LUCID INTUITIONS

“She wanted you to have it” said the old lady thrusting the old rusty metal box in Ramesh’s hands. Patting his hand, “it will please her soul” the old lady added and left the dimly lit room. Ramesh went to the door and bolted it. Where am I going to keep all these useless stuff? Ramesh looked at the mountain of gifts wrapped in colourful shinny papers which the neighbors have been giving him ever since his arrival to this god forsaken place. A creaking sound coincided as he sat on the old worn out bed.   Ramesh threw the metal box among his clothes, what the hell . A thuk sound was heard from the fan indicating another power-cut; it’s the fourth since morning. All started on an eventful rainy day. Ramesh was running late for a client meeting due to the water logged roads caused by the continuous rainfall. The snail like traffic and his boss’s constant questioning, where have you reached? You should have known about the water logging, was getting on his nerves; ...

The sky was tar-black, and looked vengeful. The ominous clouds shrieked followed by a loud thunder. At first it was pilter-patter; the next moment the rain came plummeting down. Any crevice and gap were instantaneously turned into puddles of water. Heavy rainfall had enveloped the picturesque hill valley, making visibility poor. An innocent evening sky had turned into a fearful and scary night like. Although rains were an internal part of Sampa Valley, as vegetation was the main occupation of the natives. The locals viewed the rain as a double-sided sword as Sampa had witnessed its share of floods. The valley had last seen its fury when a deluge continued for five days, which destroyed most of the vegetation, and the valley got detached from the civilization leaving the natives in a precarious condition and uncertainty prevailed. Kundan dressed in a raincoat was walking on a deserted road and had a baseball cap pulled close to his face. His only companions were the oak tress eith...

Pretending to be asleep, Mannan felt her crawl out of bed. Outside birds were chirping which meant, last night’s rain had stopped. He wondered if the sun had finally shone through the layers of clouds. He didn’t open his eyes but followed the sound as Suman got ready in the bathroom. Her first act after getting up was splashing cold water on her face was a daily ritual of her. Afterwards she brushed her teeth. The sound of running shower was audible in the living room. Mannan knew what was to follow he could picture Suman spraying her hair and running her fingers over and over to smooth her hair to a perfect straight and then finally working on her face until it became, just right in her eyes . All the intricacies with which she applied layer over layer of powder which she called, makeup. Manna repeated her words verbatim; it makes me look beautiful. But he deplored it. She thinks she can conceal her emotions under the many layers of cosmetics, Mannan thought. He shifted in...

With a fluttering heart Ritika ascended the steps of the mini-bus. The interior was crowded with people which she maneuvered like a seasoned commuter. In her excitement she did barge into few passengers. “Hey! Watch it girl?” An elderly man said. Another passenger on whose toes she stamped echoed his resentment “where do you think you are going?” Ritika obvious to what was being said took the empty seat marked, reserved for woman. Under the calm exterior she found it difficult to suppress the surge of emotions. Taking out her handkerchief she wiped the droplets of pleasure that had formed on her forehead. Ritika’s efforts of relaxing herself were in vain as she kept thinking of the moment when Aman a class mate of her accidentally brushed against her breast. The thought hardened her nipples, why didn’t he probe on? In her heart she was ready and waited for this moment from the day she had set eyes on Aman. Ritika looked outside the window and saw the city going about their wor...