• English - Romance

    When the Light Changed

    Reyan D’Souza The First Red Light It began, as many quiet revolutions do, with something small. Aria was running late again—not disastrously, not enough to be fired—but just enough to skip breakfast, mutter at the broken coffee machine in her apartment building, and step onto the pavement at exactly 7:58 a.m., breathless. The traffic light in front of her office glowed a fierce red, holding back the swarm of pedestrians like a patient conductor. That was when she saw him. Standing across the street, half in shadow, half in light, holding a book in one hand and a bag slung…

  • English - Romance

    Pages of Silence Author: Anirudh Shenoy

    Anirudh Shenoy Part 1: The First Page It was a quiet Sunday evening when she first walked into the Indigo Reads Café on Church Street, the new venue for Bangalore’s freshly launched Silent Book Club. Outside, the sky threatened rain but held itself back, as if not to disturb the pages yet to be turned. Inside, the café smelled of roasted Arabica and old wood, its corners filled with tall green plants and even taller bookshelves. The event board near the counter read “Silent Book Club – 5 PM Onwards,” written in neat, cursive chalk. She glanced around, her tote…

  • English - Romance

    The Girl With The Yellow Umbrella

    Aarav Sen 1 “It always started with thunder.” That was how Arjun knew she’d appear. It had been five weeks now—five rainy days—each one painting the grey canvas of the city with blurred headlights and shimmering puddles. Each time the clouds rolled in and the air turned electric, Arjun found himself at the same spot: the corner tea stall by the old bus stop at South Market Road. He’d cradle a steaming clay cup of chai in one hand and his sketchpad in the other. And then she would come. Yellow umbrella. Green satchel. Books tucked under one arm. Hair…