Reyaan Q The city had just begun to cool after a day that burned against glass and pavement, the streets humming with the restless pulse of late evening. Mira leaned against the balcony of her rented apartment, a wine glass sweating in her hand, her hair catching the glow of sodium lights. She was restless in a way that had nothing to do with work or deadlines, restless in her body, in the way the skin tingled when touched only by wind. She had lived in the city for almost two years now and yet her nights remained stubbornly quiet,…
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Amrita Pandey 1 It was late evening in Karol Bagh, the streets buzzing with the usual chaos of cycle rickshaws, honking cars, and the smell of samosas frying at the corner shop. Ananya Sharma sat at her study table, biology notes spread across her desk, highlighter uncapped but idle. Her phone buzzed with the familiar chime of a WhatsApp message. Expecting it to be her best friend Neha, she unlocked the screen, only to find a text from an unknown number: “Bro, don’t forget tomorrow’s test.” She frowned. Her own mock test was scheduled two days later, so clearly this…
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Serene Kapoor Part 1 — The Invitation The city was still shimmering with the restless energy of twilight when Maya closed her laptop. The amber glow of streetlights was slipping into her apartment, mingling with the fragrance of sandalwood she had lit earlier. She leaned back in her chair, her body aching from the day, but her mind was alive with something else entirely—a message that had arrived just hours ago. The envelope had been thick, the kind that demanded attention. Inside was a cream-colored card embossed with an unfamiliar crest, edges gilded like something from another century. The handwriting—sleek,…
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Sonalika Sharma 1 The room was dim except for the soft golden glow of a brass lamp near the window, its flickering flame casting wavering shadows across the cream-colored walls of the apartment. The sitar rested across Ananya’s lap like an extension of her own body, its polished surface gleaming faintly as her fingers moved across the strings with precise familiarity. Outside, the chaotic hum of Delhi—the distant horns, the whir of rickshaws, the laughter of neighbors—seemed muffled inside this cocoon of practice. She bent slightly forward, her brow furrowed in concentration, listening not just with her ears but with…
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Elena Ray The First Match The campus was alive with a kind of energy that only a sports festival could bring. Banners of bright colors fluttered in the late March wind, and the entire cricket ground glowed under the warmth of the early afternoon sun. Students crowded the stands, voices rising in a chorus of cheers, laughter, and that familiar rhythm of drums that echoed across the field. For most, it was just another inter-college cricket tournament. For Meera Kapoor, however, it was a story waiting to be told. She sat at the very edge of the press box, her…
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Selena Arora The rain had been falling all afternoon, soaking the city into a muted gray. Through the wide glass windows of the café, Ananya watched the drops streak down in endless lines, blurring the streetlights into ribbons of amber. She stirred her coffee slowly, not because it needed stirring but because her hands needed something to do. Her wedding ring caught the glow of the lamp above, a delicate reminder of promises once made with fire in her chest, promises now grown pale with repetition. It was on afternoons like this that loneliness pressed the hardest, despite the fact…
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Ritam Ghosh 1 Camille’s journey to Kolkata begins under the oppressive weight of the city’s humid air, which clings to her skin like a second layer of consciousness. As she steps out of the train at Howrah station, the cacophony of honking taxis, shouting vendors, and the rhythmic clatter of the tracks overwhelms her senses. The air smells of sweet smoke from nearby tea stalls, mingled with the faint metallic tang of the river water, and for a moment, she feels suspended between fascination and disorientation. Every turn of the bustling platform offers a new sight: porters balancing impossibly large…
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Amaya Rao Part 1: Under the Metro Roof The rain arrived like a rumor that suddenly remembered it was true. One minute Delhi was gray and heavy with threat; the next, it cracked open and poured everything it had onto Rajiv Chowk. The metro announcement dissolved into static. Commuters shrank under bags and newspapers and dignity. Somewhere above, a billboard for a weekend sale sagged, the model’s perfect smile beaded with water like perspiration she couldn’t admit to. Aanya stood just inside the station entrance and felt the rain push its fingers toward her toes. She drew them back, as…
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Rajesh Sharma 1 Rohan Mehta tugged his cabin bag behind him, the wheels making a soft, uneven clatter against the polished floors of Bangalore’s Kempegowda International Airport. It was close to midnight, yet the terminal buzzed with the muffled sounds of announcements, footsteps, and the clink of coffee cups echoing across the atrium. His flight to Toronto was scheduled for 12:30 a.m., but the glowing red letters on the overhead board betrayed the truth—Delayed: Next Update 2:00 a.m. He sighed, adjusting his glasses and running a hand through his hair, a familiar gesture whenever he felt the sting of uncertainty.…
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Utsab Mukherjee 1 Shubhayan stepped out of the taxi into the sprawling expanse of the Kolkata Book Fair, 2025, feeling a mixture of exhilaration and trepidation. The early morning sunlight glinted off the vibrant banners fluttering above the rows of stalls, each adorned with stacks of books promising worlds unknown. He carried in his hands a small bundle of his freshly printed debut novels, the culmination of years of sleepless nights, scribbled notes, and endless revisions. The fair was already buzzing with energy—publishers hustling to display their latest titles, readers wandering between aisles, occasionally stopping to leaf through glossy pages,…