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Author on Reedsy Prompts since May, 2020
“That’s the thing about this city, it’s like a test kitchen for the tech comps. When it works here, it works all across the country and region. You can imagine in this 15-million-citizen megapolitan everyone with money draws their claws and the next thing you know it’s a dog-eat-dog world. Sharing economy is a pipe dream, a future elitist utopia. It does work like that, sometimes, but the cutthroat battle is not for everyone. This is Jakarta, where the old meets the new, the rich get richer, and the middle is trapped even inside the ...
“May I have your consent, Connor?”The man in question blinked once, twice. He was still not familiar with the total whiteness of the room. The doctor sitting before him mentioned the idea of purity, like a newborn. Connor thought it fit the description of this Reborn programme.“Sorry, could you walk me through the last minute? I—”“Probably the medicine is still kicking. You might find it difficult to maintain concentrat...
“What would you like to do in the winter break?” “Sleeping.” “Just that?“ “Maybe some reading.“ “You’ve finished After Dark, haven’t you?“ “Yeah, rereading. Or throw a new one in the mix.“ “We can’t go around killing people in festivities.“ “Nope.“ “Then we’re stuck together.“ “Not my first time.“ “But our first together.“ The ...
If someone told me ten years ago that simply standing and observing the colourful prayer flags strung across Kathmandu’s sky made me jolly, I would have scoffed at the notion. But who I am today is, obviously, different from who I was a decade ago. Not only have my physical features changed over the time, but the personality and maturity of mine have also adapted to the inevitable conclusion, trying to avoid the “unprece...
What we cannot see, touch, or hear aren’t necessarily nonexistent. And despite the small and big chores that constantly tear the mind away from these things we don’t know what to name, they always find some gaps to creep into our life. A gentle nudge at our deepest recess, fresh from the abyss, while gradually increasing into more urgent whispers. Omit them, you say. Brush them off as the subconsci...
“. . .that all my assets will be handed over to my parents for management after such circumstances,” I muttered, pronouncing each word and committing it to my memory, before signing above the dotted line. “Thank you, Donna. This is my reason to hold on living amid the plague. Now I can rest easy knowing that they’ll be taken care of after I die, regardless of some prying hands,” I nodded to my lawyer. All was sai...
Another email, another introduction, another project. Going back to the office post-apocalypse, a.k.a post-lockdown is really something, isn’t it? Suddenly the number of unfamiliar faces explodes in her face. She counts the months she’s been away, holed up at home, alone, lonely; her sleek laptop and other tech gizmos accompanied her through every Zoom meeting and ultra-efficient communication in her product team, almos...
Carol read the message on her phone and was conflicted about what the best course of action she should take.I miss you, she reread.Surely Jamie was drunk when sending it, wasn’t he? Otherwise, who would have said that when the world had ended, dragging down the modern dating life with it to the bottom of the ocean? But who would have set their priorities straight with the bottles either? There was no time to think about the possibilities. Maybe she was just overthinking. Jamie and she was just a rumpled o...
The time had been long past when people used to call her as Miss Tate, her father’s name. Gone also were the days of the gentleman who imparted his surname, Joseph, to her. She chuckled at the idea of an empty nest–as her church ladies community kept referring to–considering it irrelevant. There was a time, she couldn’t exactly recall, when the future looked bright and they as newlywed planned childbirth ...
"So, Oma, your grandson will pick you up next month for Florence? Must be a beautiful city, I've never been there," I squealed upon seeing the invitation card embellished with golden floral pattern. The grandson of this old woman I called 'Grandma' or 'Oma' in Dutch despite not my biological grandmother–had to be because of my Asian root–surely was rich. A destination wedding, in this economy, in Florence? Everyone I kne...
“So, a new neighbourhood, huh?” His plain commentary started. My dad just got out of his car that he drove from my hometown, where he lived, to my new city here. Approximately 1,500km apart. He drove the super old red SUV through the highway and ferry boat to cross a strait because we lived on two separate islands. Fatigue grew to mar his face. He was accompanied by a driver from his office, but they took turns during the 3-day road trip and eventually rested for a while aboard the ferry. Their last miles from this city harbour to my new...
I don't know what I'm doing with my life.
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