By: Tammi Browne-Bannister I watched you walking up the road until I squeezed a mere figment of you with my eyes. Tears trickled down my face. I wanted too, more than anything, go with you but mummy said, “Not today.” She left me so highly annoyed, saying that she had things for me to do inside the house. The woman packed me up with all sorts of chores not to keep my mind off the fact that she wouldn’t allow […]
By: Tammi Browne-Bannister Sleep didn’t come easily. It never really did. Ever since I was little I would lay in bed with my hands behind my head listening and waiting, gazing at nothing in particular, just the blackness of my room. Years later, I lay in bed, still trying to see through darkness with one hand under my head and the other tweezing out the knots in the hairs on my chest. Mum kept guard in a corner of our […]
By: Varsha Seshan Outside the temple was a tall coconut tree that was generations old. In fact, it was so old that everyone paid respect to the tree before entering the temple. No one really separated the temple from the tree. The two necessarily went together, almost like the Ardhanaarishwara. The tree just outside the temple, just a little to the left, completed the idea of Shiva who was worshipped within. Two priests had charge of the temple. One was, […]
By: Perry McDaid Since eleven, I’ve looked teenage, and was teased for hanging about with people my own age. When older boys called to me in the street, I used to be nervous, and thankful when adults told them off. I used to be chuffed when the neighbours would call to them that I looked older than my age and they should be ashamed of themselves. Then I turned thirteen. Apart from the obvious body changes all girls […]
By: Saahil Acharya I asked him why he did it. He couldn’t explain very well. “Its what I’m good at.”, he kept repeating. “Its what I do.” “Its what I was meant to do.” Pointless repetitions to reassure himself. He was very distraught, and kept fingering the vase, or his jacket buttons. He leaned back and pleaded to be allowed to smoke. I resolutely pointed to the sticker on the glass door. “No Smoking”, it said. He didn’t seem the […]
By Mary Ting The sound of endless bullets exploding rang in my ears, as they headed straight for their targets. We were the targets. My heart pounded against my rib cage while the adrenaline coursed through my blood; my fear of getting shot was heightened as we ran for our lives. Ducking low, I turned the corner, ran down the hall, turned another corner, and hid behind the wall. Samantha and Nicole did the same, following behind me. Pressing my […]
