Painter of the Lake
Spring always overwhelms me. Nature unveils its beauty after the snow melts and the haze evaporates; I bask in the cozy warmth...
3 min read
Closed
Five00-24: The Protagonist
Held in September 2025 · 450 to 500 words · 20 entries
Write a story where the main character is not a person, but a setting, for example, a house, a road, a storm, an island, the moon, or any place/element that takes center stage.
Prompt by Ranjit Narayanan
Entries
NESTED AWAY, NOT REALLY
Today I found a new home, a few yards away from the gulmohar tree that had sheltered me. Together, the gulmohar and...
3 min read
LINE OF CONTROL
I run like a scar on the earth’s expanse beneath divided skies in endless disarray depicting barrier to camaraderie of mankind. I...
3 min read
The Weight of Stories
Dhum… dhum… dhum!!! Oh yes, that’s me you hear - the thuds of machines, the hammering, the dust rising in clouds. They’ve...
3 min read
Our Amazing Journey
It had been a week since we had been placed on front rack. With all those flashlights we were supposed to be...
3 min read
The keeper of secrets
"Super model Tanvi found dead under mysterious circumstances!! Police suspect foul play" screamed the headlines. The forensic department guys are combing her...
3 min read
Sssshhh! Not so quiet please!
His eyes followed her, the fragrance of the flowers in her braid pulled him towards her. He didn't mind the strangers in...
3 min read1 comment
My Master and Me
Set in acres of lush greenery, I stood tall and magnificent, a testimony to my master’s architectural skills. Against the backdrop of...
3 min read
The unparallel saga of love
My eyes were stuck over the dark sky enlightened by the sparkle of the moon and stars. And slowly the hustles of...
3 min read2 comments
Deep
Holding hands deep under the cold layers of the earth, we could feel it rumble. We knew not just what had been...
3 min read
THE SOUND OF QUIET
"How tight is too tight?" I wondered, snuggling closer to Pia. My stuffing threatened to burst from the sheer force of her...
3 min read4 comments
Divine Justice
The sky outside was covered with dark grey and ominous clouds. Blaring horns, children running through the streets, and hawkers shouting at...
3 min read
Baffled and Betrayed
Chrrrrrrr… What’s that sound that I heard after ages? Has someone unlocked the voluminous Sagwaan door that has been trying hard to...
3 min read
Music to the Ears
Music to the Ears I have seen it all: the agony and the ecstasy, the relentless play of nimble fingers, fatigued by...
3 min read
ETERNALLY YOURS
Moonlight slides across me like a silken veil illuminating every embarrassing crack on my body. My perpetually vertical-cum-horizontal form gaze listlessly at...
3 min read
Dunes of Doom
DUNES OF DOOM I clung to his calloused feet, desperate. Feet that had walked miles. Feet that had resolved to keep walking...
3 min read
The Silent Lover
"There is an ocean of silence between us... and I am drowning in it." - Ranata Suzuki I can't remember the day...
3 min read
Songs Under The Moon
I am a small farm nestled in the foothills of Tamil Nadu, where a bounty of fruits and vegetables flourish. My roots...
3 min read
The Old Enchanted
I am woken from oppressive dreams by furtive sounds in the undergrowth. The woods are muggy and close, the air thick and...
3 min read
His Sanctuary
Dried leaves drifted through the window, landing on the dust-covered tiles. The hands of the clock stood frozen in place. Unwritten sheets...
3 min read