Crocheting Dreams
May 2016 Anne stared at the baby shoes on the table. She had crocheted those soft, tiny shoes, using the warmest shades...
6 min read2 comments
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Inntales-6
Held in June 2026 · 600 to 900 words · 21 entries
For sale: baby shoes. Never worn. Write a story inspired by this iconic prompt. What happened behind those words?
Prompt by Ranjit Narayanan, inspired by Hemingway's six-word story
Entries
The Runaway Shoes
“Ah … aah … CHOO!” The explosive sneeze rattled cobbler Kanish’s entire frame. His heavy iron scissors jerked violently, cutting a jagged...
5 min read
STILL
A week after her father's funeral, Maya returned to his house alone. Her mother and her husband had left for Haridwar that...
5 min read
Revolt
Tiny boots were kept on the table — beige with tiny teddy bears on the top. “These were from the sales section,...
4 min read
Knitted Dreams
Trupti opened the old Delhi steel trunk that also served as a window seat in her living room. Topped with a thin...
5 min read
The Gift of Life !
It was around 2.30 pm. Varun checked the To-Do list. Clean Kitchen counter ? Utensils arranged neatly in the sink ? Clothes...
5 min read
Case Ruby
I retired from the NYPD recently and I already miss the pulse of working life — the chase, the noise, the constant...
5 min read
Hope For The Sunshine Tomorrow
The poster was displayed on the notice board of the Community Hall. She had put it up with trembling hands, the hands...
5 min read
Tainted
“For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.’’ The signboard that brought out collective sighs failed to bother me. The valley had learnt to...
6 min read
Mole’nzuk Gham (A Father’s Grief)
Kashmir of the 18th century. The gurgling Lidder roared like a wounded lioness while smashing itself against boulders, cutting along the sharp...
5 min read
His Father Chose The Name
"Al-Zain?" An old man sitting outside on an upturned crate looked up and pointed toward the far end of the row. She...
6 min read
The Silent Whisper of the Pink Shoes
The Silent Whisper of the pink shoes. Rinku spent two years in the US after her marriage. She missed her family when...
5 min read
Trinkets
As his eyes set upon Ko-li’s shining hills, his ears deafened by the cacophony at the shore, Kung Chen realized that nothing...
7 min read
GRACE
My wife, Natalie stared at the positive pregnancy test for ten whole minutes. At one point I thought, maybe she felt like...
5 min read
For Feet That Never Came
Raghavan woke up to the sound of his own breathing. It was too loud. Too uneven. For a moment, he didn’t know...
6 min read
A lifetime of Hope
That particular cardboard box had been untouched for twenty-seven years. It sat atop the topmost shelf in their storeroom, untouched through various...
6 min read
Carriers Of Light
Orange-red coloured leaves covered the streets, some of them turning murky under the weight of footsteps. Mark sat on the porch, overlooking...
6 min read
Borrowed Silence
“The deepest wounds are not those that bleed, but those that remain unspoken.” - Rainer Maria Rilke The shoes lay quietly in...
5 min read
The Sale Saga
The Sale Saga For sale: Baby Shoes . Never worn Shalu's sleepy eyes popped open as she saw this alluring advertisement on...
5 min read
For Sale: Baby Shoes. Never Worn.
FOR I prepared for everything. Probabilities. Contingencies. That was just how I was wired. I prepared the room. Painted it in the...
5 min read
Long forgotten
Naina heaved a sigh of relief as she dropped three year old Chirag at the play school. "Three whole hours to myself,"...
4 min read