Zeeshan Mahmud

“The Last Kiss” by Zeeshan Mahmud

Submitted to Contest #290

He looked at the creature for four minutes straight. It was writhing on the ground, ebony skinned with a boil ballooned up from its calf. It smiled with its mangled teeth as light gleamed through the shutters. Skin folded upon itself like a tortured accordion with the frame hunched over in knurls like a failed contortionist attempting to manage inside a pitcher. It should be tied to a post. Or put in a sty. Chetan thought as he stared at the bête noire - “the beast with two backs”. He glanced at the affiancer and Murty gave a reassuring...

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“There is absolutely nothing that God cannot do” by Zeeshan Mahmud

Submitted to Contest #276

Note: Contains mention of drug use and mild reference of trauma and mental health issues and swear words"For with God nothing is ever impossible." -Luke 1:37"Anything is possible," I say around 2003 long before my hospitalization during my stint as a graveyard security guard at a pharma lab in Irvine. "I mean Beyonce can just walk right in."I mean theoretically it's not improbable. Just like the odds of being dealt a royal flush is 1 in 649,739, or 0.000154% or as much as statistically impossible it is, people do still get it you know.T...

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“The Janitor” by Zeeshan Mahmud

Submitted to Contest #257

[Note: Contains themes of gore, violence, inappropriate language, and substance abuse]Bus stopMario Perez always takes the 9:30 bus at 9 South down Prairie Blvd to work. He is a janitor at St. Ambrose Middle School and has been working for seven years without any raise or promotion. He makes minimum wage and manages to keep his nose above water. He waits for Rodriguez."You are late, man," Mario says as Rodriguez finally arrives.As he gets on the bus today, scans his bus pass from phone, and heads to the back, he notices three nuns on the sid...

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“Wednesday” by Zeeshan Mahmud

Submitted to Contest #256

WednesdayTariq stood at the edge of the pool, the cool tiles with spiral blue ink design under his feet grounded him in the present moment. At 6 '3", with broad shoulders and a lean, olive muscular frame, he was every bit the champion swimmer his reputation suggested. An All-American athlete, his only Achilles’ heel was Wednesday. For the past 18 years, he had observed that the stars, sun, and moon must be in weird syzygy, the constellations in disarray, and Mercury in retrograde. His superstition… - although he did not believe in it - ...

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“The Ninja from the Suburbs” by Zeeshan Mahmud

Submitted to Contest #256

Note: Contains scenes of violence and brief mention of mental health"I am sorry, ma'am, " the out-of-shape, African-American woman FAA officer interjected my mother politely. "We can't let you carry this.""But why?" My mom interjected. "I am allowed a carry-on. I am 67 year old diabetic patient with heart problems, cholesterol…"."Ma'am, I am sorry. But these are the rules. Our overhead compartment is full.""How can it be full? We didn't even go in." She objected."Com'on mom, don't be a Karen." I tried to make it light."No wait. Why should I ...

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“A Busride to Heaven” by Zeeshan Mahmud

Submitted to Contest #253

I walk 50 paces...wait. Am I some soldier in Ambrose Pierce's eerie "Bridge" story that I am pretending to walk to the gallows...? So, I saunter outside [quickly googles the word to see if it was indeed apropos] and wait a gazillion kalpas or Brahma's wink to catch the 29 bus northbound (or was it south?) on Knott/Woods. I do this every other month. I am a caregiver for my mother and the time I get free for some "me time" I go around Dharma-Bumming around the city as if some Tibetan goin' a-trottin' 'nd trekkin' around Orange County with the...

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“The Boy Who Loved Flies” by Zeeshan Mahmud

Submitted to Contest #252

Peter was fidgeting. He was seated in Kaiser lobby for a while, accompanied by his mother. There was a blue-haired, white girl across him with lot of small, circular badges on her purse that spoke as much as her perky catty glasses. It was quiet. The TV kept on playing Aladdin from circa 9,000 BC. Apart from them, there was a blond kid, of six or seven, with pale skin - almost like albinoism- who was also restlessly moving around.Peter was overweight, had curly hair and was dressed in a half-sleeve checked shirt. He was reading a monograph o...

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“The Fakir” by Zeeshan Mahmud

Submitted to Contest #207

In the latter part of the 17th century India, there lived a fakir well-versed in black magic who was purported to resurrect the dead. He gained some prominence although eyewitness accounts and testimony of his feat were sparse and scanty.  It is presupposed he hailed from an ancient syncretic faith of Hinduism, Sufism, and Islam. Although Quran forbade the performance of black magic, there has been history of the occult in Islam, none other than the famous book Shams al-Ma'arif being the most well-known among them.Legend once had i...

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“The Last Imaginative Diary of Dr. Freyburg” by Zeeshan Mahmud

Submitted to Contest #206

Disclaimer: Contains themes of abuse, suicide, and physical violenceHour 1There is not a drop of ink in the room. As white as a polar bear's backyard. I am dressed in ice-cold tuxedo as well. It is madness. But I know I can breeze this like a SEAL would do BUD/S. In fact, this is vacation for me. I always craved some quiet time after my Wall Street buzz wore off from back in the days.I know plenty of food will be here. I can also do pushups. Of course, I have to get used to the light to sleep.Hour 3I am craving some information. Just had the...

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“The Crazy Psychologist” by Zeeshan Mahmud

Submitted to Contest #206

Disclaimer: The following contains graphic scene involving snakes as well as abuse and strong language. Reader discretion advised.Varun Sharma had life long fear of snakes. Black mambas, anacondas, rattle snakes, garter snakes and… cobras. Especially cobras. The way the fake eyes on the hood looked at one to scare away the predators was enough to induce Hitchcockian nightmare. There was once a sprite - his neighbor’s kid- who threatened to leave a box with a snake inside in front of his doorstep with mail after he accused him of stealin...

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“The Ritual of 369” by Zeeshan Mahmud

Submitted to Contest #205

Warning: Contains a scene of extreme violenceThere was an old-fashioned blackboard in the dining room. And just like the wooden times there were broken chalks and duster on the ledge.Soh picked a half-broken one up as puffs of calcified dust fell on her tiny palm. Then she got up on a small stool and scrawled:Let there be world peace!Let there be world peace!Let there be world peace!Then she took the duster and wiped it away.Everyday before breakfast she does it. Long before the others wake up. Some wants a million dollars. Some wants a Beve...

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“"They will chop off your penis!"” by Zeeshan Mahmud

Disclaimer: The following contains images and references of blood, graphic content and references to male anatomy."They will chop off your penis!"You will be okay. No he didn't say that. The father looked at the timid kid of half. Was he mocking me? He wondered. But then again everyone at school in both so-and-not-so sotto voce knew the joke. But few admitted as to what it truly entailed.He loves his father. But he cannot help but wonder he was enjoying the process a few more pint than he should. He was single dad and did his utmost to raise...

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“The Man With No Face” by Zeeshan Mahmud

Submitted to Contest #204

Warning: Contains graphic scene and language “See the thing with a n— like me is that n—-s are confused as to if I am really a n—- n—-uh or a just a plain ol’ albino n—--. And I ain’t gon beat ‘rund the bush no mo’. If your boy haddn dun this 90 years go … f—-in slang my brain with that chayain and fry ma face over the grill like a charred hickory ol’ babacue sauce man… f— no. I ain’t square dancin here nay neithuh I am tap dancin’. I came for his rusty a— and I want that m—----ers head on a nice ol dish… nuh scratch that on a silver platt...

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