Vakula Surendar

“The post office machine” by Vakula Surendar

I first saw the post office machine the week after the post office had been renovated. The new post office looked incredible, clean and white, saturated with the A/c-sharp smell. The machine was even more so, twice my size and a gorgeous silvery grey. It had been bisected into two parts, a sender whisking letters to chosen corners of the world, and a receiver plopping out letters and packages on command. Wedged between the two parts was Ramesh, watching Youtube in a blue plastic chair. In deference to the years I had spent standing in sweaty...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Of cats and dogs” by Vakula Surendar

Nila, our first puppy, was a hoarder. She hoarded everything-toys, food, bones. The strangest, and, often, filthiest things on the road-Nila found them and stashed them in our portico( Here I will insert a parantheses, to point out with not-so-little bitterness, that we paid someone to keep the portico clean and tidy.) Her kleptomaniacal tendencies were often a source of great conflict between Nila and us. They quickly earned her the label of polladhu- a handy Tamil word that referred to a unique blend of mischievousness, arrogance, and diso...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Comfort for a madman” by Vakula Surendar

Submitted to Contest #80

The stench of blood hangs heavy in the air, and the red that always goes hand in hand with it stains the fallow fields. Groans and screams and cries accompany the sound of bullets, interspersed with the occasional cheer from those who had gotten a lucky few hits. Like a baby bird going back to its mother, the cry of the bound man in front of me rises up to join them. In sharp contrast to the cry of the man, the officers surrounding him share laughs and smiles. This is standard procedure, and only too necessary when we need so many people and...

6 likes 1 comment 1

Read story

“The ties that bind” by Vakula Surendar

Submitted to Contest #79

The Chellapas were the best family you would find around the town, by far. They were well-known about the place, and they had a reputation as clean as a fresh tissue. A Chellapa was always a bright, upstanding citizen, the kind that had a lot of money and paid taxes on all of it. They were handsome, they were intelligent, and most of the time they were the talk of the town. When you were a Chellapa, people respected you. It was to the Chellapa’s house that Ani was going now. It was the sort of day that pretended to be warm when it was really...

6 likes 2 comments 2

Read story

“Arriving home” by Vakula Surendar

“This is insane. This is absolutely ridiculous.”, Davin said furiously. He whirled on Jean. “You are insane. You’re being ridiculous, Jean.” “Am not!”, Jean protested halfheartedly, her tongue sticking out in concentration as she focused on buttoning up her anti-gravity jacket. It was no easy task, Davin had to admit- one wrong move and you could turn the jacket on and end up in space. “Are you sure you really want this?”, he asked her. “You’ve asked me this at least a thousand times, Davin.”, Jean said quellingly. “Yes, for the thousandth t...

0 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“A hero” by Vakula Surendar

Submitted to Contest #56

Mum always said Nik had too much of a hero complex. Nik couldn’t agree more.  Why else would he choose to spend the rest of his life saving other people? His friends thought he was mad, and the adults around told him he was quite insane. Nik soon found he didn’t care. It was his life, after all- he could do what he liked with it. Turned out saving people was a much more travel friendly job than Nik had originally thought. He had travelled more planets than most of the world combined in an effort to save the most people. And he loved eve...

5 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“The test” by Vakula Surendar

Submitted to Contest #55

I stared, fascinated, at the dark piece of black swirling and steadily expanding inside the box, emitting a cold blue glow. “This is so cool.”, I breathed softly. Ewin’s lips twitched as he watched me from his spot next to the desk. “What’s so cool about it?” I glared at him, and he raised his arms in surrender. “Hey, sorry. It’s just that you’ve seen these before.” There was no apology in his teasing tone or mischievous grin. “Yeah, but I’m actually using it this time. It’s different.” Ewin shrugged. As a third year, he was well past the in...

5 likes 2 comments 2

Read story

“Living Death” by Vakula Surendar

Submitted to Contest #41

“I wake up in my office. There’s nothing so horrible in the world as having wakefulness pounce on you in a tiny room, with your eyelids crusted together and cheek pressed against the sharp corner of your desk. My muscles are sore from an uncomfortable night, and severely protest my feeble attempt at movement. I crack my eyes open and pain shoots up my skull as bright light assaults them. I groan at the familiar ache brewing behind my temples. Another drinking night, then.I brace myself before opening my eyes again. Blurry shapes flicker vagu...

4 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“Through thick and thin” by Vakula Surendar

Submitted to Contest #40

A smile graced Thea’s lips as she admired herself in the mirror. She looked marvelous. Her soft, ebony black hair had been swept back into an elegant knot, accentuating the sharp contours on her face. She wore a robe of brilliant purple, just long enough to caress her feet, embroidered with a twisting, elaborate design. Matching it was a long, thin strip of purple fabric that encircled Thea’s head, worn with the same imperial dignity as would a crown. Art tapped her feet impatiently. She was going to pick flowers with her sister, Thea, and P...

10 likes 1 comment 1

Read story

“In the Devil's arms” by Vakula Surendar

Submitted to Contest #39

Lili glanced out of the window at the stars. They twinkled merrily down at her, tiny pearls adorning Night’s bejeweled cloak. She smiled. The stars were beacons of hope, and hope was one thing she desperately needed. She wished silently upon every one of them before glancing down at her dress.The dress was just perfect, light as a dream and yet black as a nightmare, embroidered with a simple curling design. It clung to her in all the right places, accentuating her slender frame. Lili admired herself in the mirror, pulling her long curls into...

2 likes 0 comments 0

Read story

“My diary ” by Vakula Surendar

Submitted to Contest #36

"The most frightening monsters are the ones in our own minds."-popular quote.June 4, 2000my name is jack. i am 8 years old. mommy bought me this diary. I will write in it.June 5, 2000today i hit violet who is my sister. mommy was very angry. i dont like violet because she is very irritating. mommy says i still cant hit her and that doesnt make any sense. mommy gave me a timeout. I dont like mommy.July 7, 2001violet is a very bad girl. today she came into my room. i began to punch her face. she was crying and it was so funny. i told her dont ...

7 likes 0 comments 0

Read story