, I went from working in the credit field to the telecom field. Two distinct fields with no concrete correlation. I had to take that new job. It was from one call center to another call center but the pay increase was significant. Almost 56%!!! Where I used to work, people were very friendly and we were a small team, a small department. I felt like we were a family. We were about twenty-five employees in that office. After some time, the tasks involved had become too monotonous. I would end up repeat...

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“The Graveyard” by Rajesh Patel

Submitted to Contest #65

My best friend Alex and myself, had agreed to spend the night in the graveyard that is behind the church. His theory was that on Halloween night, if we venture in a graveyard, we are likely to see paranormal activity. I was skeptical but I had an open mind about it.We had decided to visit the site after 10 PM.We were having supper at my place while watching the World Series. The Yanks versus the Nats. I am a big baseball fan. My friend, more into hockey. As we were discussing our plans after the supper, Alex mentioned if we needed any specia...

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“My Cousin Johnny” by Rajesh Patel

Submitted to Contest #64

I am about to leave my hometown of Montreal, Canada to go visit my cousin Johnny who lives in Lanark, Scotland, today, October 24th 2020. I have not seen him in ten years. Although his name on his birth certificate is John, we all call him Johnny. He is the son of my father’s brother. Uncle Henry is Johnny’s dad. Last time I saw him, it was during summer 2009, here in Montreal. We were both ten. I still remember like it was yesterday. He came over with his parents, and stayed a full two weeks with us. We had a blast! Johnny is like a broth...

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“The Coffee Palace” by Rajesh Patel

Submitted to Contest #63

I love the fall season. My favorite. Not too cold, not too hot. Just perfect. It is mid-October. The dominant colors in the city are red, orange and yellow. We have a majestic view on the Mount-Royal boulevard. You can smell the fall season and feel the Halloween vibes. After a long day of work on this Friday, after 6 PM, after my shift, I decided to head to this new coffee shop they opened a few blocks away from my office. I am curious. It is not a Starbucks, McDonald’s or Dunkin’ Donuts. The place is called The Coffee Palace. It is not f...

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