Suma Jayachandar

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Mar, 2021

Stories (64)

64 Stories

2998 karma pts

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“Corner Art” by Suma Jayachandar

For as long as she could remember, tendrils, peacocks, and rangolis ran amok in Suchi’s head. And leaped out at her notebooks. The public school she went to, close to her village, had half its teaching staff getting replaced every year. And given its proximity to the military cantonment, half its students got refreshed every year. Not that any of it mattered to Suchi. She had learned the art of becoming invisib...

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“Own Your Swing” by Suma Jayachandar

Once upon a time, in the dense forests of Western Ghats, there lived a grey langur, Giria.Giria lived with his troop. He had just been weaned off from his Ma. And was still learning to use his tail to balance himself.One summer evening, as he tore the tender green leaves from the jamun tree and chewed them with his eyes closed, and dreamt of a paradise where he could sit on a tree throne and be offered the succulent leaves on a platter, he was jolted by screechy alarms from his family. He too joined them and made a feeble so...

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“Growing Up With You” by Suma Jayachandar

I tilt the bucket and scoop out the last mug of water. Just warm enough to wash away the stubborn dirt sticking to your right toe from your barefoot walk in the garden with your Appa. I splash it at your toe, rub it, wrap you up like a croissant in your turkey towel, and carry you as you free your tiny arms and loop them around my neck. I place you on the bed where I have laid out your school uniform, baby lotion, baby c...

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“Escape From a Tagonist” by Suma Jayachandar

Unspoken Antagonist aka Unan should never be spoken to. But what shall a brilliant eleven-year-old do on a summer afternoon when his Mom is busy prepping the delicacies to be served at the house party that night? The mere anxiety of meeting the grown people with whom he should politely converse and little people with whom he is expected to play can stifle him and make him feel a kinship with the socially apathetic...

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“Gateways and Doorkeepers” by Suma Jayachandar

Akhila slid through the grate. Into what used to be a storm drain. Before the big outbreak. A musty dampness enveloped her. She flicked her headlamp on. If she were lucky, she could harvest enough contraband to get Neel and herself real food till the next full moon. She didn’t count herself among the lucky though. Lucky were those who had fortified themselves across the River just after the big outbreak. O...

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“King Leo” by Suma Jayachandar

Meow, I’m Leo, a Maine Coon. From Cochin. Don’t be confused. Just know that I’m a white-brown king living with a brown bloke in a red brick house.There are two other furballs around. I presume they were brought home before me as an experiment. They are little round Persian cats. Again, from Cochin.Still confused? I assume you are one of those losers who just giggle and go aww… at our viral videos but don’t bother to look up our history. If so, just get off my story! I don’t want to do anything with someone with zero curiosit...

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“Put a Lid on It, Take Charge!” by Suma Jayachandar

CW: LanguageReverse the mini truck. Wedge it between A4 and the parking ramp. Tease the stacked crates. Lay them out. Fresh oranges, spinach, and coriander. Day-old beans, cucumber, and cauliflower. Many days old onion, yam, and the rest. Set up digital scales. On the steel table. Punch in the day’s rates. Set the register. Put up QR code signages. Go pee in the common toilet. Check your teeth. Come back to the cold table. Check the messages on the cell. Play a couple of videos. Lean on the wall. Leave the right shoe imp...

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“Back to the Stars” by Suma Jayachandar

I land in the new pod like a feather. Softly. After gathering stardust, air bubbles, and dirt on my way. At my core, yet tightening like a coil, are memories of me; gathering, entering and ejecting from the pod, a million times before this.I know it is only a matter of weeks before my mind begins to form and the memories from before get pressed against its wall. Deep into the subconscious. The way to which will be heavily guarded afterwards. With that, I will forever lose access to the lifetimes I roamed on this mud ball.My ...

41 comments 41 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“A 5-Day Trip” by Suma Jayachandar

Day 5 There are countless tea shrubs lurking outside. Each one, a half-painted face of a Kathakali dancer, ready to ensnare me with their eye movements. So, I don’t dare to stare through the window from my four-poster bed. Instead, I glaze at the elaborate carvings on the wooden ceiling; giant chocolate squares sprinkled with golden blobs. My stomach growls but I have no appetite.For how long have I been lying here?Days? Months? Years!?No, it can’t be years, silly me! Though the gossamer...

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“Fragment of Fragrance” by Suma Jayachandar

CW: Domestic violence, Child abuse I set the date. And get to work. I pack two lunches. Put one in my bag and leave the other on the wobbly table next to the stove. I don’t bother to wake him up on a Monday morning. If he is too hungover to make it to work on time, it’s on him. I lock the door and hop over the puddle bordered by soapsuds. My neighbour is crushing her laundry on a slab of stone a few ...

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“Dawn-lit, Forever” by Suma Jayachandar

Like a camphor box closed with a cracked lid. That’s how I feel right now. An amorphous lump at the core.There are strangers in the living room. They have not stopped coming since morning. Brother is dealing with them. All I care about is our baby in my arms.“Men from the plains are nothing but trouble,” Ma had warned me while she combed my hair.“Even the ones in uniform, like Brother?” I had countered.“Especially the ones in uniform,” she had pulled my hair tight and tied it into a bun.It didn’...

46 comments 46 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Magnet in the Air” by Suma Jayachandar

Sheila tapped the right heel of her brown pump on the cold floor of the corridor outside 6B. Her hands were freezing. It was five minutes past the bell. The cacophony inside the classroom with the young art teacher shouting, “Okay, that’s enough. Wind up! Those who have not finished, please complete it at home!” refused to subside. The 11-year-old marauders continued to work with a frenzy on their masterpieces by snatching the supplies from each other.Sheila glanced at the second hand on her watch ticking away for another minute an...

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“My New Mom Has a Moustache” by Suma Jayachandar

My new mom has a moustache. He calls me by my old name Charlie and feeds me out of purple-coloured pouches.I don’t want to relive the trip along with my brother in a cage to this new house. I just sleep on the upper edge of the sofa on my old mom’s t-shirt. The new sights, smells, and spaces are a bit overwhelming but I am trying to fit in. My brother who is hiding in one of the lofts right now could never fit in though. He made his escape within a week of arriving here and left my new mom in guilt-ridden grief. For a while....

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“A Handful of Herbs” by Suma Jayachandar

Every time I visit you, which is roughly once a year, I notice, the sharp edges of the glass, cemented on top of the high compound wall have become fewer and grown smoother.The iron gate, on the threshold of which we grandchildren sat on those summer evenings, as you called out to the passing ice apple vendor and peeled the juicy delicate fruits on which we pounced and suckled like piglets, could use a coat of paint.There is still that pomegranate tree with its gnarly branches, guava with its mottled leaves, and bushes of pl...

37 comments 37 SHORTLIST ⭐️

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“Headstrong, Heartbroken, Hopeful” by Suma Jayachandar

Taking a bike trip on the unforgiving mountain roads in winter was for the headstrong, or the heartbroken.Capt. Sanjay Singh stepped out of his cozy company commander’s hut in Fukché. Sepoy Tshering, his buddy, tagged along with a duffle bag that had canned food, winter clothing, and a sleeping bag.They met Subedar Asif Ali and two more sepoys, outside the compound wall on which the regimental emblem- an ibex with ‘SCOUTS’, and Julé were painted in deep maroon. The three gave a snappy salute as the captain approached them. S...

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Author bio

Wanderer. Seeker. Teacher. Writer. Wife. Mother. On a break from Reedsy. Don't know when I will be back. To everyone who cared to read and encourage my madness, I'm forever grateful. 🙏 Copyright © 2023 Suma Jayachandar - All Rights Reserved. Using content for commercial gain without written permission is prohibited.

Winning 1 story 🏆

Contest #154

Moonlight and Madness – read story

Shortlisted 4 stories ⭐️

Contest #185

Back to the Stars – read story

Contest #179

Dawn-lit, Forever – read story

Contest #173

A Handful of Herbs – read story

Contest #121

Another Day in Paradise – read story