One of the saddest things about having a constant internal monologue is how good it is at effortlessly turning feelings into thoughts, labeling them and filing them away. That is exactly what you are not supposed to do with feelings. Yet there I was, actively doing the opposite. I could not entirely register the sensation … Continue reading Crashing Into Me
Author: Prabu Ram
Love You Like a Poem I Never Wrote
They say that people who write poems are a lost breed of die hard romantics, who would lyrically put their heart on the line. I have been sitting here for the past hour, staring at an empty page that seems to stare back at me. All I have managed to write is "To me, you … Continue reading Love You Like a Poem I Never Wrote
Currently Reading
The river moved like it had somewhere to be, but at the same time it had no urgency of getting there. The water was clear enough for me to see the pebbles beneath, smooth little obstacles that had long since become part of the river's shape. Sunlight broke through the large canopy of oak trees … Continue reading Currently Reading
Blind Nights
They say that broken women know how to love, but not always who to love, and she stood as proof of that.She looked around the room, last night lingered in small, scattered ways, like light filtering into a space through crooked blinds. It had been good, he had been what she wanted him to be, … Continue reading Blind Nights
Tinderbox
Like a matchstick, waking up in the ruins, of a house it burned down,
Piku and his bag of Peanuts
Ever since he was a boy, Piku had always carried a small bag of peanuts.No one really knew why, not even Piku. It was something his grandmama had started.She used to put a handful into his pockets before he ran out to play.For what exactly, she never explained.Years passed, grandmama was gone, the reason did … Continue reading Piku and his bag of Peanuts
Love Poem Inside
It was one of those chocolates that looked like it melted away sweetly inside the mouth and left a memory on the mind. He stood in the aisle longer than necessary.He had originally reached for a chili chocolate. Something that reminded him of her, fiery yet cute.But then he hesitated, chili felt like a statement. … Continue reading Love Poem Inside
September’s Stage
September had been a bikini bar dancer since last March. Not exactly her dream, but then again her dream was to marry DiCaprio and live on a yacht, so compromise had always been her skill set.She came to LA three ago to become an actress, along with a million other wide eyed blondes with head … Continue reading September’s Stage
The Same Ending Again
He never quite understood what letting go meant. People said it like it was a place you could walk to, like there was a door marked closure and all you had to do was step through it. He looked for that door often but never found it. He tried though, he tried the way people try diets, earnestly at first, then sporadically, then not at all. He deleted numbers, deleted conversations, avoided places that carried too many memories. He told himself stories about moving on, about growth, about how this time it is going to be different.
The Last Time She Was There
It is not common for your ex to be dancing at your wedding, but there she was, moving easily through the crowd, spinning as if the night bent itself around her. For a second I wondered if she had come by mistake, wandering into the wrong life, the wrong ending. Then she looked at me … Continue reading The Last Time She Was There
How to replace people with similar looking people in your life
To be entirely honest, I never meant to replace anyone at first. It started as an accident. When my best friend Rivan moved to another city, I found myself nodding along to conversations with a man at my local coffee shop who had the same beard, the same slouch and had the same habit of … Continue reading How to replace people with similar looking people in your life
Eye Stealing Raven and His Friend Todd the Frog
He was a thief by trade and a philosopher by delusion. He usually stole because it made him feel alive, not because he needed shiny things, though, admittedly he did like shiny things. "The world" he once said, dark wings fluttering besides his friend Todd "Belongs to those who dare take a closer look" "You … Continue reading Eye Stealing Raven and His Friend Todd the Frog
Long Way Home
When he was 16, his mom kicked him out of the house"Go find who you are" is all she said.His mother had been everything: parent, mentor, friend. That day, she became the first person to let him go.He took a small bag and an even smaller sense of self and left.The next 25 years he … Continue reading Long Way Home
Gentle Harm
Today, as I was unlocking my door, a butterfly hovered before me.It lingered as if asking to be let inside.For a moment, I thought of opening the door wider, then I hesitated.Inside it would trap itself, fluttering against walls and windows, yearning for the flowers and sky it could no longer reach.So I raised my … Continue reading Gentle Harm
Loops (of us)
He found the earring under the cafe table after Nila left. Instinct made him pocket it, the way you keep a movie ticket, as if holding on to a piece of someone could anchor them back into your life. One evening, when he was closing shop, he realized his bike keychain had snapped. With nothing … Continue reading Loops (of us)
Mom Never Taught About Dating
Ethan and Leslie chose a date that was fun, a crowded Saturday night farmer's market. They laughed over ugly shaped carrots, debated over the tariffs, suspiciously examined artisan soaps that looked like pastries and treated themselves to ice cream. By the time they ended up in the park, the moon was climbing high. Ethan congratulated … Continue reading Mom Never Taught About Dating
Silent letters to you
Every morning Edgar sorted letters in the back of his small white mail truck while the sun slowly rose from the mountains around Pine Willow. The town was so small that he knew every crack on the side walk and every name on every envelope. His favorite stop had once been the newspaper office on … Continue reading Silent letters to you
Leaving Twice
The car idled at the yellow line, the low hum of the hybrid engine noise filling the silence between them. Inside, she adjusted her scarf, fussed with her passport, doing everything to avoid looking at him. His hands were still gripping the steering wheels, knuckles red in the wash of the overhead light, also because … Continue reading Leaving Twice
Crash into me
The crash erased his past. That is what happens when you push a car built for 130mph to 200. When he finally opened his eyes, a year had slipped away in a coma, his memories along with it. His old life was now a strangerโs diary.Friends filled the gaps in his memory, some with laughter, … Continue reading Crash into me
What we call home
That final note from Druv was folded once, neatly and tucked between the pages of Ishikaโs favorite book, the one she always said smelled like her childhood. He had not said goodbye in person. For all the writer he was, words always betrayed him when it came to her, so he let the pen do … Continue reading What we call home