Suma Jayachandar

“Wheatish Complexion, Average Height” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #151

I hop over the 20 dot kolam and open the gate. I know I will be sent to Mayura Bakery and Sweets within minutes.I look back at the four swans with cherries in their beaks, encircling a sharp leafed twig. They float on the street outside the gate only when special guests visit us. The guests who could potentially become family.I remove my school shoes and carry them inside. The shoe rack has been shifted from the front door to the back door in honour of visitors.I walk into the living room. A new diwan cover set with red elephants parading on...

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“Zero-sum Game” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #150

Part A- This is not the beginning Life here is brutal. You are either a zero or one. Civilizations may want you to believe there are intermediate levels. But they are just being kind, and blind to their past. I don’t have such proclivities; I believe in stating the facts. Part B- The bit The bit took birth someplace between a city and a village called a town. Her culture demanded that she be a sweet, yielding, and pliant…well a person, if such a thing were possible. So, she stuffed her mind with a bit of education, an algorithm to stay o...

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“Shifting Roots” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #148

I know you are miffed with me right now, but you will thank me when I’m not around.When I showed you the e-brochure of Saket Retirement Homes last week, you scoffed at the grey-haired, brightly clothed couple cornering a football on the lawn, and remarked, “As if they can kick it around without getting a cramp and their backs singing to them at night.” This ridicule, when I had carefully eliminated the ones that were named as senior homes, old age homes, and assisted living! I knew you would have never even considered taking a look at them. ...

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“Bagheera and Me” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #147

Pa got his transfer order to move to Secunderabad Cantonment in the spring of 2016. I remember Ma breaking the news to me with a serving of chocolate cake, grinning from ear to ear. She was a city girl, and after two and a half years of being stationed at Dinjan which was nestled among the tea gardens interspersed with gigantic trees, with very rare trips to nearby Tinsukia, must have been relieved at the prospect of moving out. In the following months, she had packed her crockery with great care, placing everything that tinkled and sparkled...

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“A Peaceful Outing” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #147

Detective Srini hated breaking hearts. Unless it was necessary.Maybe that’s why he was regularly assigned these cases.He sat two rows behind his client’s wife, trying to shield himself from the blows the antihero rained on his assailants sending them flying in all directions on the screen.There was just one thought that kept on playing in his mind as his teeth crunched the caramel popcorn- When did I lose the plot of my life? Ms. Goldilocks shifted in her seat. Maybe she too had her nerves jangled enough and sought respite.The airborne assai...

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“The Door” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #146

“So, is this the best you have on offer?” a sceptical voice inquires.I am jolted out of my corner, from my meditative mood. I put my pen down and smile.There is doubt in slit eyes, pursed lips and the tilt of her head.Oh! This one has high expectations.I see her eyes wandering through the world in my corner. The mountains, the rivers, the deserts. And a mixture of happy, sad and every other variation of characters going on about their lives.She shakes her head. And checks her catalogue.“It says an authentic experience,” she sounds cheated. P...

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“Snippets” by Suma Jayachandar

A fruit-laden jujube branch on a summer morning. Full of promise for a day that could be spent getting tanned playing hopscotch and savouring the tangy delights afterwards. A perfect start for a summer break from school.That was what I had on hand, delivered by post last fortnight. It also had the ring of raucous laughter of Grandma, the smell of salt from a day spent on the beach with Pa, a family vacation in Shimla and more. Strung together with thorny jujube stitches; Fireflies of memories flying off them- scattered, magical and fleeting....

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“Photographer, Wedding Photographer” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #144

CW: Some crude humorI sensed that they could no longer stand each other. So, I sent them running and set a drone after them.You see, I had always wanted to shoot. I grew up watching so many 007 movies, I was confident, by the time I reached a certain age where I could straddle a gun or a lady as the occasion demanded, I would go onto dangerous missions with a 100% success rate, where I and I alone would be humanity’s last hope.But there were three problems. First of all, in my country, there was no majesty to serve. The second one, by the ti...

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“Peace Lily” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #143

“A spider plant,” Ma said when she picked me up from school.I was disappointed. Kyra and I had been neighbours since kindergarten. And she had left me a plant! Not a pirate headband or a video game or at least one of the many treasures we had dug out together. That too some…“What plant ma?”“Spy…der plant.” She drawled as she helped me balance myself on the deck of her scooter.“Spy…der plant! Spaay…der plant! SPUDRR plant!!” I rolled the sound of it in my mouth as Ma cruised along the curvy road.“Will you please be quiet and let me ride peace...

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“Crimson Spurts” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #142

I wouldn’t have come home, had my brother not left it.I alight from a black and yellow auto-rickshaw. My parents are not expecting me. So, nobody picked me up from the railway station.I pay the driver. He turns the tri-wheeler around and sputters away. I stand in front of imposing gates, with pink and white bougainvillea bursting from its sides. My hands tremble as I unlatch it after nearly 5 years. I crack it open just enough for me to slip in with my backpack.The sweet fragrance of jasmine tries to ward off the bitter memories emanating fr...

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“Up Up and Midway!” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #141

MidWoman tapped at the blinking band on her wrist. She blinked back at the new notification. There it was, a one star! And the comment began with ‘The ill-fitting costume didn’t inspire confidence…’She fumed as she loosened her belt with a ridiculously big M for a buckle. She had an inkling the old pervert would do this to her. He shouldn’t even have been there at the rendezvous.That meant she had to meet TheBoss.She knew she was not in her prime but had she lost her sheen completely?She teleported to a deserted alley. Took a deep breath. An...

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“Hoodwinked” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #140

The only thing worse than tracing a witness five years after is to find out he has forgotten all about the crime.Or at least the bits that matter.But detective Syed was no greenhorn. He smiled at the 19-year-old who was sitting across the table devouring his second plate of chicken cafreal.“So, is the chicken tangy enough?”“Yes, detective. Thank you for buying me lunch,” Daniel D’Souza grinned, his cheeks still plump with the spicy treat tucked in.“Not at all, thanks for agreeing to meet me here,” Detective Sayed swirled the sparkling water,...

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“Dear Departed,” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #139

C.W: This story contains descriptions of the dead and death rituals.March 9th, 2022When the news of your passing finally arrived, I felt relieved. Of course, people will say that is how one would expect a daughter-in-law to feel. But they haven’t had a journey that you and I share. How the ticking clock had turned me from a cowering bride resentful of your possessiveness to the one who gently cradled your head in the crook of her arm and fed you the mashed food.I saw your boy-my husband, repeat the doctor’s words in a choked voice before sli...

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“One Step Closer” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #136

Note: - This is a sequel to Chalk and Cheese. It can be read as a stand-alone story as well.“You’ll never know unless you try!” declares Anj sputtering bits of lettuce and onion with the mayonnaise dripping down her full mouth. I look sceptically at her burger and then at my bowl of spinach gravy. My sleepless face is reflected in the green oil. I tend to agree with her. Maybe I should have taken up on Anj’s recommendation of a Maharaja Burger. At ‘Naveen Fusion Food’, the only cafeteria on the hospital premises, oil is the lifeline that cou...

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“On the Line” by Suma Jayachandar

Submitted to Contest #135

[🌈St Mary’s Middle School]29 July 2020[Geeta chamchi Co-ord  Dear teachers, Sister will conduct a meeting at 4.00 p.m. on Zoom today. Please download the app and be prepared 😊 💖][Aneesa quick gun HindiMadam, why?][Rita anti-tech Games P.E. teachers also? And where is this Zoom?][Daniel suave ScienceIt’s on Play Store][Rita anti-tech GamesPlay Where!?][Niru know- it- all Math🤣 Play Store! that colourful arrow kind of thing on your mobile][Me- fence sitter- English   Madam, how to join the meeting? 😊][Geeta chamch...

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