Suma Jayachandar

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2021

Stories (18)

18 Stories

351 karma pts

?

“Another Day in Paradise” by Suma Jayachandar

CW: Reference to human trafficking.I am 17 and in Paradise. It feels like I have been here forever.Flashes of life before keep coming to me in my dreams; Mother feeding grains to the clucking hens and Father slumped on the floor with an empty toddy bottle rolling next to him. Now I live with Didi, Bhaiyya and their little angel.I wake up without an alarm. It must be around 4.00 a.m. now. I wake up to a space filled with food around me- just like yesterday, the day before and the day before that. I fumble with my cold ...

2 comments 2
Read story

“Today Is My Day” by Suma Jayachandar

“Back in my day, we had grain the size of an egg.” “And egg the size of a watermelon?” I ask with an innocent grin. A snigger by my 10-year-old elder sister turns my question into a dare. Granny replies unfazed, “And the watermelon the size of an elephant” and continues with her inspection of the kitchen. My parents have gone out of town for the weekend and Granny is here to set our home straight.

0 comments 0
Read story

“Heritage House” by Suma Jayachandar

Palacio De Maria stood on a plateau close to Palolem beach. The lush greenery surrounding it was in sharp contrast with the shiny sands that lay beyond. Remo Pareira was its sole occupant at the moment.Remo looked down at the flashing strobe lights from the shacks, milling tourists with fluorescent headbands and folding tables set close to the lapping waves. November nights had turned even the quieter beaches into buzzing hives.Once, he too used to look forward to the tourist season. He would set up his s...

9 comments 9
Read story

“The Warrior” by Suma Jayachandar

Today’s the day I change. The course of history. From mundane to exalted. The hunchback has a very minute role in it. But I will give her due credit. For I know that the world is never kind to an ugly old woman giving clever advice. When the king walks into my royal chambers, he will find a stranger. A dishevelled woman lying on the floor who is beyond reason. The reason that has been...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Guilty As Not Charged” by Suma Jayachandar

CW: Reference to ADHD Does every criminal know this? That her unpunished crimes bury themselves deep and gnaw at her best moments? I lower the window of the staff car in which I am driven past the impressive portico of the private school, the one from where I retired today. After serving for 25 years. In a rare gesture reserved only for the most loved teachers of ...

8 comments 8
Read story

“Through the Lens” by Suma Jayachandar

CW: Domestic abuse Once they reached the massive ornate doors of the temple, Keshav turned to the tourist couple and said with a downward nod of his head, “Sir, this is the end of the guided tour. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to serve you. Hope you enjoyed your visit. Have a nice day madam.” As he moved towards the next batch that he was supposed to take on the tour, the young woman called out “Wa...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Well in Time” by Suma Jayachandar

CW: Reference to autism, self-harm. All it took was a touch. To see that the concept of time and space is an illusion of the mind. When Fiona James woke up, she didn’t remember it though. She always woke up 5 minutes before the alarm went off. It was her routine to mentally go through the day’s schedule while still in bed. It was not a casual tabula...

4 comments 4
Read story

“In the Shadows” by Suma Jayachandar

I kick back my block-heeled sandals under the divan that doubles up as an extra bed when Baba or any other odd relative turns up to see how am I faring as a single working girl. I pull away the sweaty cotton saree that is sticking at my waist as I reach my cramped bedroom and throw it on a heap that has been building up since Monday. I sit at my dining cum work table and sip ginger honey tea from the cup...

4 comments 4
Read story

“Checkered” by Suma Jayachandar

“Koki! Ko..ki,” I hear my mom’s unladylike loud voice and slide down the branch of the guava tree. I notice its smooth milk chocolate-toned surface; was it always this beautiful? Maybe. Imminent move from the station has made me look at everything more closely, or sentimentally as Papa would say. I am not a softy though. If anything, I have always been a tomboy. “Ma, what is it?” I ask her in an annoyed tone. I me...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Temporary Shelter” by Suma Jayachandar

Ballabh lights his beedi and sits under the tree. The sweltering Delhi Sun has sapped his energy. A few of his fellow-labourers are lying under the shade with their faces covered by their hand towels. It’s lunch break. He brings his mind forcefully back from Rini as the mason shouts,“Enough of resting, saalon! Get back to work”.Ballabh takes the last puff, throws the stub on the ground. He then splashes the tepid water kept in an open tank on his face, wipes it with his worn-out hand towel which he lat...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Dream Weaver” by Suma Jayachandar

What would you do if you were left alone at 21?And burdened with an enterprise you have no passion for?If you were normal, you would run away or at least wish you could.But I, Sharanya Murugan, the sole owner of ‘Murugan Textile Mills Limited’ am making rounds of the factory with my floor manager.My father disappeared when I was 10 years old. I was heartbroken.My mother was not very saddened by it. I didn’t think much of it then, but now it feels strange. She continued to manage the factory with aunt Gay...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Yellow Eyes” by Suma Jayachandar

This is a perfect setting, an empty guestroom. As if the emptiness in our hearts is not good enough! The last rays of the sun have already been devoured by the greedy deodar trees. Now I feel their icy fingers poking my shoulder. ‘Dalhousie Delight’ says the rusty signboard in front of the old building in need of repair. Once again, I stare at the google map and shake my head in disbelief. We have ar...

1 comment 1
Read story

“Now I Have Seen Everything!” by Suma Jayachandar

My beginnings were humble, a bit shameful and wile. A bird dropped me on a stump. I sprouted from the unsuspecting stump and soon strangled it to rise my head. Today, I am referred to as the Great One. After all, I belong to a tribe under which people have attained enlightenment. My location is such, it’s both a curse and a boon. It is at a doorway, both to hell and heaven. At times I feel I have seen ever...

1 comment 1
Read story

“The Homes We Come To” by Suma Jayachandar

2024 AD. The van that had picked us up from the rehabilitation centre stops at a ridge. Dense, dark greenery fills our vision. We are home! finally. To be honest, I never knew much about my ancestral home. In fact, even my mother or father did not grow up here. They too grew up in their adopted country, mingling with others who had arrived from similar backgrounds. They had limited access to the woods, just so tha...

0 comments 0
Read story

“Imperfectly Perfect” by Suma Jayachandar

Once upon a time, there was a girl named Kalyani who was not so little, she was thirteen. She moved with her parents from one place to another every 3 years. She had loved this routine when she was little, now she hated it. Anyway, Idlapur was where she was going to spend her next three years.Idlapur was a small town. Like any other respectable small town, it had a town square. The square had a clock tower. The hands of the clock were still at 11:00 hours for a few months now.The square was at the centre of not four but six ...

0 comments 0
Read story

Author bio

Wanderer. Seeker. Teacher. Writer