Sajid Bijapure

“Lena's Journey” by Sajid Bijapure

Lena was traveling down an endless, desolate highway, gripping a heavy suitcase in her right hand. The land around her was barren, a harsh reddish ground that seemed to stretch out forever, cracked and broken by years of unrelenting sun. The sky was a dull, cloudless expanse, pressing down on the earth with a relentless heat. Her fingers were already stiff, strained from carrying the suitcase for so long, and her throat felt dry, a faint thirst she couldn’t ignore. She shifted the suitcase to her left hand, flexing her aching fingers as swea...

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“Better late than never” by Sajid Bijapure

In the quiet village of Eldergrove, the old couple, Harold and Mabel, lived in a lonely home. Their son, Daniel, had left over a decade ago after a bitter argument that had shattered their family. Every year, the pain resurfaced during the holidays, reminding them of what they had lost. While neighbors celebrated with their children and grandchildren, Harold and Mabel felt an ache in their hearts, a constant reminder of their son’s absence. Whenever the holiday season was in full swing, and while the village was alive with laughter and celeb...

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“True interpretations” by Sajid Bijapure

Suddenly Catherine sat upright in her bed. She was perspiring profusely in darkness of her bedroom. Her trembling hand fumbled for the light switch. She succeeded in switching on the table lamp next to her bed. Her eyes wandered all over the room quickly. She was alone on the bed. Her heart bet fast.  Next morning she said to her neighbour and friend Sally, "Sally, I had the same nightmare again. It is getting on my nerves. I don't know what to do". "Catherine, seeing a dream more than once is not a strange thing", said Sally, "but ...

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“Splitting hairs” by Sajid Bijapure

Submitted to Contest #102

"Man is a mystery, they say", said Tom slowly and thoughtfully, looking at the blue sky through the window of his study room. His friend Tim looked at him. Like Tom, Tim too was getting bored. Tim decided to continue the conversation to escape getting bored, but he was not sure the conversation would be less boring. "So?" Tim asked, staring at the wall opposite his chair. This question was a big encouragement for Tom in his struggle against boredom. His gaze was fixed on a single small white cloud in the bright sky. "As per the human n...

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“Shut Up” by Sajid Bijapure

Submitted to Contest #91

“Will you shut up?” asked Tom to Tim. “You know you won’t read it!” argued Tim. Tom and Tim (both eleven) were standing in the town library and both wanted to borrow the same book of fairy tales. Tom had laid his hands on it first. Then Tim requested him to allow him to borrow the book first. Initially Tom politely declined his request. When Tim started pestering him their whispers grew louder and finally Tom lost his patience. “Who said I won’t read it?” growled Tom. “Ha, everyone says you just borrow books to decorate your book shelf”,...

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“Concerns, yours and mine” by Sajid Bijapure

Submitted to Contest #90

"The population of migers is dwindling fast!" exclaimed John as he sat reading his Sunday newspaper in his armchair. "Yes. I saw a news report on TV a few days ago about migers" added Jane as she continued with her household chores. "I think the government should declare miger as an endangered species" mumbled John, stretching his back and arms. Nowadays sitting in the armchair for long caused some stiffness in his body. "I think I must replace this armchair". "Or your back" said Jane with a giggle, "you are getting old". "Fifty ...

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“APRIL FOOL” by Sajid Bijapure

Submitted to Contest #87

"You don't have to worry, Tom", said the manager with a smile while Tom stood quietly looking at the list of employees pinned on the board next to the manager's cabin. It was the list of employees who were being laid off after the company's business nosedived during the pandemic. Tom seemed worried. "Is it 'the list'", he thought, "or 'the first list'?" He wiped his brow with his palm. Actually, everyone was worried. The whole economy of the country was badly hit by a wrong kind of sequence of nucleotides that could replicate quickly ins...

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“Lost by comparison” by Sajid Bijapure

Submitted to Contest #85

Hameed was glad when he finally got transferred to his home town. He had spent nearly ten years away from home, working in three different towns. He worked around three years in each place. Those ten years he spent yearning for his hometown where he had spent his childhood. After completing his college education he got a job in a company that had branches in many cities including his own. But they had vacancy only in a sequestered little village far away. "In a year or two, there will be a vacancy in a branch in or around your city" said one...

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“The Search for Peace” by Sajid Bijapure

Submitted to Contest #83

The Chaos did not last long. Within an eternity or two, the dust settled, unevenly in different places, forming a vast expanse of more or less flat earth. Then gaseous moister, floating around in what remained of the Chaos, formed large clouds that percolated and surrounded the earth. Even the low lying areas on the earth were filled with water. The Chaos was over. Or was it? The goddess of moisture, who had been sleeping deep inside water, far away from the earth, woke up. Her mind went straight into the state of Confusion. "What happen...

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“ Intersecting Trajectories” by Sajid Bijapure

Submitted to Contest #81

The restaurant would close in ninety minutes. Tom looked around.  More people were leaving than entering. In spite of it getting late he hadn't lost hope. Hope? What was he hoping for? He asked himself the same question again. This time he felt he should find the answer. Tom was waiting for his ex-wife in the restaurant. They had been divorced about fifteen years ago. After he left the house he never tried to contact her or the two children he had from her. But a week ago his childhood friend Tim told him about a chance meeting with ...

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“The digital predictor” by Sajid Bijapure

Submitted to Contest #72

“What can we do?” “Yeah! It’s so irritating!” “Is there no way out?” “At least I can’t see it.” This conversation went on for quite a while between Tom and Tim who were in their early twenties. They were released from the prison after completing 6 months sentence for stealing a gentleman’s purse in a bus. “How did you get caught?” asked Tim. “Not I but “we”. We were both equally responsible,” said Tom with some irritation in his tone. “OK, OK. How did we get caught?” Tim corrected himself and continued, “I thought you were an expert in doing...

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