Sayonee M N

“Freedom” by Sayonee M N

Submitted to Contest #169

I look down at the table and see the chaos—making jack-o’-lantern is a messy job. Even though my lovely girlfriend had covered the table with newspapers, it is not going to be an easy cleanup job. For a second, I wonder whether I need to clean at all. I can leave the headache to the police units and forensic team, who will no doubt descend on our house in just a few days, but the neat freak inside me doesn’t allow it. After this little incident, people will call me different names, but the only thing I don’t want them to call me is messy. ...

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“Love Shackle” by Sayonee M N

Submitted to Contest #168

The view from Pura Hill was unlike any other place in Bangalore. If the weather gods were willing, you could almost touch the clouds from the top. Cool breeze sweet notes, chirping birds returning to their nests, colorful hues of the evening sky, a guy kneeling down on his left knee with a ring in his hand…all wounded up in creating a magazine worthy shot.Seconds started to feel like an eternity when Samar’s girlfriend, Riya, stood in awkward silence without giving any response. Slowly, the fear of rejection replaced the hopeful smile on Sam...

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“Love is love” by Sayonee M N

Submitted to Contest #164

Did you ever wake up one day with sudden nostalgia for your childhood? In my dorm room—several hundred miles away—I woke up with a deep longing for my home. The irony is it was my decision to pick a college as far away as possible to live independently. But on this cold night, surrounded by this disturbing silence, I am missing my home, my parents, my twin, and mostly, my grandpa. It would not be an exaggeration to call my grandpa a master storyteller. He could entertain you in any situation, making you forget yourself. It was no wonder I ...

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“Final Meal” by Sayonee M N

Submitted to Contest #162

[content warning: suicidal tendencies, emotional abuse] I know I have been staring at the menu card for an awfully long time. I know the server is getting antsy, especially considering today is New Year’s Eve. But I don’t want to look up. If I do, I am sure he will see the tears I am trying to hide. The restaurant is buzzing with merriment all around me, and I don’t want to be a Grinch. That’s why I am sitting at the corner booth facing the restaurant wall, all alone. ‘Stop it, Aisha. Get a grip,’ I chided myself as the tears trickled sl...

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“Persona” by Sayonee M N

Submitted to Contest #160

[Content warning: death, violence, bullying, self-harm] Stella groaned as the tea kettle started whistling. She was living her fantasies through the rich girls on the TV, and she didn’t want to pause it. The kettle kept whistling for five more minutes before Stella forced herself to get up from the couch. If she had a rich husband or rich parents like the girls on TV, she wouldn’t have had to deal with such mundane problems. As Stella dragged herself near the stove, the thick eyeglass fogged up by the steam. She turned off the stove, ro...

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“Life is too easy” by Sayonee M N

A Florida man was shocked and moved to tears upon seeing his bank balance. The reason will melt your heart. When a man in Florida went to check his bank balance at the nearest ATM, he wasn’t expecting to see a four-digit number, let alone a six-digit one. According to the sources, the man’s wife was suffering from a terminal illness. When the insurance rejected their claim, the husband, Richard, was forced to mortgage their home and reach out to friends and family members for monetary help.  One kind co-worker posted Richard’s story...

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“Monsoon Blues” by Sayonee M N

Great. The little drizzle has turned into a heavy downpour, and the teensy sunlight—really teensy, like light from a teensy candle—has disappeared entirely. I never believed in monsoon blues until this moment. Now I understand why cats spend their entire day seeking the sun. The sun in the sky has probably gone off to cool himself down behind the dark clouds, and the sun of my life—my wonderful husband—has locked himself in the study typing something. If you can see the rapt attention on his face, you will assume that he is busy researchin...

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