Five minutes outdoor and my thin white cotton uniform was already soaked in sweat. My mask was no different. ‘It is so humid today,’ said the American-Asian journalist that we sent off this morning. The wind might have protested. Not a single leaf moved. Not the slightest of waves disturbed the sleeping shore. The sun was relentless. I thought an egg could be soft-boiled on my head.
Guaranteed Rain
The bonfire was about six feet tall. More or less seventy people danced around it, and the group leader chanted Energy Ball over and over again. We sat a few meters away with the huge fire hose beside us, ready for any unwanted incidents. It was a dry starry night but the wind picked up and the embers were like tiny fireflies, they danced towards the palm leaves to the tune of Energy Ball. Continue reading “Guaranteed Rain”
Secretly
One day, Hassaana shared a post on his insta story. There was an image of a dinosaur and it said ‘I’m S.A.D. – Secretly A Dinosaur.’
When I met him in the canteen the next day, I said, ‘So you are secretly a dinosaur.’ Continue reading “Secretly”
Tiny, Winged and Tangerine
Dragonflies lingered about outside my office door. This was the first time I’ve seen dragonflies here in the Maldives so I found it quite strange. The color of their bodies was tangerine, the darker shade different from the green and blue ones I saw during childhood. They flew around me whenever I stepped out of the door, only for a few seconds. I covered my ears every time I walked past them, that’s the last part of my body I wanted them to fly into.
Malediven Express
~ A short story ~
Bound to Javahiru Rah, Malediven Express left Male’ at exactly nine on a Saturday morning of November. A thin silver line hemmed the cloudless neon-blue sky and the lazy deep blue. Frothy waves ebbed and flowed as the speedboat slammed the perfectly idle sea. Nature-trimmed palm and banyan trees on islands waved at the high-speed ocean toy. The three passengers of the speedboat were bound to Javahiru Rah which means Jewel Island, all with different reasons. Continue reading “Malediven Express”
Speak or Die
~ A short story ~
Tom can’t count the days of darkness. He’s been sitting in the middle of that room for what seems like an eternity. He cannot differentiate day and night. He can only feel the temperature change. He thinks it’s nighttime when his feet, tied to both legs of the chair, ache with the touch of the freezing floor and daytime when sweat drips from every pore of his body. Continue reading “Speak or Die”
A Man. An Island.
My mind is like a sketch of lots of chaotic circles on top of each other with some irregular lines here and there and some random shapes inserted in between. My heart is like an airplane amidst turbulence. I missed flying too, even though I’m not a travel freak. I missed looking down to Earth and see things from the Sky’s perspective as for now, I’ve only been looking upwards most of the time, seeing things from the Earth’s perspective. Continue reading “A Man. An Island.”
Time of Your Life
~ A short story ~
I slam my apron on the bar counter and leave as the printer vomits paper after paper of orders: beer, mojito, whiskey, cosmopolitan, tequila shots, and vodka orange. The night is young and the swelling crowd is vivacious. Gerard looks at me as I storm out the counter and head to the stage. He must think I am crazy to leave him as he sweats profusely with the number of drinks he needs to serve. But I really don’t care. I’ve had enough of life compromising my dreams.
The Girl Who Cried Wolf
i dreamed of bacon
and soft white steamed seafood dumplings for breakfast
and a friend I once knew. Continue reading “The Girl Who Cried Wolf”
Turtles Don’t Rescue Us
Turtles rescue drowning human beings and bring them back to the shore. Their shells were hard enough to protect humans from the razor-sharp shark teeth. I used to believe that story from my mother when I was a kid. And I found comfort at the thought that if I accidentally fall off a ship, a turtle will come to my rescue. I grew up near the mountains, far away from the sea so I believed in this all my life until I found my way to an island. Continue reading “Turtles Don’t Rescue Us”
