• English - Romance

    When the Night Spoke Our Names

    Elena Das Episode 1 — The First Glance The resort stood at the edge of the sea like a secret, white walls catching the late afternoon sun, palm trees bending as if whispering to the tide. Rhea adjusted her dupatta over her navy-blue kurta as she stepped out of the shuttle van, her colleagues already scattering toward the reception desk with the restless excitement of a three-day corporate retreat. She wasn’t sure what she felt—perhaps weariness from the long drive from Mumbai, perhaps a dull ache of detachment she had carried for years in her marriage to Kabir, who hadn’t…

  • Crime - English

    Beneath the Grapevines

    Shruti Salgaonkar Chapter 1: The Quiet Vineyard The sun had just begun to retreat behind the Sahyadris, casting a burnt-orange glow across the rolling vineyards of Nashik. The air smelled of ripening grapes and spring dust. Inspector Arvind Deshmukh parked his white Bolero at the edge of the Kadam estate and stepped out. The place was too quiet for a house that had just reported a death. A constable approached. “Sir, victim is Rohit Kadam. Forty-two. Winemaker. Found dead in bed by his wife, Meera Kadam. No signs of forced entry. Door was locked from the inside.” Arvind nodded without…