Skinned Alive
(Estimated reading time : 11 minutes.)
Three months ago an accident maimed him. It took him some excruciating efforts to walk toward the balcony of his flat. Even the slightest movement of muscles of his left leg brought a pinching sensation to his leg. His wretched struggle of barely putting one foot after another and his limped gait cried of misery and pain he endured. From the last couple of weeks, he could finally walk on his own. This was quite an achievement for him. With one hand, he grabbed the railing of his balcony, looked at the open space for his companion of pain and suffering. He couldn’t find it at its usual spot. He looked around for it some more and when he could not spot it; he sat on a nearby chair waiting for his buddy to appear.
A Cloudy Day
(Estimated reading time : 3 minutes.)
He was in a jolly mood that day. After a week-long period of gloom, he could finally gather some sunshine for himself that morning. Nobody’s words could hurt him into depression anymore, he reminded himself.
He parked his motorcycle at his usual spot. Took out his mobile phone and texted his wife “Just reached the office parking. I am going to kill that presentation and win the pitch today.”
He hurriedly started climbing the stairs towards his office. Immersed into his mobile phone’s screen held in one hand, he chuckled at some random video his wife shared with him a while back. He had held his office bag in his other hand. Head down, he kept on climbing the stairs. Someone ahead of him opened the door halfway and he followed soon. The opening got narrower as the door began to close.
Holding onto a fistful of peanuts
(Estimated reading time: 4 minutes.)
On a cloudy day, Aakash was sitting in balcony of his flat. It was a lazy Sunday morning. He got up a bit later than he usually did. He made his cup of black coffee, pulled an armchair in the balcony and sat slowly. He once loved the clouds and the prospect of rains it brought. Nowadays though, he feels all gloomy. He had started to believe that those blackish gray clouds bring sullenness in mood.